PXO delivered approximately 600 VFX shots for Season 2 of House of the Dragon, more than 150 of which involved dragons. Since it was one of the lead vendors for the effects of the dragons, PXO brought into existence some of the most famous dragons such as Sunfyre, Meleys, and Vhagar besides introducing new ones such as Stormcloud and the wild dragon. The team also made some immersive environments with the significant locations: Dragonstone, the Grand Septa, Rooks Rest, Driftmark, and the Eyrie. This is what maintains the epic fantasy world of the show. With 350 dedicated staff members, PXO pushed limits to large-scale visual storytelling using the best-in-class VFX techniques and high attention to detail. The VFX teams work enabled the audience to experience the vast, breathtaking landscapes and lifelike dragons that made the story richer and visually appealing. PXOs contribution played a key role in the success of the shows second season.The post VFX Breakdown by PXO for House of the Dragon Season 2 appeared first on Vfxexpress.

As wildfires continue to burn tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles County, Santa Anita Park, a racetrack a bit north of the city, has turned into a donation center for the thousands of families that lost everything. But as those donations have poured in, the parking lot has quickly come to resemble a landfill. We are overloaded with clothes and shoes, reads the caption on one Instagram reel showing clothing piled up in giant mounds with little organization.Candice Wong, a resident of Alhambra, a city within L.A. County, had friends who went to volunteer at Santa Anita. They said it was horrible, Wong says; volunteers ended up essentially moving stuff from point A to B around the parking lot, and then back from B to A. It was volunteer work that was almost kind of pointless, because it was so chaotic.Volunteers tasked with sorting through all those donations say they keep finding what amounts to junk: stained shirts, clothing with holes, damaged items. We found some garbage,the actress Kristen Bell said in a video about her own volunteer experience amid the fires. She ended the video with a reminder to would-be donators: Dont send trash.60% of donations simply have no useThis isnt only an L.A. issue. After disasters, a large portion of the donations that come flooding in tend to be, essentially, useless. Jos Holguin-Veras, director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has studied disaster response for decades. Based on the data that we have, we have estimated that, typically, about 60% of donations simply have no use, he says.Useless donations in the past have included pork products sent to Muslim communities; winter coats sent to Haiti; expired medications; and wedding gowns and high heels sent to hurricane-ravaged regions. These are items people were likely planning on getting rid of anyway, and when disaster strikes, they see it as an opportunity to give their items away instead of just tossing them in the trash. Its just that people may not need those things. [People donating] believe it is the responsibility of disaster responders to find something useful to do with the donations, Holguin-Veras says.One main motivation for this behavior is what he calls misguided philanthropy. People tend to be distrustful of sending cash; they want to give something more tangible, or see a more immediate impact. They may be well meaning, but they also arent thinking about the utility of their itemslike a winter coat going to Haitior even L.A. Companies also sometimes donate as a form of marketing, or for a tax write-off, even if their items arent totally needed. (After the Joplin tornado in Missouri, Holguin-Veras says a distribution center received boxes and boxes of what volunteers dubbed an undrinkable drink, because it was reportedly so disgusting.)More work for volunteersWhen people send junk or useless items after a disaster, it means donations just sit around taking up space. It also creates logistical challenges: Volunteers are tasked with sorting through endless piles of donations, trashing what needs to be trashed, organizing the rest, finding enough space to store it all, and distributing items to people in need. L.A.s Rose Bowl Stadium has also been filling up with donations since the fires, but the traffic from people dropping off items actually blocked emergency personnel.Already, some groups across Los Angeles have urged people to stop donating physical items after getting an influx.But as the fires make national headlines, organizations across the