An age-old question Texas defends requiring ID for porn to SCOTUS: Weve done this forever SCOTUS likely to find Texas' age-gating of porn unconstitutional, expert says. Ashley Belanger Jan 15, 2025 2:38 pm | 166 Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments that could determine if a Texas age-gating law preventing kids from accessing pornography online is overly burdensome for adults. A ruling against Texas could put an end to allegedly invasive age-verification laws in nearly 20 states.A decision isn't expected until summer 2025, so it's too soon to say which way the court is leaning.The question before the court is whether the 5th Circuit was right to stay a preliminary injunction that had previously been blocking Texas from enforcing the law or whether that decision should be reversed and remanded based on the level of constitutional scrutiny that the 5th Circuit applied.Texas and the 5th Circuit agreed that a rational basis for limiting access to speech, which is the lowest level of scrutiny, applied.But the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Texas, arguing that strict scrutiny may be necessary. The civil rights groups claim that the statutory languagerequiring age-gating on any site where porn comprises a third of its contentrisks blocking adults from accessing protected speech, including both sexual and potentially non-sexual content, if adults wish to avoid showing ID on any given site.A lawyer for groups suing, Derek Shaffer, told justices Wednesday that everyone agrees that Texas has a compelling interest in restricting minors from accessing adult content online.But Shaffer warned that he thinks that while Texas is genuine in raising these concerns, the state allegedly has a "broader anti-porn interest in preventing willing adults from accessing this content." He accused Texas of designing the law to require more restrictive means for age-gating specifically to chill speech, ditching methods like content-filtering because allegedly "they want to make it more difficult" and "more costly" for adults to access porn.At the heart of the case is a question that justices raised repeatedly throughout the hearing: Where do states draw the line when verifying users' ages online?If judges agree that Texas' requirement of an ID or transactional data (like employment or bank records) to access adult content is no more burdensome than requiring an ID for gambling sites or to buy porn at a brick-and-mortar store, an important precedent could be set that could cement age-gating laws similar to Texas' law that have been passed in almost 20 states.Shaffer argued that requiring a government ID is "especially chilling" of adult speech and pointed out that Texas currently has no digital ID available that could be considered a less restrictive way to verify age.The porn industry, including Pornhub owner Aylo, has long advocated for device-based age verification. Still, justices questioned whether that might put the cost of protecting kids from obscene content online on phone makers like Apple or Google rather than the sites being regulated.Aylo declined to comment on today's arguments, instead referring Ars to the FSC and ACLU.Eric Goldmanan Internet law expert who joined other experts in filing a brief explaining how online age authentication," as required by Texas' law, "is more problematic than the offline age authentication procedures" SCOTUS has previously approved. He blogged about the trial, predicting that Texas may have lost. He wrote that his "view is that the Supreme Court isnt likely to take Texas bait and will not agree with the Fifth Circuits apathetic level of constitutional review."In a post-trial statement, Shaffer called on all states passing age-verification laws to "consider less restrictive, more effective solutions than the approach taken by Texas... We hope the Court will confirm the need to apply strict scrutiny to laws that burden and chill adults exercise of their First Amendment rights, and we look forward to the Courts decision."Texas law doesnt protect kids, groups argueGroups suing have asked SCOTUS to not just reverse and remand to the 5th Circuit, but also provide clear guidelines if heightened scrutiny applies, perhaps even directly stipulating that the preliminary injunction must be reinstated as the litigation continues.Also weighing in was a Department of Justice attorney representing the US, Brian Fletcher, who warned the court that he shared their "discomfort" with potentially "watering down strict scrutiny" by siding with Texas.Shaffer urged the court that Texas' age-verification law as implemented "will chill" speech and "will be invading privacy." Further, the ACLU said that it's not protecting kids, who can easily use a VPN to mask their location or access non-compliant adult sites where they could be possibly exposed to even more online risks that popular commercial sites like Pornhub say they more aggressively combat."You can use VPNs, the click of a button, to make it seem like you're not in Texas," Shaffer argued. "You can go through the search engines, you can go through social media, you can access the same content in the ways that kids are likeliest to do."Texas attorney Aaron Nielson argued that the problem of kids accessing porn online has only gotten "worse" in the decades since Texas has been attempting less restrictive and allegedly less effective means like content filtering. Now, age verification is Texas' preferred solution, and strict scrutiny shouldn't apply to a law that just asks someone to show ID to see adult content, Nielson argued."In our history we have always said kids can't come and look at this stuff," Nielson argued. "So it seems not correct to me as a historical matter to say, well actually it's always been presumptively unconstitutional. But we've done it forever. Strict scrutiny somehow has always been satisfied."Like groups suing, Texas also asked the Supreme Court to be very clear when writing guidance for the 5th Circuit should the court vacate and remand the