Activision donates $1m to support fire relief in LA | News-in-briefDeveloper releases LA Fire Relief pack on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, 100% of proceeds will go directly to Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and Direct ReliefImage credit: Activision News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on Jan. 20, 2025 This is a News-in-brief article, our short format linking to an official source for more information. Read more about this story by following the link below:Activision donates $1m to support fire relief in LA

Genshin Impact developer Cognosphere will pay a $20 million fine and block loot box sales to children under the age of 16 (unless they receive parental consent) to settle a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).Cognosphere, which trades as HoYoverse in the United States, was accused by the FTC of violating a children's privacy law by deceiving young Genshin Impact players and others about the real cost of in-game transactions and the odds of obtaining rare prizes.A complaint filed against the company by the Department of Justice (upon referral from the FTC) claims the studio "actively marketed Genshin Impact to children and collected personal information from them in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)."It adds that HoYoverse didn't accurately disclose the odds of winning "five-star" loot box prizes or adequately explain much obtaining those items might cost. The company is also accused of obscuring that process by implementing a confusing in-game currency system.According to the complaint, some children spent "hundreds or even thousands of dollars" in pursuit of rare prizes."Genshin Impact deceived children, teens, and other players into spending hundreds of dollars on prizes they stood little chance of winning," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Companies that deploy these dark-pattern tactics will be held accountable if they deceive players, particularly kids and teens, about the true costs of in-game transactions."A proposed order detailing the settlement explains Cognosphere will be required to pay a $20 million penalty. It will also be:Prohibited from allowing children under 16 to purchase loot boxes in their video games without a parents affirmative express consent;Prohibited from selling loot boxes using virtual currency without providing an option for consumers to purchase them directly with real money;Prohibited from misrepresenting loot box odds, prices and features;Required to disclose loot box odds and exchange rates for multi-tiered virtual currency;Required to delete any personal information previously collected from children under 13 unless they obtain parental consent to retain such data; andRequired to comply with COPPA including its notice and consent requirements.The order must be approved by a federal judge before it can go into effect.

Hollow Knight fans have been through the wringer recently, with cryptic X/Twitter activity from one developer sparking rampant speculation that the hotly anticipated follow-up Hollow Knight: Silksong will finally re-emerge at Nintendos Switch 2 Direct in April and potentially even release on Nintendos next-gen console as a timed launch exclusive.It all started when supersleuths on the Hollow Knight subreddit noticed that on January 15, co-director of Team Cherry William Pellen had changed his Twitter/X profile picture to a picture of a chocolate cake. Alongside this, Pellen tweeted: something big is coming. keep your eyes closed tomorrow.At the time, Nintendos Switch 2 reveal was rumored for January 16, and so it proved that was the day Nintendo finally announced the Switch 2. Had Pellen really asked followers to keep an eye out for the Switch 2 reveal? If so, why?Fans then reverse-searched the picture of the cake, leading them to a recipe for Brooklyn Blackout Cake on cooking website Bon Apptit. The date the recipe was published: April 2, 2024. The date of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is April 2, 2025.Fans also wondered what Pellens new X/Twitter handle, @everydruidwaswr, meant, if anything. Redditor Representative-True speculated that the wr in everydruidwaswr was the start of a word, perhaps wrong, or perhaps stands for was wrong, and pointed to the Druid of the Moss Temple Silksong NPC as evidence of something.Pellen had a new X/Twitter name to go along with the new handle and profile picture: little bomey. Fans noticed Little Boomey is a wine from Southern Australia, where Team Cherry is based, but the spelling is different. The upshot of all this was that some fans thought Pellen had kicked off a Silksong alternate reality game (ARG), but over the weekend comments appeared to pour cold water on this theory.IGN's Twenty Questions - Guess the game!IGN's Twenty Questions - Guess the game!To start:...try asking a question