country have set up their own donation drives, meaning clothes and other items are also being shipped to L.A. The sheer influx of items is part of what made volunteering at Santa Anita so chaotic for Wongs friends. And its why, when Wong began volunteering with Alhambra All Souls Church last week, she set out to be super-specific in her donation asksand very organized. The church turned its location into a free store, with tables topped with items organized by type, and clothing organized by gender and size. Wong herself has made detailed posts on social media every day about what the site needs, with pleas to not make the church a dump for garbage. (Shes also said on multiple posts not to donate clothes; Holguin-Veras says clothing is always the most donated category, and that much of it will never find an owner.)The churchs distribution center is a much smaller scale than Santa Anita Park, so that has made things a bit easier. Volunteers also stop people dropping off donations at the door to ask about their items. (At other sites, donors often just toss their donations on the ground and walk away, or sometimes truckloads of donations show up unannounced.)This approachof turning away donations, or asking for only specific itemscan be tricky, though. Holguin-Veras says disaster groups are often hesitant to speak about the problem of useless donations because they think it may ultimately deter any philanthropy. Some people may prickle at the idea that their donations arent wanted.Wong saw this firsthand, as well: When she told someone that they didnt need any more toothbrush kitsbecause they had just gotten hundreds of donations of full-size toothbrushes and toothpastebut that they would take the razors they were going to give, that person got upset. They [were like], I cant believe a church is being choosy . . . Im going to take it somewhere else thats going to take everything, Wong says. Im not being choosy, I just dont want to hoard.Giving victims dignityand just giving cashBecause the Alhambra All Souls Church is so organized with its donations, it also creates a sense of calm for the victims that come in to pick up items, Wong says. The church also decided, intentionally, not to give people trash bags to put their new items in, but to give out reusable bags. Its a way to acknowledge their pride and dignity.Chaotic donation centers, or those with a plethora of dirty, used items dont create the nicest experience for disaster victims. Its also largely not helpful to those in need. No one needs a soiled T-shirt with holes in it. Theyre not that desperate, Wong says. She encourages people to put themselves in the shoes of disaster victims:If you lost everything, what would you want?The answer may just be cash. And as hesitant as some may be to donate money, it is often the best option, Holguin-Veras says. Since the fires began, hundreds of GoFundMes have been created for families that lost everything. Some individuals and mutual aid groups have been trying to steer people to lists, especially for some of the most impacted populations. As L.A.s Educator Defense Network wrote on Instagram, money doesnt spoil or require storage, and allows responders to make the best decisions. Disaster response groups may also be able to get deals by buying in bulk or using certain subsidies. Cash ensures people can get exactly what they need: Volunteers at the Alhambra All Souls Church were also giving away gift cards, so if they didnt have exactly what a family neededlike diapers in a specific sizethe family could just buy it themselves. Even the Salvation Army of Southern California said it was only accepting financial gifts after the fires, because of the logistical challenges of managing unsolicited donations.Needs also change quickly in the wake of a disaster, meaning some donations might be useful initially, but then run run their course. If an organization says it needs water, and then they quickly get thousands of gallon bottles, water may not continue to be a high-priority need. If people keep donating water instead of cash, those bottles just take up space. Thats also why talking to people directly on the groundlocal officials, mutual aid groups, and others that are tuned into the needs of a communityis a crucial part of disaster response. Consult with the locals, Holguin-Veras says. If an organization has confirmed a willing recipient for an item, then yes, donate thatbut the vast majority of post-disaster donations havent done this, he notes. And by all means, do not donate clothing, he adds. There will be mountains of that.