case. But Texas wants justices to reiterate that just because the case was remanded, that doesn't mean the 5th Circuit can't reinstitute the stay on the preliminary injunction that was ordered following the 5th Circuit's prior review.On rebuttal, Shaffer told SCOTUS that out of "about 20 other laws that by some views may look a lot like Texas'" law, "this is the worst of them." He described Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a "hostile regulator who's saying to adults, you should not be here.""I strongly urge this court to stick with strict scrutiny as the applicable standard of review when we're talking about content-based burdens on speakers," Shaffer said.In a press release, Vera Eidelman, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said that efforts to childproof the Internet not only hurt everyones ability to access information, but often give the government far too much leeway to go after speech it doesnt likeall while failing to actually protect children."Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 166 Comments

A fresh update for EA Sports FC 25 has dropped today, January 16, along with the reveal of the game's Team of the Year squads and absolutely no other news in the world of gaming whatsoever.Voting opened up on this year's UT Teams of the Year last week, so here's hoping you got your picks in on time if you're hoping to see the players you think deserve the nod here. Regardless, it looks like EA's gioven you a good reason to fire FC 25 up again.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. You can find the two finalised TOTY XIs - on mens and one womens as has become standard - in the graphics included in the tweets below. They do a pretty great job of going through each player, so I'll not bother rattling off every name that's made the cut - you can find those here if you need 'em. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.These cards are set to start arriving in the game from January 17 - the attackers will be first out of the tunnel on that date, followed by midfielders on January 19 and the duo of defenders and goalkeepers on January 21. The full TOTY rosters will be added to the Ultimate Team pool of items from January 23 through January 31, and there's a 12th man and woman dropping on January 24 to keep the numbers nice and even.EA's also deployed an update to FC 25 today that's designed to serve as a "gameplay refresh", with the developer writing that "its the most significant mid-season gameplay overhaul weve ever made based on your feedback". No pressure then. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.The full notes for this update can be found here, and the big headlines are as follows:Major updates to core gameplay systems like passing, shooting, goalkeeping, and defending.Addressed issues like defenders catching up to dribblers too often.More offensively fluid gameplay enabling you to move the ball easier.Reduced tacklebacks and AI interceptions.If you've been diving into FC 25 for the first time in a little bit to check out TOTY, make sure to check out our guides that can help you take on the game, including the best tactics codes and formations, plus the best young stars to sign in career mode.

The wait is over!Image: NintendoPerhaps there's more to come. Some of us think the all-but-confirmed mouse-style functionality could be a game-changer, but it's hard not to see Switch 2 as a stop-gap console at this stage. This is a straight sequel to a barnstormer that gives Nintendo another generation to figure out what to do next - and I don't think Nintendo has another eight-year cycle to figure it out.Don't get me wrong: I love the look of this thing and the clack of the colourful, mercifully larger new Joy-Con into the system, and Nintendo will squeeze innovative interactions out of the familiar format. I imagine we'll be racing the buzzing Joy-Con across the table, using that optical sensor for things other than mouse movements, and plugging things into that USB-C port on the top for all sorts of zany peripheral action to surprise and delight.But the base offering here appears to be the least immediately intriguing home console the firm has put out since, what, the GameCube? And that had the benefit of a dramatic graphical upgrade over N64's visuals, plus a novel form factor. Mario Kart looks pretty good when you analyse the details, but nothing that couldn't be achieved on the current Switch (which has led some people at NL Towers to think it may even be cross-gen).Then again, everything Nintendo has done with Switch has been more influenced by its past handheld lines than its home consoles, and as we and other onlookers have said before, Switch 2 is very much the 3DS to Switch's original DS, just without the namesake gimmick.Might we all be madly theorising about this 'port' had the optical mouse-style functionality not been revealed through leaks? Image: NintendoThe thing is that Switch doesn't exist in a vacuum anymore. We've seen a flurry of bespoke handheld gaming devices come to market that, while not direct rivals with Nintendo's system, certainly take inspiration from it.The Steam Deck and Lenovo's line of handheld PCs are the most prominent, and Valve recently signalled that Steam OS is coming to other devices. Elsewhere, Sony's PlayStation Portal acknowledges players' increasing desire to play console games away from the TV. With Nintendo having proved that there's a mass market appetite, rumours that both Sony and Microsoft are working on new handheld devices suggest that the market is only going to get more crowded.Which is good. Competition forces innovation and it's in Nintendo's DNA to use tried-and-tested tech in new, unexpected ways. We're eager to see what the developers can do when they swing around for a second pass. And having extricated itself from the specs race many years ago, Nintendo is in its own bubble to an extent; whatever the competition does, they're not going to have Mario and co., at least not in any official capacity.I can't