that can be answered with a "Yes" or "No".000/250First, Hollow Knight YouTuber fireb0rn tweeted to say Team Cherry marketing and publishing chief Matthew 'Leth' Griffin had got in touch to confirm there was no Silksong ARG and that the changes to William's account and the tweet were a nothingburger. Apologies to have misled everyone. The cake was a lie."And in a post on the Hollow Knight Discord, Griffin backed this up, saying: "It wasnt [an ARG]. But it was still some impressive sleuthing skills by the fans... like yall are WAY beyond those 2020 riddles now."Griffin himself followed up to respond to one fan who wondered if Team Cherry had given up on Hollow Knight: Silksong. Yes the game is real, progressing and will release, Griffin tweeted.This has done little to calm all the speculation, as you can perhaps imagine. And at the time of this articles publication, Pellens tweet remains online. Pellen himself has yet to explain whatever his X/Twitter activity is all about, either.Its worth remembering that when Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced, Team Cherry confirmed the launch platforms as Windows, Mac, Linux, and Nintendo Switch. But that was six years ago. We have a few months to find out what this all means, but in the meantime, check out everything announced at Nintendo's Switch 2 reveal.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

How did a low-budget sci-fi show from the 1960s, one almost canceled after its second season, become one of the most important franchises of all time? Answers range from a rabid fan base that kept Star Trek alive after its second season to a network putting support behind a recognizable IP. But the truth is far more simple: Star Trek: The Original Series is really, really good.Like fellow 60s greats Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone, Star Trek used science fiction to comment on social changes and to wrestle with philosophical ideas. The show overcame its budget limitations to tell genuinely thrilling stories, and gathered an incredible cast, grounded by the endlessly charismatic William Shatner as James T. Kirk and the inscrutable Leonard Nimoy as Spock.Honestly, most of season one and two are good to great (also, theres a third season!) but these 20 episodes best demonstrate how Star Trek became the cultural force it is today.20. The Return of the Archons (Season 1, Episode 21)In this era of endless dystopian fiction, including the Purge series that drew inspiration from this episode, its hard not to roll your eyes at the premise of The Return of the Archons. Written by Boris Sobelman from a story by Gene Roddenberry (who usually revised/rewrote episodes) and directed by Joseph Pevney, The Return of the Archons sends the Enterprise to the seemingly utopian planet Beta III. Within the revery, however, lurks a dictator called Landru, who instates a period of lawlessness called The Red Hour.Despite its goofy premise, The Return of the Archons gets at a fundamental question about the lengths to which well go to participate in a society, even when theyre morally questionable lengths. The episode has an allegorical force that throws into question the very idea of utopia, which had already become a key aspect of Star Trek.19. A Piece of the Action (Season 2, Episode 17)To stretch budgets as much as possible, Star Trek would sometimes reuse sets from other shows, which didnt always fit the series sci-fi aesthetic. The series would explain the discrepancies by describing the planet as modeled on Earth culture, a hand wave that might annoy people if the episodes werent so much fun.Case in point, A Piece of the Action, written by David P. Harmon and Gene L. Coon and directed by James Komack. While searching for a long-lost ship, Kirk and Spock visit the planet Sigma Iotia II, which resembles 1930s Chicago. Before you can say You dirty rat, Kirk and Spock are in pinstripes and fedoras, matching wits with mob bosses. A Piece of the Action doesnt have the same high-minded ideals as many episodes on this list, but it does give Shatner and Nimoy the opportunity to show off their comedic chops.18. The Enterprise Incident (Season 3, Episode 2)Every Trekkie knows that TOSs third season pales in comparison to the first two. Still, there are a few gems in there, including the thrilling heist episode The Enterprise Incident, directed by John Meredyth Lucas and written by regular D.C. Fontana. In The Enterprise Incident, Kirk matches wits with the Romulan Star Empire on a secret Federation mission to steal a cloaking device (no Section 31 necessary).Its always fun to see Kirk play figurative three-dimensional chess with both his enemies and his crew. But the real pleasure of The Enterprise Incident comes from watching Spock deal with the clever Romulan Commander, played with menace and allure by Joanne Linville. The interactions further develop the connection