The "ethereal beauty" of classical Japanese Noh theatre informed Kengo Kuma and Associates' design for the Banyan Tree hotel in Kyoto, with a dedicated stage hidden in its stepped gardens.Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto is set in the foothills of the city's easterly Higashiyama mountains, in a historic district brimming with temples and shrines, ancient cemeteries and burial grounds.Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto (above) has its own Noh stage (top image)The area's symbolic role as a bridge to the afterlife led Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKA) to find the main inspiration for its design in the 14th-century art of Noh, sometimes called the "theatre of ghosts" because it tends to feature spirits as key characters."The hotel was inspired by the ethereal beauty of Noh," Kuma told Dezeen. "Noh is a traditional art form that has roots in Kyoto, Japan, and is a wonderful expression of the inner struggles and complex emotions of human beings."A miniature gabled roof shelters the hotel's entranceThese references can be seen not just in the hotel's dedicated Noh stage a timber skeleton made of yellow cedar and Kyoto cypress but also in the architecture of the hotel itself and the interiors of its 52 guest rooms designed by the late designer Yukio Hashimoto.The hotel's design was guided by the Japanese aesthetic principle of ygen, describing a mysterious, quiet beauty that is one of the central tenets of Noh, as set out by playwright Zeami Motokiyo.Different forms of timber dominate the triple-height lobby"The entire hotel was designed to provide a place for reflection," Kuma said. "And the Noh stage, set against the surrounding greenery, is arguably the most symbolic place within the hotel that reflects the concept of ygen."Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto is set on a sloped site with a height difference of 12 metres between its lowest and highest point.The Ryozen restaurant serves multi-course kaiseki mealsTo make the most of the limited space, KKA created a pair of mid-rise reinforced concrete volumes, providing panoramic views over Kyoto and framing the stepped gardens, which can be accessed from different floors of the hotel.Banyan Tree's main four-storey building houses the bedrooms and all of the common areas including a triple-height lobby, the Ryozen restaurant, a cavernous bar and gender-split onsen baths while the perpendicular three-storey annexe accommodates additional guests.Rough stone walls frame the cavernous Bar RyozenKKA installed three tiers of eaves with slatted timber overhangs to break up these two monolithic volumes and provide a modern take on traditional Japanese architecture."The limited site meant that the hotel build would be significant in volume," Kuma said. "To match the scale of the surrounding area, we decided to use the eaves to visually divide the building into smaller sections.""Continuous rafters were then installed to create the deep, elongated eaves and soft shadows that reflect the traditional Japanese dimension system and harmonise with the surroundings."The hotel has gender-split onsen bathsThe hotel's entrance is sheltered by a miniature gabled roof, held up without columns. Instead, the cantilevered structure is supported by an elaborate stack of criss-crossing beams."By employing cutting-edge resin-based construction methods to securely join the wooden beams, we achieved a sense of levitation that would not be possible with conventional wooden construction," Kuma said."This innovative blend of modern technology and traditional craftsmanship allows us to present a remarkable architectural feat a massive wooden structure seemingly floating in the air to welcome visitors."Read: Kengo Kuma tops sculptural community centre with swooping bamboo roofTo blend the building into the Higashiyama landscape, KKA used weathered stones from an existing masonry wall on the site alongside rustic chunks of granite to clad the base of the main building.The studio also preserved and restored the existing landscaping on the site, including moss, stones, trees and a small bamboo grove, which hides the hot spring feeding the hotel's onsen baths.A craggy rock pond sits on the same level as the ground-floor lobby and annexe, while the bamboo grove and Noh stage can be accessed from the second floor via the terrace of restaurant Ryozen, which serves multi-course kaiseki meals.A newly created rock pond sits on the same level as the annexeThe stage itself is set on stilts above a shallow reflecting pool and offers an even more pared-back interpretation of a typically minimalist Noh stage, with no solid walls or roof hiding its timber skeleton.Instead of the traditional kagami-ita backdrop of a painted pine tree, the stage now frames views of real trees.The Noh stage is accessed via restaurant Ryozen on the second floor"Constructing a roofed building was not permitted on the site where the Noh stage now stands," Kuma said. "However, this restriction inspired a unique approach to the stage's design.""To honour this art form, we designed the Noh stage with an exposed wooden framework that reaches towards the sky, seamlessly integrating with the surrounding natural landscape, while aiming to retain the features of a traditional Noh stage as much as possible."Tatami flooring features in the guest roomsThe interior also aims to translate traditional Japanese design details via a simplified, modern material selection, drawing heavily on wood and stone.To maintain visual interest despite this pared-back palette, timber was treated in different ways throughout the lobby either charred to form decorative columns or laid in a chequerboard pattern of alternating grains across the floor.The horigotatsu seating area was raised for Western-style seatingA mottled texture reminiscent of hammered metal was translated into wood to form the base of the reception desk, making use of a traditional Japanese carving technique known as naguri.This same pattern, covered in locally sourced gold leaf, also features across headboards in the guest suites.The rooms are rich in traditional details like tatami flooring and cypress-wood bathtubs although many were adapted to suit modern tastes.Cypress tubs feature in all of the roomsThe moveable shoji screens enclosing the tub, for example, have their timber lattices hidden behind layers of washi paper, while the horigotatsu seating area was raised to cater to Western seating preferences and create a small workspace."We blend classic Japanese elements with a contemporary execution in subtle ways throughout our design," said the Hashimoto Yukio Design Studio team."An example would be the tea table, where we combined a natural solid piece of tochi for the tabletop with hexagon-shaped legs a subtle and sophisticated detail to match the style of the room."KKA has previously been responsible for designing a number of popular hotels across the country including the Ace Hotel Kyoto and Edition hotels in Tokyo's Toranomon and Ginza districts.The post Kengo Kuma embellishes Kyoto hotel with timber-skeleton theatre stage appeared first on Dezeen.