imagine Nintendo hardware tying us to a TV ever again. Increasingly big companies need to follow their audience wherever they go - that's why Microsoft and Sony are spreading beyond their own consoles. Given Switch's success, Nintendo's in a great position, but without some big new idea, it's rock-and-hard-place territory.Image: NintendoThis all sounds like a downer when the future is very bright and there's so much we still don't know. Sony fans don't get glum when the next console is a PlayStation with a new number, and rightly so. The reveal did the job and let us all breathe a sigh of relief - I just don't see this cycle lasting anywhere near as long as the last (which some might say is a good thing). At some point, Nintendo will have to upend the tea table with something truly unexpected and take video games in a new direction. For all the relief, there's a lingering question in the air: What's next, really?The answer? Great Nintendo games, of course; the tantalising prospect of a new generation's worth of first-party gems! As we've said in the past, nobody does 'more of the same' better than Nintendo; it just looks like 'delight' will be taking the wheel with 'surprise' in the backseat this gen. Dj vu2 soonSubscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube792kSee AlsoShare:00 Gavin first wrote for Nintendo Life in 2018 before joining the site full-time the following year, rising through the ranks to become Editor. He can currently be found squashed beneath a Switch backlog the size of Normandy. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Asks Wii U Owners To Refrain From Using "Unauthorised" Online ServicesUpdate: Pretendo respondsNintendo Breaks Silence On 'Switch 2' Image And Video LeaksThe "official" announcement will take place this fiscal yearRumour: 'Switch 2' Will Reportedly Be Officially Revealed This ThursdayThough software won't be the focusIs This Our Best Look Yet At 'Switch 2'?Update: Genki had a visit from Nintendo's lawyers, it's claimed

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free just click TechCrunch Mobility!Before we move into the news of this week, we have one more roundup of transportation tech at CES 2025. As I noted last week, autonomous vehicle tech was everywhere. But there were other themes, too. Check it out here.Now, on to the latest and greatest future of transportation tech news.A little birdImage Credits:Bryce DurbinNo little bird this week, but figured this was the best place to bid farewell to Hindenburg Research, the short-seller firm that investigated tips from whistleblowers and used its own research to root out fraud in publicly traded companies. Hindenburg Research founder Nate Anderson posted a note Wednesday that the firm is shutting down.In the transportation and climate tech worlds, Hindenburg is famous for exposing Nikola Motors, Lordstown Motors, and billionaire Gautam Adani of The Adani Group, who was indicted over an alleged scheme to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials in exchange for contracts to a 12-gigawatt solar power project.Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean OKane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.Deals!Image Credits:Bryce DurbinJust a bunch of deals this week! Heres what stood out.Caramel, a startup that helps car sellers and buyers complete the final steps of the transaction, is being acquired by eBay. Terms were not disclosed.EV startup Harbinger raised $100 million in a Series B round co-led by early Tesla investor Capricorn Investment Group and Leitmotif, a new U.S. fund co-founded by the former M&A head for Volkswagen. Also joining the round were Tiger Global and mobility venture firm Maniv, both of which were existing investors.Sarla Aviation raised $10 million in a fresh funding round led by Accel and included angel investors such as Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, and Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety.Tesla was a winner and a loser in the latest round of federal funding for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. The Department of Transportation snubbed Tesla on its application for $97 million to fund a big-rig charging corridor from California to Texas. But Tesla, along with three other industry partners, ended up being awarded a separate $100 million in funding to build electric truck charging stations across Illinois.Shippeo, a startup that developed real-time tracking software across all modes of transport, raised $30 million in a funding round led by Toyotas growth fund Woven Capital.Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, Bpifrance Digital Venture, LFX Venture Partners, Shift4Good, and Yamaha Motor Ventures also participated.Notable reads and other tidbitsImage Credits:Bryce DurbinAutonomous vehiclesAurora Innovation is taking federal safety regulators to court in a case that centers around the rather commonplace practice of placing physical warning triangles around semi trucks stopped along highways. TL;DR: This could have far-reaching implications for self-driving truck companies operating in a regulatory environment designed around humans.The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its investigation into Cruise and whether the companys robotaxis exercised appropriate caution around pedestrians. The agency noted that Cruise had issued a recall on its software and that the self-driving vehicle subsidiary of GM had since ceased business operations.Electric vehicles, charging, & batteriesArc Boats came to CES 2025, and senior reporter Sean OKane took its Arc Sport boat for a joy ride on Lake Mead. Heres what he thought of the startups newest offering.Tesla revealed a new-look Model Y meant for the Chinese and other Asian Pacific markets, marking the first major update to the SUV since its launch in 2020.Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trumps nominee to head the U.S. Department of Transportation, thinks owners of electric vehicles should pay to use roads. As reporter Rebecca Bellan explains, achieving that goal isnt so easy.This weeks wheelsImage Credits:Kirsten KorosecRight before the holidays, I had a chance to get into a production prototype of the 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Pro S Plus. I plan to spend more time driving the production version soon, but for now here are a few thoughts on this all-electric minibus that was priced at $69,595.Ive been waiting for this electric minibus since 2017 when it was presented by Volkswagen as a concept. This reimagined microbus had a near-impossible mission. It had to be instantly recognizable and give a nod to its iconic past while paving a new futuristic and EV road forward. And in many ways, the ID. Buzz does that. Its eye-catching; people stopped me constantly. Its fun while being practical. And although its more expensive than other minivans on the market, its not completely outrageous.The version I tested was all-wheel drive, with the Metro Silver Metallic paint and copper interior with leatherette seating. There is a ton of space really cavernous and nice details throughout, giving it an elevated feeling. It was easy to maneuver on tight city streets, despite its 195.4-inch length. Which yeah, thats long!It met a lot of my expectations. But I wonder about its future. This vehicle would be great as a kid and grocery hauler around town. I could see it being used in commercial fleets in urban environments as well. But with a 91 kilowatt-hour battery that gets an estimated 234 miles of range, I wonder if it will live up to its past as a roadtrippin machine?Side note: In the last newsletter, I offered up a few tidbits on my Zoox robotaxi rides. Heres my full write-up on my Zoox experience in Las Vegas.What is This weeks wheels? Its a chance to learn about the different transportation products were testing, whether its an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.

The Advanced Imaging Society just shared that due to the impact of the tragic Southern California fires, they are canceling the 15th Annual awards celebration; winners will still be announced February 7.

InterviewsDune Prophecy: Mike Enriquez (Production VFX Supervisor) & Terron Pratt (Production VFX Producer)By Vincent Frei - 16/01/2025 In 2021, Mike Enriquez shared insights into the visual effects teams efforts on the inaugural season of Foundation. He later contributed to the second season before transitioning to work on Dune: Prophecy.After breaking down the visual effects of Stranger Things: Season 4 in 2022, Terron Pratt is now setting his sights on the epic world of Dune: Prophecy.What was your feeling to enter into the Dune universe?Mike Enriquez, VFX Supervisor: As a huge sci-fi fan, I was a bit incredulous when I was offered this show. I had just come off of two seasons of Foundation, and the opportunity to go from one sci-fi classic to another was massively exciting. Of course, after the excitement came the pressure of having to make sure the VFX in Dune: Prophecy properly carry forth the amazingly grounded yet fantastic look the Dune features have.Terron Pratt, VFX Producer: I had been following this project for a while, since around the time that the first feature was released, so I was very excited when I realized that the timing was going to work out for me to be involved in the project. Having spent 5 years with another beloved sci-fi series prior to Dune: Prophecy, I was looking forward to the challenges that a new sci-fi series would bring.How was the collaboration with the showrunner and the directors?Mike Enriquez: Alison Schapker was great to work with. She always made time for VFX and the discussions that needed to happen to dial in the feel of major shots and scenes. I was always amazed at her ability to go from one facet of the show to another and give her all, especially when our sessions would go for hours on end. Working with the directors was also a pleasure. Each had their own way of working, but all made sure VFX were able to do our jobs on set.Terron Pratt: Its one of the things I love most about working on series in VFX; we have a very close working relationship with both the directors and the showrunner. With a show like Dune: Prophecy, there is a lot of opportunity for VFX to be involved so when a director pitches an idea, we quickly get to work thinking about what that idea might look like in our world. How are we going to achieve this? Lets get previs going or additional concept art to flesh out the idea.Our showrunner, Alison Schapker, loves the filmmaking process but especially post. She understands the technical side of what we do but allows our team the freedom to run with an idea to make it great. Its a huge plus when your boss is also your biggest fan.How did you choose the various vendors and split the work amongst them?Mike Enriquez: Terron and I have a pretty good sense of the strengths of various VFX vendors, and thankfully we were able to lock down the vendors pretty early on for this show. That allowed us to use who we really wanted to use for the various parts of the show. The work split was a bit tricky, as there is a lot of crossover in terms of the effects in the show.Terron Pratt: All of the vendors that were involved in Dune: Prophecy have worked on several, if not all, of my previous projects. As such, I was very familiar with each teams strengths. Additionally, there seemed to be a natural split of the work by environment, which ended up being the perfect amount for each vendor while not overwhelming anyone on back-to-back episodes or overloading them with work on any one episode. For example, Important Looking Pirates (ILP) has done a tremendous amount of amazing organic environments for me in the past, so it was natural that theyd take on everything involving the Sisterhood Complex and the surrounding environment. As well, there is a great deal of comfort working with the team at ILP and I know that we can award them pretty much anything so they also took on all space shots, the burning flesh along with the Agony sequences. Rodeo