between the Romulans and the Vulcans, while shining new light on Spocks internal conflict.17. The Galileo Seven (Season 1, Episode 16)We know were in for something special during the cold open to The Galileo Seven, written by Oliver Crawford and S. Bar-David and directed by Robert Gist, when a striking overhead shot shows the bridge from a new perspective. Even better is the introduction of the shuttlecraft that Spock and a small crew use to investigate a quasar, which will become a key part of Star Trek technology.External qualities aside, The Galileo Seven presents an excellent test of Spocks morals and of larger Federation ideals. Spocks logical approach to dealing with the giants his team encounters on an away mission results in the death of some crew people and conflicts with others. Add in some patented Scotty engineering, and we get a nuanced look at different skills and personalities working together.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!16. A Taste of Armageddon (Season 1, Episode 23)Sometimes, hanging a lampshade on an absurd premise can undercut a story. Sometimes, it enhances the storys moral force, which is certainly the case with A Taste of Armageddon. Written by Coon and Robert Hamner and directed by Pevney, A Taste of Armageddon takes place on Eminiar VII, a planet constantly in a state of civil war. Instead of conducting their battles with weapons, their citizens run computer simulations to determine the outcome of battles. Citizens of the losing side willingly enter disintegration chambers to pay the cost of their defeat.Well, they do until the Enterprise gets destroyed during a fight, and Kirk refuses to sacrifice his crew. Kirks utter incredulity at the practice, matched only by the kindness and sincerity with which leader Anan 7 (David Opatoshu) defends his peoples methods, preserves the episodes allegory. Thanks to these performances, our own real-world wars look no more reasonable than the computer games Kirk detests.15. The Enemy Within (Season 1, Episode 5)Yes, William Shatner overacts. If that bothers you, then abandon trying to watch TOS at all. But if Shatners dramatic approach works as well for you as it does most Trekkies, then The Enemy Within is a treat. Written by sci-fi legend Richard Matheson and directed by Leo Penn, The Enemy Within introduces one of Star Treks most reliable plot devices, a transporter malfunction. In this case, the malfunction creates two Kirks, one weak and passive, the other aggressive and decisive.Too often, commenters distinguish the two Kirks on moral grounds, calling the passive one good and the aggressive one bad. But while the latter does, you know, attack Yeoman Rand, the episode really presents them as different parts of what makes Kirk the man he is and therefore not subject to such simple binaries. By eschewing these moral binaries, The Enemy Within establishes Kirk as a far more complex character than those often found on 1960s television, and gives Shatner space to give a couple of big, beautiful performances.14. Errand of Mercy (Season 1, Episode 26)The Klingons evolved drastically over the years, beginning as arrogant and manipulative aliens, portrayed by white guys with bronzer and fake mustaches, to the warrior class with ridged foreheads that well meet later on. Those haughty original Klingons made their debut in Errand of Mercy, led by the delightfully arch Kor (John Colicos).However, discussions of Klingon evolution too often forget how good the aliens first appearance really is. Written by Coon and directed by John Newland, Errand of Mercy, pits Kirk and Kor against one another, as the Federation and the Klingons try to get residents of the planet Organia to align with their respective sides. What follows is one of TOSs better anti-war episodes, a call for peace and understanding that goes even further than the ideal vision of the Federation.13. The Tholian Web (Season 3, Episode 9)The Tholian Web begins with a classic sci-fi mystery, in which the Enterprise discovers the missing starship Defiant, filled with the bodies of crew people who apparently killed one another. Worse, the extreme anger came from the Defiant getting trapped in an interphrase between dimensions, a shift that occurs with Kirk still on the ship. Even worse, aliens called Tholians see the arrival of the Enterprise as an act of aggression, and seek to attack the ship while Spock and McCoy work to retrieve the Captain.By season three, the crew had fully developed its rapport with one another, and thats particularly true of the primary trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. That familiarity drives The Tholian Web, as Spock and McCoys established relationship gives weight to their search for Kirk, while each member of the crew plays their part to deal with the Tholians. In short, The Tholian Web finds the Enterprise at peak capability, with