Although Apple and Samsung are household names when it comes to smartphones these days, there was a time when they were virtually unheard of in the mobile space. Back when mobile phones were less smart, Nokia flooded the market with a variety of designs, some of which have stood the test of time, as proven by recent revivals, while others may have been far too ahead of their time. Still, others were just plain bonkers but still left quite an impression on peoples minds.The Finnish company no longer makes phones, of course, but its legacy lives on in more ways than one. Fortunately, the Nokia Design Archive is now open to the public, preserving and sharing not just the companys historical products but also its design processes and strategies, not to mention a few ideas that never came to light. Ironically, this comes at a time when Nokia-branded smartphones are starting to disappear, making this memorial to its legacy even more poignant.Designer: Nokia, Aalto UniversityFrom the sturdy 5110 to the well-loved 3210, from the 5310 XpressMusic to the 8110 banana phone,, Nokias history is definitely a colorful one from a design perspective. Yes, some of the phone designs it actually launched boggle the mind and, in some cases, even offend design sensibilities, but one cant accuse the brand of playing it safe and sticking to lucrative and overused formulas. Then again, times were very different back then, and so were peoples tastes and needs.With Nokia formally done with the mobile phone space, that history would have been completely lost if not for this highly detailed and interactive museum of everything Nokia. The site generously provides not only photos of phones that were or could have been but also sketches, presentations, videos, and documents that narrated Nokias design story that spanned decades. Admittedly, navigating the sites interactive graph UI is a bit cumbersome, but it also gives the experience a bit of a treasure-hunting flavor.Its definitely a treasure trove of ideas and illustrations, from concepts of the then futuristic 3G network to a shape-changing device that would still be very interesting today. It makes one wonder what could have been had Nokia stayed in the game. Alas, the modern smartphone world has not been kind to old giants, and it seems that Nokias history in mobile is finally coming to a close once and for all.Although it has licensed its name to HMD Global to make Nokia-branded phones, both smart and dumb, that might be ending soon as well. HMD seems to be removing Nokia smartphones from its online stores, and the remaining feature phones bearing that name might soon be on the way out as well. Its only fitting, then, that the Nokia Design Archive finally opens its doors as Nokia itself closes the final chapter of its mobile history book.The post Nokia Design Archive opens as Nokia phones start to disappear first appeared on Yanko Design.

"I came forward, because I am not the only one.

Calculating air pollution from wildfires and other events has become more complicated. That doesnt mean its necessarily more accurate.

Rules for a $7,500 tax break for electric vehicle purchases and leases recently changed, but more far-reaching changes are expected when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.