FX brought the grandeur to the work around the Imperial Palace while my history with Accenture told me that theyd be the perfect fit for the extensive hard surface work at the spaceport as well as a number of one-off creative challenges. Image Engine had a wide variety of work this season since their workload did not include any one major environment that we returned to over and over. That said, theyve done a great deal of animation and simulation work for me in the past on Lost in Space, so they were a great choice for ALL of the Shai Hulud work as well Anirul amongst many other effects in the series. Our icy planet, Lankiveil, was masterfully brought to life by the team at Raynault VFX.What is your role on set and how do you work with other departments?Mike Enriquez: Working as a VFX supervisor on set can be tricky. You need to have an understanding of all the other departments and how they affect the work you need to do. You have to interface with the various departments and discuss the needs for the day, and then keep a constant eye on things to ensure that they dont deviate from the plan. That said, I very much enjoy being on set. I learn something new on every show I work on.My on-set team is an important part of working with other departments. Our data wranglers are always interfacing with other departments to ensure we have all the data we need to do our VFX work.Terron Pratt: On set, Im there to support my team and facilitate their needs so I try to focus my attention on the days or weeks leading up to the shoot; attending location and tech scouts as well as concept & bidding meetings, to make sure that we can find a good blend of VFX in support of production design, props and even the camera department.How did you approach designing the diverse ecosystems and terrains for the planets featured in Dune: Prophecy?Mike Enriquez: The general design and concept for the planets all came from descriptions in the books. Wallach IX is cold and rainy, with a blue-white sun. Salusa Secundus is sunny and temperate, at least before it is destroyed far in the future. Lankiveil is bleak and frozen, and Caladan is wet and lush.What were the biggest challenges in making each planet feel unique while staying cohesive within the Dune universe?Mike Enriquez: The main challenge in this regard was Zimia city on Salusa Secundus. It was tricky getting a sunny, temperate environment to feel like it belonged in Dune. We explored skies, color temperatures, various types of haze and atmosphere until we found something that felt right.How did the collaboration between the VFX and production design teams shape the look of the planets?Mike Enriquez: We worked closely with production designer Tom Meyer who provided designs for the various locations. On Salusa, Tom provided concepts of the Imperial Palace, the general coastline, the space port, and parts of the city. We then took those concepts and fleshed out the overall city layout, spaceport, and Zimia docks with Mackevision while we worked with Raynault to give life to our tighter aerials and ground level Zimia city scenes. In terms of the palace and Imperial Gardens, our friends at Rodeo tackled that task.For Wallach IX, the concepts from Tom were based on a quarry in Budapest and were brought to life with very little adjustments as it took shape. The final looks of Caladan and Lankiveil were also very close to the concept art.Which planet was the most technically complex to bring to life, and why?Mike Enriquez: Id have to say Salusa Secundus, as we not only had to build the massive palace and the dense gardens that surround it, but we also had to build out how that connects to Zimia city. The city itself required a build that was used for our distant skyline shots, and a separate build for our in city shots, along with the suspensor cars and foot traffic that goes with it. Additionally, we had to flesh out the spaceport and Zimia docks as several scenes took place there. This planet had a lot of moving parts and was tricky to parse in a way that would give us what we needed without overbuilding and wasting time and money.How did you balance practicality and imagination when designing the planetary environments?Mike Enriquez: Every location in this show needed to feel grounded. No matter what sci-fi component needed to be present, each place had to feel like somewhere you could go with materials you feel like you could reach out and touch. Many times, our aerial shots and establishers would just end up too pretty and idealistic, so wed pull back and try to find the right balance for each location.What role did lighting and atmosphere play in setting the tone for each planet?Mike Enriquez: Id say they played the most important role. Light quality and type of atmosphere were our main tools in differentiating the various planets. While we had structural differences between them, we needed a visual language for the planets. Wallach IX always has a blue tint and is often foggy or raining. Salusa Secundus has warm sunlight and fluffy clouds, with a steamier feel in the night scenes. Lankiveil was always soft, cold light with overcast skies and snow in the air. Lastly, on our brief visit to Caladan we leaned on the wilderness aspect, leaning towards filtered light and a more natural atmosphere.Were there any specific visual references or concept art that were pivotal in defining the planets environments?Mike Enriquez: I cant speak to the inspirations of Tom Meyer and his art department, but while figuring out where I wanted the finished look of our environment shots, I mostly turned to landscape photography. I really wanted our shots to feel natural. Of course, we always kept in mind the vibe of the recent Dune films since we wanted the show to feel like an extension of that world.Desmonds ability to burn people with his thoughts is visually striking. How did you conceptualize and execute the effects for this power?Mike Enriquez: We decided pretty early on that we didnt want any visible effect on Desmond while he was