every member of its crew doing their jobs and doing them well.12. The Doomsday Machine (Season 2, Episode 6)For as much as Star Treks future gets described as utopian, its clear that Starfleet still has lots of problems. Case in point, The Doomsday Machine, written by Norman Spinrad and directed by Marc Daniels. Answering the call of the USS Constellation and rescuing the sole survivor Commodore Decker (William Windom), Kirk and crew learns of a gargantuan planet destroyera destroyer that soon threatens the Enterprise.Much of The Doomsday Machine deals with nuts and bolts sci-fi goodness, as Scotty and co. try to repair the Constellation while the Enterprise finds a way to escape. However, the drama comes from Deckers struggle with survivors guilt after the planet destroyer robbed him of purpose. Windom captures the mans despair and desperation, making for a memorable episode, one that leads to the excellent Next Generation novel Vendetta.11. Space Seed (Season 1, Episode 22)It would be understandable to describe Space Seed as a prequel to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, given the way that film looms large in the franchises history. But theres a reason that Nicholas Meyer chose Khan as the TOS villain to bring back for a movie. Its because Space Seed is a really, really good episode of Star Trek.In Space Seed, the Enterprise recovers the USS Botany Bay and releases from suspended animation one of the people inside, the one-time warlord Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbn). Immediately, Khan proves himself a threat, thanks to Montalbns incredibly charismatic take on a man who asserts his power in every situation, even charming the Enterprises historian (thats a job?) Lt.Marla McGivers (Madlyn Rhue). So compelling is Montalbns performance and the story by Carey Wilber and Coon that Khan would be a Star Trek great, even if Wrath of Khan never happened.10. Amok Time (Season 2, Episode 1)Like Space Seed, Amok Time often gets diminished to a one-sentence synopsis: the one where Spock gets horny. However, the mating drive known as pon farr is just one of the many aspects of Vulcaln lore that writer Theodore Sturgeon and director Joseph Pevney introduce in Amok Time.Driven mad by his need to mate, Spock returns to Vulcan to reunite with his betrothed TPring (Arlene Martel), only to discover that she has chosen another, which leads to ceremonial conflict. Although Amok Time leans hard into its pulpy depiction of the planet and its people, all involved play it straight, including Celia Lovsky as the matriarch TPau. Thanks to their dedication, Amok Time ends with Vulcan as a compelling place, giving the franchise a foundation for hundreds of interesting stories.9. Mirror, Mirror (Season 2, Episode 4)Like Tremaine and Harry Mudd, the Mirror Universe is a highly divisive TOS concept. Theres no in-between. You must either embrace the over-the-top nature of the tropes or you must skip the episodes altogether. Of the three concepts, the Mirror Universe wins out, thanks to the episode that introduced it, Mirror, Mirror by writer Jerome Bixby and director Marc Daniels.Much has been said about the central idea of Kirk, McCoy, and Uhura arriving in a universe filled with evil doppelgngers, including Spock with a goatee. Equally compelling, however, is the frame narrative around the Mirror Universe adventure, in which the Federation tries to broker a deal for Dilithium crystals from the Halkans. The Halkans refuse on the grounds that the Federation could use the crystals for war, a position supported by the Mirror Universe adventure, despite the episodes conclusion, making the organization more complex than often realized.8. The Corbomite Maneuver (Season 1, Episode 10)Like its contemporary Doctor Who, Star Trek understood its goofy looking aliens were part of the appeal, not a distraction. The Corbomite Maneuver from writer Jerry Sohl and directer Joseph Sargent features a humdinger of a weird alien in Balok, the figure who shows up on the Enterprise view screen as a representative of the First Federation. Of course, as well learn, that figure is just a puppet for the real Balok, a childlike entity portrayed by Clint Howard (voice dubbed by Walker Edmiston).In addition to the cool aliens, The Corbomite Manuever stands out for its demonstration of Kirk as a tactical master. As much as pop culture tends to remember Kirk as a brash womanizer (see Zap Brannigan from Futurama), the actual series depicts him as far more interested in matching wits than wooing ladies. Kirks cunning is on full display (as are Shatners pecs at the start of the episode, which does earn a Kif sigh) in The Corbomite Manuever.7. Arena (Season 1, Episode 18)If an intergalactic godlike being arrived and erased from existence all but one episode of Star Trek from existence, Arena might be the one to save. Obviously, Arena isnt the