MacworldAt a GlanceExpert's RatingProsGreat pricing with lifetime license optionImpressive speedsAdded features since last timeConsFewer servers than some rivalsOur Verdict FastestVPN packs impressive VPN performance, but thats only one facet of what makes it worth a look. Its also relatively cheap compared to many rivals, and has seen a bunch of improvements since we last took a look in 2021. The app is sleek and easy to use while 10 simultaneous connections is a real boon. Despite the name, its not the fastest around, but its so affordable that its hard not to recommend.Price When ReviewedThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefinedBest Pricing TodayRetailerPriceFastestVPN (Lifetime payment)$40View DealPrice comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwideProductPricePrice comparison from BackmarketBest Prices Today: FastestVPNRetailerPriceFastestVPN (Lifetime payment)$40View DealPrice comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwideProductPricePrice comparison from BackmarketThe last time we took a look at FastestVPN, we were impressed by its pricing, solid speed, and option to run 10 connections simultaneously, but were left a little cold by its slightly smaller feature set that lacked tools like a kill switch for cutting comms when a VPN connection is lost, and industry mainstays like split-tunnelling.Either we werent the only people to make such complaints or FastestVPN reads Macworld (and why wouldnt you, really?) but the company has made huge strides to improve pretty much every aspect of the experience.That starts with a much cleaner Mac app thats just as satisfying to hit the big power button on as any other VPN apps, as well as a big boost to server count with over 800 included. Its also still remarkably affordable, with a $40 lifetime plan (which was actually $30 at the time we updated this review!) thats cheaper than a couple of years on rival services, as well as now supporting power user features like multi-hop connections.See how FastestVPN compares to other VPNs for Mac we have tested.Will it make your traffic private? You bet, with a third-party auditor verified no-logs policy and aforementioned features like the kill switch. Will it help you get around geoblocks? Yes, although its much more likely with the streaming-focused servers.Those are two of the biggest reasons to run a VPN for the vast majority of people, and for that, FastestVPN does a great job and for a lot less than others. Rivals do offer a larger server count, but the ease of use, and low barrier of entry, make FastestVPN one of our best VPN picks in 2025.Features & AppsFoundryFastestVPN is available on Mac (which well be reviewing primarily here), but it also has Windows, iOS, iPadOS, Android, and plenty more apps. Have a look to see how it fairs against other options: Best VPNs for iPad and Best VPNs for iPhone. Thats particularly important here because it allows 10 devices to be connected simultaneously, meaning your family can be covered with a single payment without needing to spring for paid add-ons (although those are available at $4 per device).That makes buying a plan as simple as it gets, and every single one has 24/7 support for anyone that needs it, as well as a laundry list of features.These include the Internet Kill Switch to shut down all traffic if your VPN drops for any reason, as well as a free NAT firewall and Adblocker that might make you tempted to run it even when you wouldnt necessarily need a VPN.All plans include 256-bit AES encryption and access to the full server count, too, which some rivals charge extra for.Even the app, which has seen a facelift in recent times, is much nicer to look at. That sounds like a silly thing to say, but if youre likely to be looking at it multiple times a day its nice to know its responsive and has light and dark mode options.Youll find a variety of VPN protocols to choose (more on those in a moment), and you can use Smart Tunneling to ensure certain apps go via a VPN while others dont. You can now link servers together to double up on encryption if you really want to push obfuscation to the next level.PerformanceA VPN that slows your traffic to a crawl isnt likely to be used for long, and while FastestVPNs name may set expectations, its not quite top dog when it comes to speed.Servers have recently been updated to 10 Gbps options, and there are four different protocols to make use of, with Wireguard, OpenVPN (TCP and UDP options) and IKEv2 available.I tested around a dozen locations from my MacBook Air, using my upgraded gigabit internet speed, and found speeds to reach around 60% of my download speed at their peak, and upload speeds fared better.Its not quite the fastest around, but if youre just looking to cover your digital tracks or watch Netflix in another country, itll certainly tick those boxes.Im particularly pleased that server latency is shown when youre picking a server, as that can make a difference, and thats not all.FastestVPN also highlights certain streaming-focused servers to help get around geoblocking, meaning I was able to test Disney Plus, Netflix, BBC iPlayer and more from the comfort of my home in the UK. Its worth noting results vary when using servers not specifically