triggering the burning aside from the toll it takes on him we see in later episodes. However, the effect on the people was heavily discussed, and we went back and forth a bit on the progression of the effect on the victims as well as the severity at the peak of the effect. Each burning scene started with tracking the motion of the camera and actors so we could place a rudimentary burning effect on their skin throughout the scene to test out the progression and intensity. That allowed us to make the most of the effect in each scene to best play into the vibe Alison wanted. Each instance of burning was tailored to the scene to have the greatest impact.What inspired the visual style and intensity of Desmonds psychic energy during those scenes?Mike Enriquez: Given that the burning was driven internally, we tried to figure out what it might look like if someone was superheated from the inside, without any external heat source. We wanted to avoid anything that would take it into comic book superhero territory, or anything over the top like an internal light source. There isnt really any magic in Dune, so it had to have a scientifically grounded feel.The sandworms are iconic to the Dune universe. How did you reimagine their design while paying homage to the original material?Mike Enriquez: They really are iconic. I dont think you can say Dune without people thinking about sandworms. Given that we want to be in the same universe as the features, and sandworms are ancient beings that live for thousands of years, we stayed true to the sandworms portrayed in the feature. The sandworms in our show are the same design as what fans are accustomed to.Could you share the process of integrating the sandworms into their environment and making them feel alive?Mike Enriquez: We had to approach the Arrakis scenes in our show a bit differently than the features did. Since we did not shoot in the deserts of Jordan, we had to recreate the dunes of Arrakis in CG. Though that allowed us to completely integrate the Sandworm and the FX from the interaction with the sand with the environment. It was a lot of work, but Martyn Culpitt and his team over at Image Engine did a fantastic job.There is no real shortcut to creating shots of the sandworm in the sands of Arrakis. The desert environment had to be built first, so we had a photorealistic environment to place the worm into. The worm itself was quite an undertaking, as the way it needed to move required a rather unique rig to most creatures done in VFX. The way it bends, how the skin moves, how the mouth opens and closes, all of it needed to be sorted out given how featured the worm was going to be in our shots.Were there any unexpected technical or creative challenges encountered during the production?Mike Enriquez: Every production has its issues and unexpected challenges, and this one is no different. The intro sequence in episode 1 went through some creative changes that were challenging for VFX. The Agony ended up a bit different from the idea we had when we shot it, so it required a full CG replacement. Anirul was also quite a challenge, but perhaps that wasnt really unexpected. We knew visualizing the breeding index would be a mountain to climb.Terron Pratt: I think one of the biggest creative challenges that weve had this season was living up to the impressive visuals in the recent features along with the worlds that all of the fans have envisioned in their heads for so long. Creating something unique to our world but living up to those expectations puts a lot of pressure on the team and the creative process. We knew going in that wed be compared to the features but really hoped that wed carve our own path in the Dune Universe.Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of?Mike Enriquez: Im really happy with how Wallach IX turned out. You cant differentiate the full CG shots from the shots using location photography at the quarry. Kudos to Philip Engstrom and his team at Important Looking Pirates.The Agony especially stands out in my mind. Im very happy with how that scene turned out. Additionally, the sandworm shots were very successful, as was Valyas vision in episode 6.Terron Pratt: There is a lot to be proud of this season and ALL of our creative teams around the world did a fantastic job so its hard to pick favorites. That said, seeing Shai Hulud breaching in the first few minutes of the series was a special treat and kind of set the tone for what was to come. But, as Mike mentioned, Wallch IX is amazing, and you cant tell where the practical environment ends, and the CG begins.The Agony was so creepy and a bit of a pivot in post so its a sequence that everyone was very excited to see come together, especially once sound design and music was added!The Zimia spaceport set was stunning in its own right, and Tom & team really did an incredible job with that build. Once the CG set & environment extension was complete, it really felt so expansive. I think it was one of the best collaborations between production design and VFX in the series.How long have you worked on this show?Mike Enriquez: I came onto this show in May of 2023, so about a year and a half.Terron Pratt: Ive been on the project since July of 2022Whats the VFX shots count?Terron Pratt: We ended up around 2800 shots over the 6 episodesA big thanks for your time.WANT TO KNOW MORE?Image Engine: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Image Engine website.Important Looking Pirates: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Important Looking Pirates website.Rodeo FX: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Rodeo FX website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