all-time best episode, but it does have most of Star Treks defining qualities. Weve got a cool rubber alien, weve got Kirk getting his shirt ripped up, and weve got, yes, a godlike being.However, as much as culture remembers Arena as the one where Kirk does the two-handed chop on the Gorn, the episode is more about peace and understanding than it is hand-to-hand combat. Writer Coon (working from a story by Fredric Brown) and director Pevney treat the face-off as a chance for the combatants to embrace their better instincts, to seek connection and communication, even in the face of an unknown danger.6. The Menagerie (Season 1, Episodes 11 and 12)As already discussed, Star Trek had a genius for reusing materials, but The Menagerie exceeds even the highest expectations. Instead of throwing out Where No Man Has Gone Before, the original pilot episode featuring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike and Nimoy as a smiling Spock, Roddenberry reused the footage to add depth to the Vulcans story for The Menagerie.In The Menagerie, Spock comes to the rescue to his former Captain Pike, his active mind now trapped in an immobile body after a heroic sacrifice. Spock wants to take Pike back to the forbidden planet of Talos IV, resulting in a Starfleet court martial. In between reused footage of The Cage, showing Pikes initial meeting with the Talosians, The Menagerie uses a trial format to show Kirk and Spock at their best, cementing the bond that will become a highlight of the franchise.5. The Trouble With Tribbles (Season 2, Episode 15)Not everyone loves it when Trek gets goofy. But even those who hate Bride of Chaotica! or The Elysian Kingdom have to at least chuckle at The Trouble With Tribbles, written by David Gerrold and directed by Pevney. The episode introduces the infamous rapidly reproducing furballs, which help uncover a secret Klingon plotbut not before annoying everyone first.As is always the case with silly Trek, The Trouble With Tribbles wouldnt work without an incredibly game cast. The famous shot of the creatures dropping on Kirk gets a laugh because of Shatners reaction, somehow overdoing it even when standing still. The mess hall fight that breaks out between Starfleets and Klingons works because of the delicious haughtiness by the latters Captain, Koloth (William Campbell). Even if not every Trekkie loves episodes like The Trouble With Tribbles, everyone on screen seems to be having fun.4. Journey to Babel (Season 2, Episode 10)The joy of Star Treks vision of the future isnt limited to seeing people of different races and genders working together on a starship. Its also the steadfast belief that even aliens can learn to co-exist. Although those qualities become more pronounced in TNG and beyond, they have their roots in TOS, especially Journey to Babel, written by Fontana and directed by Pevney. The Journey to Babel features a Federation conference on the planet Babel, where the delegates discuss the potential inclusion of a new member planet.As its title suggests, Journey to Babel is all about differences and communication. The episode introduces the Tellarites and Andorians, two of the more important Trek species, as well as Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt as Spocks parents Sarek and Amanda. Add in some quality McCoy grumpiness, and youve got everything great about Star Trek.3. The Devil in the Dark (Season 1, Episode 25)Of course, Star Trek puts an emphasis on logic and clear thinking. But to be a show about exploration and discovery, to be the sort of show that can feature an episode like Journey to Babel, it must fundamentally be about empathy and understanding. And few episodes demonstrate those qualities like The Devil in the Dark, the first episode to feature a Vulcan mind meld.The Devil in the Dark, written by Coon and directed by Pevney, has a fairly simple premise, in which the Enterprise investigates deaths at a mining facility. The investigations reveal a Horta, a hideous looking monster lurking in the caves. But instead of having Kirk and his men battle and defeat the Horta, The Devil in the Dark leads with empathy, having Spock mind meld with the Horta and discover its true purpose, that it merely reacts to the miners who attack it. The Devil in the Dark reminds viewers that understanding, and not conquest, is the true heart of discovery.2. Balance of Terror (Season 1, Episode 14)Before becoming franchise regular Sarek, Mark Lenard played a regal Romulan commander in Balance of Terror. Of course, one actor playing multiple characters will become a standard in Star Trek, even for people who arent Jeffrey Combs. But the connection here is even more powerful, given the big reveal of Balance of Terror, that the mysterious enemy Romulans look just like Vulcans.Written by Paul Schneider and directed by Vincent McEveety, Balance of Terror gives both viewers and Starfleet