highlighted as being Streaming servers, but theres still plenty of choice.Speaking of choice, FastestVPN has more than 800 servers, which is a lot but in context, thats dramatically less than NordVPN or ExpressVPN. Still, the price difference makes that easier to swallow.FoundryPrivacy & SecuritySo, you can stream from other territories, but what about privacy? After all, it can be tricky to verify a no logs policy since its tricky to prove youre not doing something (in this case, logging user data).As with some of its contemporaries, FastestVPN is headquartered in the Cayman islands and has undergone a third-party audit from Altius IT. The report found that, outside of logins and billing, no user activity data is held by FastestVPN, and you can download the results to see them for yourself.Pricing and plansWeve always advised caution against paying for multiple years of a VPN in advance, just because legislation around the sector continues to shift regularly. And yet, the pricing for FastestVPN makes it hard not to just stump up the $40 for an annual membership (sometimes $30).The $5 rolling monthly contract is cheaper than some rivals, but an annual membership for $20 is also a great deal. Still, for just $40 its hard not go for a full lifetime membership particularly if the service continues to improve at the same rate it has over the last few years.Should you buy FastestVPN Fantastic pricing, a thoroughly improved app and a whole host of additional features make FastestVPN an easy service to recommend, particularly anyone looking for an easy-to-use VPN that adds some additional utility for experts, too.

File management may not be the most exciting subject surrounding smartphone ownership but if you use your device for productivity, my goodness, is it ever worth your while to chew over.Your phone, after all, is your on-the-go connection to the world. Its the always-available PC of our modern computing era. And whether your work involves presentations, PDFs, documents, or images, youre bound to find yourself fumbling around with files on your pocket-sized screen sooner or later.With the right tool for the job, though, managing files on your phone doesnt have to be a hassle. Androids got some outstanding file manager options, and best of all? You almost certainly only need one of em a single standout file manager to handle all of your file-wrangling requirements.Read on and see which path makes the most sense for you.The best all-around Android file manager for most business usersFiles by GoogleFirst and foremost, if your Android file needs are fairly simple and straightforward, Files by Google or Google Files, for short is the Android file manager you want.Google Files has come a long way since its inconspicuous 2017 debut. These days, Files is a fully featured file management tool, with all the basics youd expect and some compelling extras all packed into a nicely designed and easy-to-use interface thats compatible with any Android device (even if it typically comes preinstalled only on Pixels).At its core, Google Files makes it painless and almost even pleasant to browse through your phones local storage and find, share, or organize any files youve downloaded or transferred onto the device. The app lets you look through folders or sort items by type (documents, images, videos, and so on) and optionally move sensitive materials into an encrypted and password-protected Safe Folder.It has a spectacular search system, too, including the ability to search for text that appearswithinPDFs, images, and documents on your device. It even offers a convenient way to send any locally stored files directly to Google Drive with a couple quick taps though it doesnt, curiously enough, actually let youbrowseand interact with your Drive storage or connect at all to any non-Google cloud services. If that sort of more robust all-in-one control center for handling both localandremote storage is what youre after, the Android file manager in thenextsection will be more suitable for you.Files by Google lets you browse your phones local storage and perform a variety of actions on folders and files.JR Raphael / IDGGoogle Files can open and now also create compressed archives, too, and it even has a handy built-in option for scanning physical documents on demand and saving em as neatly cropped PDF files.Perhaps most helpful of all is Files integrated system for freeing up storage on your phone: Just tap the apps three-line menu icon, in the upper-right corner, and select Clean to see an ever-evolving set of intelligent suggestions for superfluous files you can safely delete. Files will also show you which apps you havent opened in a while and make it especially easy to uninstall em right then and there.All in all, Google Files is a well-rounded and intuitive file manager that handles all the file management tasks most business users will need on a phone. Its a significant upgrade from the default file managers that come preinstalled on most non-Pixel Android devices, and if you dont have any special requirements or advanced demands, its almost certainly the app for you.Google Files is free.The best advanced Android file managerSolid Explorer File ManagerFor anyone who needs a little more mobile file