The U.S. and Canada share 5,525 miles of borderand there are just over 100 border crossings between Washington and Maine. These portals between countries facilitate the flow of goods and people. Theyre also harbingers of diplomatic relations more broadly, where international policy choices play out in space. Siegel, a New York City office, recently completed a new U.S. Land Port of Entry (USLPOE) that connects Madawaska, Maineand Edmundston, Canadaa small town in New Brunswick with about 16,000 people. That firm was tasked with ideating a replacement structure on the road between the two towns.Separate bays divide traffic under the canopy, which is tall enough for B-Train size trucks. (Paul Warchol)The first station between Madawaska and Edmundston was built in 1959, a building which over time became ill-equipped for modern needs. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) eventually stepped in, and sought out architects to replace it. The new USLPOE by Siegel is 52,000 square feet and sits on an 11-acre site. It hosts a bevy of uses, including administration, training, staff support, processing, enforcement, agricultural inspection, and general inspection.The building, Siegel said, more broadly serves as a symbolic representation of America as the first and last interaction with the country for those who travel through it.The interiors are sheathed in wood finishes. (Paul Warchol)The training room sits next to a gym. (Paul Warchol)Siegel opted to give the USLPOEs exterior an industrial look, a nod to the corrugated metal siding common on nearby warehouses. The interiors are sheathed in warm wood finishings. The roof has only a slight pitch and recessed canopies. These features were safety precautions to prevent snow and ice hazards. It is cold there, after all. The expanse between the ground and roof plane had to be large enough for B-Train size trucks (which are about 15 feet tall) to easily go through, so the design by Siegel responds accordingly. This is essential for trucks going to and from a nearby paper mill in Maine. The glass and concrete is quite thick to ensure ballistic resiliency.Concrete was used in the warehouse (Paul Warchol)A coffee room, break room, conference room, and lockers for border guards are interspersed throughout the building, whose pronounced canopy makes for its defining feature. It also has a large warehouse for processing goods.The design by Siegel achieved SITES Silver and LEED Gold certification.

The work of Pezo von Ellrichshausen transitions seamlessly between drawing, building and painting. In each of these mediums, the spaces they create are made of sharp geometries but filled with an ethereal ambiguity. Titled 22105242016 (Patio no 80), this oilpainting would be a pleasant room to wait inCredit:Pezo von EllrichshausenShe was in a waiting room. She was ina hurry but had to wait. It was nother turn yet. The door was closed. There was nobody around tocomplain to. She was waiting, looking around, thinking.There is something intentionally sturdy aboutwaiting rooms. This one was rather small and windowless. There was only the door she hadused to enter, and another to go into theappointment. There were also sixchairs, a low central table and a circular clock on the white wall opposite her seat. There was no doubt it was a room to wait infor the time to come. Before her, others had read the newspaper in this room, taken a phone call or had a nap.She had never visited this waiting room, yet she knew it was a slow room. Waiting rooms do not need much space, but they need a lot of time. They require patience butare filled with boredom and impatience. They are very common in buildings, normally connected with halls and corridors, leading to more rooms. They always interfere with other spaces, destinations and duties.She had an appointment and had to go back home before it became too late. She didnot want to be here. The waiting room isalways a provisional, intermediate stage between anintention and the realisation ofthat intention. This one was tiny but was taking up a colossal amount of time. The time of thewaiting room, she knew by experience, was inversely proportional topersonal idleness. Counterintuitively, thefewer people waiting in the waiting room, thelonger the wait can take. She wasstillthe only one waiting.Waiting is a form of postponing, until something else happens. There can always be hope in waiting, shethought. Waiting is an anticipation, implying a possible future. It can only go inthat direction. One cannot wait for eitherthe past or the present.There is also a degree of helplessness inthe act of waiting. She cannot be totally certain that her appointment will take place.The walls of a waiting room hold anunintentional perversity. The air is thick, even when scented with lavender spray. While waiting, the room becomes a resonance instrument, a silent void despitethe background music.The waiting room is a powerful device: aspace that mandates us to pause. The delayof time is imposed, within a designated room. People waiting in waiting rooms areprisoners of that intention, which has nothing to do with the qualities of the room.Could one really wait before the invention oflinear time?, she wondered. Does my waiting belong to me or to this waiting room? The room was waiting before she walked through the door.Architecture is about duration: a sequence of spaces, and the time it takes to move from one to the next. There are many buildings without waiting rooms, but waiting can take place anywhere. Some buildings are slower than others. Delaying time is one of the primary functions of architecture. All roomsare waiting rooms, she thought.In some way or another, we are all always waiting for something: a text message, lunchtime, the weekend, a family event, thenext project, retirement. Waiting doesnot need a special, designated room.Rooms for waiting in are those that nobody notices: an invisible waiting room, aspace for hopes and dreams, a solid but concealed reality. A dark bedroom is a roomfor waiting in while counting sheep toovercome insomnia. A shower cubicle isaspace for waiting in while hair soaks intheconditioner.The time spent waiting in rooms is the time during which a building is experienced. While everyday life is filled with memories and desires, architecture compartmentalises the limited and always moving linear time ofour existence. We move forward, slowly but steadily, at times hopelessly.Rooms for waiting in can become alienating, yet they also represent a promised land, a wasteland, a marginal corner at the edge of meaningful business. Despite the limited time of our existence, the room is always waiting, as if in a metaphysical pause, interrupting the unbroken chain of waiting times.The waiting room can only be outdone byits domestic alter ego: the living room, aroom for living, for those who wait without knowing what they are waiting for.Explore the good rooms series, a collection of domestic spaces made, imagined or described by architects, curators and writers2025-01-16Kristina RapackiShare

Although they have had two years to prepare for the incoming legislation, a study has today revealed that a significant minority of UK financial services organisations are set to miss the 17 January 2025 deadline to comply with the European Unions (EUs) Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).According to the Censuswide survey commissioned by Orange Cyberdefense, 43% of British financial services organisations say they are still exploring DORA and will not be compliant for another three months at least, putting them at significant risk of regulatory fines.The 200 UK chief information security officers and cyber decision-makers polled on Oranges behalf overwhelmingly believed DORA would be beneficial and would significantly enhance overall resilience across the EU and its wider ecosystem.Yet barriers to compliance persist, with respondents to the survey describing a plethora of issues most of them relating to their own organisation rather than the DORA legislation. Orange found these issues include a lack of prioritisation in the wider organisation (28%), a short timeline to becoming compliant (25%), a lack of specific skills and knowledge (24%), and a lack of visibility into supply chains and third-party partners (23%). To overcome these, 97% said they were considering enlisting external support.Some 84% said they had been given enough or more than enough budget to become compliant, and a parallel study from Rubrik Zero Labs today reported that about 47% of UK financial services organisations had spent over 1m (842,000) on compliance measures. DORA doesnt mandate anything by way of revolutionary requirements. Most can be addressed by investing in comprehensive cyber risk assessments, integrated incident reporting, cyber resilience testing and cross-framework governance Richard Lindsay, Orange CyberdefenseThe regulatory landscape in the EU is heavily congested, with several overlapping standards and laws now in effect. There is a lot to navigate, and were increasingly seeing businesses taking a more reactive approach to compliance requirements once the threat of reprisals becomes tangible, said Richard Lindsay, principal advisory consultant at Orange Cyberdefense.However, remaining non-compliant could have severe ramifications, with fines of up to 2% of global annual turnover and the potential of fines of over 1m for individual senior leadership.The threat landscape has never been more volatile. The financial services industry is an attractive target for bad actors, and the likelihood of breach has never been higher. By implementing the required changes, businesses can avoid unwelcome fines and negative publicity and, most importantly, build resilience against digital threats, Lindsay added.DORA doesnt mandate anything by way of revolutionary requirements. Most can be addressed by investing in comprehensive cyber risk assessments, integrated incident reporting, cyber resilience testing and cross-framework governance. But, as is always the case in cyber security, the clock is ticking.Orange additionally noted that given the formal introduction of DORA comes just three months after the EU stood up the Network and Information Systems Directive 2 (NIS2) in October 2024, the need to address broader cyber compliance demands and overlapping requirements in both sets of regulations may explain why the majority of respondents are feeling positive about DORA, despite anticipating delays in achieving compliance.At its core, DORA aims to strengthen cyber security at financial services organisations and improve sector resilience across Europe. It harmonises operational resilience rules that apply to 20 different types of financial entities, such as banks, insurance companies and third-party tech suppliers.According to Brussels, regulation such as DORA has become necessary because the financial services industrys dependence on IT and the tech ecosystem makes it acutely vulnerable to cyber disruption, and if not managed properly this can spill over into the wider economy.DORA governs a number of areas, such as IT risk management frameworks, third-party risk monitoring and oversight of suppliers, operational resilience testing, cyber incident reporting, and information and intelligence sharing.Sonatypes vice-president of solution architecture, Mitun Zavery, said: If GDPR taught us anything, it was that last-minute compliance efforts lead to headaches and half-measures. Like many EU laws, UK companies may be pulled into scope as the act extends beyond European financial institutions and deep into their software supply chains.This is a big problem for UK businesses whose European customers fall under the regulations purview. The stern financial penalties for non-compliance are enough motivation for EU financial institutions to tell partners, If you arent compliant, we need someone who is.He added: Rather than a burden, UK organisations should seeDORAas an opportunity to streamline systems and processes by leveraging automation, reinforcing their software supply chains, and adopting a proactive approach to risk mitigation and vulnerability management. IfDORAbecomes like GDPR, then prioritising compliance now will open doors as forms of this standard are adopted in the UK.Read more about cyber regulation in 2025

Need a lot of ports? This easy-to-use docking station from Baseus can help.