management oomph, Solid Explorer is the way to go.Solid Explorer has all the same file manipulation basics as Googles Files app but adds in advanced options like the ability to encrypt files and even create password-protected ZIP collections. Its also able to integrate with a wide variety of internet-based storage services including Google Drive, along with Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and your own private servers and then serve as a streamlined interface for managing all of your stuff and transferring data between different locations.Solid Explorer is overflowing with advanced options for manipulating files and working with cloud storage.JR Raphael / IDGSolid Explorer has a clever two-panel interface for fuss-free dragging and dropping between locations, too be they two local folders or a combination of local and cloud-based folders from any connected service. All you have to do is flip your phone sideways or open the app on a wide-screen tablet or foldable device for that setup to appear.Solid Explorers smart two-panel interface allows you to view two folders together and drag and drop files between them.JR Raphael / IDGFrom variable-based batch renaming to folder bookmarking and even support for casting content to a TV or other Google-Cast-compatible display, Solid Explorer is just jam-packed with useful stuff and yet it manages to remain reasonably simple and easy to use. (It also works exceptionally well on a Chromebook, and once youve bought it for your phone, you can install it onto any ChromeOS device without having to pay again.) The apps advanced elements wont be necessary for most people, but if your on-the-go work requires such next-level file management functions, Solid Explorer is the path to pursue.Solid Explorer costs $3 after a free 14-day trial.Beyond Android file managersImportant as they are, of course, Android file managers themselves are just one piece of the puzzle.Googles mobile operating system has some powerful native systems for beaming files between different devices, transferring files from your phone to a computer, and supplementing your phones local storage. With a few minutes of simple setup, you can even create special folders on your phone that automatically sync with matching folders in your favorite cloud storage service and vice-versa.Head over to my Android file management guide next to explore all the ins and outs of managing files on Android including the easiest ways to wirelessly transfer files on the fly.It may not be exciting, exactly, but youd better believe itll make a world of difference.This article was originally published in April 2018 and most recently updated in January 2025.

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Reviews weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.Lately, the vibes have been good for nuclear power. Public support is building, and public and private funding have made the technology more economical in key markets. Theres also a swell of interest from major companies looking to power their data centers.These shifts have been great for existing nuclear plants. Were seeing efforts to boost their power output, extend the lifetime of old reactors, and even reopen facilities that have shut down. Thats good news for climate action, because nuclear power plants produce consistent electricity with very low greenhouse-gas emissions.I covered all these trends in my latest story, which digs into whats next for nuclear power in 2025 and beyond. But as I spoke with experts, one central question kept coming up for me: Will all of this be enough to actually get new reactors built?To zoom in on some of these trends, lets take a look at the US, which has the largest fleet of nuclear reactors in the world (and the oldest, with an average age of over 42 years).In recent years weve seen a steady improvement in public support for nuclear power in the US. Today, around 56% of Americans support more nuclear power, up from 43% in 2020, according to a Pew Research poll.The economic landscape has also shifted in favor of the technology. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes tax credits specifically for operating nuclear plants, aimed at keeping them online. Qualifying plants can receive up to $15 per megawatt-hour, provided they meet certain labor requirements. (For context, in 2021, its last full year of operation, Palisades in Michigan generated over 7 million megawatt-hours.)Big Tech has also provided an economic boost for the industrytech giants like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon are all making deals to get in on nuclear.These developments have made existing (or recently closed) nuclear power plants a hot commodity. Plants that might have been candidates for decommissioning just a few years ago are now candidates for license extension. Plants that have already shut down are seeing a potential second chance at life.Theres also the potential to milk more power out of existing facilities through changes called uprates, which basically allow existing facilities to produce more energy by tweaking existing instruments and power generation systems. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved uprates totaling six gigawatts over the past two decades. Thats a small but certainly significant fraction of the roughly 97 gigawatts of nuclear on the grid today.Any reactors kept online, reopened, or ramped up spell good news for emissions. But expanding the nuclear fleet in the US will require not just making the most of existing assets, but building new reactors.Well probably also need new reactors just to maintain the current fleet, since so many reactors are scheduled to be retired in the next couple of decades. Will the enthusiasm for keeping old plants running also translate into building new ones?In much of the world (China being a notable exception), building new nuclear capacity has historically been expensive and slow. Its easy to point at Plant Vogtle in the US: The third and fourth reactors at that facility began construction in 2009. They were originally scheduled to start up in 2016 and 2017, at a cost of around $14 billion. They actually came online in 2023 and 2024, and the total cost of the project was north of $30 billion.Some advanced technology has promised to fix the problems in nuclear power. Small modular reactors could help cut cost and construction times, and next-generation reactors promise safety and efficiency improvements that could translate to cheaper, quicker construction. Realistically, though, getting these first-of-their-kind projects off the ground will still require a lot of money and a sustained commitment to making them happen. The next four years are make or break for advanced nuclear, says Jessica Lovering, cofounder at the Good Energy Collective, a policy research organization that advocates for the use of nuclear energy. There are a few factors that could help the progress weve seen recently in nuclear extend to new builds. For one, public support from the US Department of Energy includes not only tax credits but public loans and grants for demonstration projects, which can be a key stepping stone to commercial plants that generate electricity for the grid.Changes to the regulatory process could also help. The Advance Act, passed in 2024, aims at sprucing up the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the hopes of making the approval process more efficient (currently, it can take up to five years to complete).If you can see the NRC really start to modernize toward a more efficient, effective, and predictable regulator, it really helps the case for a lot of these commercial projects, because the NRC will no longer be seen as this barrier to innovation, says Patrick White, research director at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, a nonprofit think tank. We should start to see changes from that legislation this year, though what happens could depend on the Trump administration.The next few years are crucial for next-generation nuclear technology, and how the industry fares between now and the end of the decade could be very telling when it comes to how big a role this technology plays in our longer-term efforts to decarbonize energy.Now read the rest of The SparkRelated readingFor more on whats next for nuclear power, check out my latest story.One key trend Im following is efforts to reopen shuttered nuclear plants. Heres how to do it.Kairos Power is working to build molten-salt-cooled reactors, and we named the company to our list of 10 Climate Tech Companies to watch in 2024.Another thingDevastating wildfires have been ravaging Southern California. Heres a roundup of some key stories about the blazes. Strong winds have continued this week, bringing with them the threat of new fires. Heres a page with live updates on the latest. (Washington Post) Officials are scouring the spot where the deadly Palisades fire started to better understand how it was sparked. (New York Times) Climate change didnt directly start the fires, but global warming did contribute to how intensely they burned and how quickly they spread. (Axios)The LA fires show that controlled burns arent a cure-all when it comes to preventing wildfires. (Heatmap News) Seawater is a last resort when it comes to fighting fires, since its corrosive and can harm the environment when dumped on a blaze. (Wall Street Journal)Keeping up with climateUS emissions cuts stalled last year, despite strong growth in renewables. The cause: After staying flat or falling for two decades, electricity demand is rising. (New York Times)With Donald Trump set to take office in the US next week, many are looking to state governments as a potential seat of climate action. Heres what to look for in states including Texas, California, and Massachusetts. (Inside Climate News)The US could see as many as 80 new gas-fired power plants built by 2030. The surge comes as demand for power from data centers, including those powering AI, is ballooning. (Financial Times)Global sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids were up 25% in 2024 from the year before. China, the worlds largest EV market, is a major engine behind the growth. (Reuters)A massive plant to produce low-emissions steel could be in trouble. Steelmaker SSAB has pulled out of talks on federal funding for a plant in Mississippi. (Canary Media)Some solar panel companies have turned to door-to-door sales. Things arent always so sunny for those involved. (Wired)