their first look at Romulans, as the Enterprise and a Romulan ship face off in the Neutral Zone. Against the pressures in their respective organizations, and within the racists on their ship, Kirk and the Romulan captain seek the most peaceful resolution, fully aware that a mistake could result in all-out war. Balance of Terror not only shows a refreshing angle on Kirks tactical genius, but also demonstrates that Treks commitment to empathy extends even to the enemy.1. The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1, Episode 28)While Kirk was never the womanizer that hes reputed to be, one lady did manage to distract him from his true love, the USS Enterprise. That woman was Edith Keeler, the compassionate and crusading social worker played by Joan Collins. But as Spock tells Kirk in The City on the Edge of Forever, to save the future, Edith Keeler must die.On one hand, The City on the Edge of Forever plays like a standard time travel story, in which Kirk and Spock go back to 1930s New York City in pursuit of McCoy, who goes through a portal after being driven mad in an accident. But the central challenge posed by writer Harlan Ellison (with significant rewrites by an uncredited Coon and Fontana, among others) and director Pevney gets at a key Trek concept: the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. As Trek will do time and again, The City on the Edge of Forever shows the human weight of that ethos, forcing Kirk to choose the future over his heart, leading to one of the most striking climaxes in television history.

Every item on this page was hand-picked by a House Beautiful editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.An expert mix of patterns is a hallmark of some of the best interiors. Playing with scale, texture, and color in often unexpected ways, the right combination of prints can result in a stunning space. These days, however, designers are foregoing the pattern play, and instead opting for a one-and-done approach. Pattern drenching, one of this year's biggest interior design trend, is making monochromatic waves in homes nationwide.I generally feel like if it's a pattern you LOVE, then go big or go home, says interior designer Wendy Labrum. Pattern-drenching can work with larger or smaller-scale prints depending on the scale of the space. I lean towards cleaner patterns without too many color varieties within the pattern which helps keep it from being overwhelming. Applying one print all over a roomon the walls, window treatments, and even upholsteryis the maximalist version of color drenching. Of course, an all-over check or botanical motif may at first seem overwhelming, but interior designer Heather Peterson says to trust your design gut. It's counter-intuitive, but the more you have of a pattern the less busy it will feel; that small, square sample that feels intense and scary will calm down when you apply it to all four walls. Related StoriesUnless you have the ability to create accurate mock-ups or 3D renderings, pattern drenching is difficult to visualize until you dive in. If youre eager to learn more about the trend or just need some guidance as to where to begin, read on for everything you need to know.What is Pattern Drenching?Pattern drenching is simply the decision to use one singular, often striking print on everything in a roomas wallpaper along the walls (and sometimes ceiling!), on the window treatment textiles, on furniture upholstery, and even bedding. Pattern drenching creates a monochromatic look, similar to color drenching, but with a print rather than a solid color.Chris EdwardsA girls bedroom designed by Liz Carroll.Is Pattern Drenching Trending?Yes! 2025 is seeing the rise in personality-driven interior design and more maximalist styles, and this includes pattern drenching. Of course, its not for everyone, no trend is, but pattern drenching is a low-effort way to make a major impact. Labrum agrees but says it works best when there is a level of emotional attachment. It's also important for the pattern to represent something the client loves, from color to motif, so they feel some connection to the textile, she says. It will add so much warmth and cohesiveness to a generally awkward and under-utilized space. Where to Use Pattern DrenchingAccording to Peterson, pattern drenching is best used in rooms with minimal architectural details. There are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking I would use pattern drenching in a room with simple architecture to give it a personality boost, or in a space with some odd architecture that you want to disguise, she says. A great example of this would be an attic space with odd ceiling angles and mismatched millwork.Aimee MazzengaA bedroom designed by Labrum. Pattern drenching works best in intimate spaces like bedrooms, bathrooms, and offices where there are minimal furniture pieces to consider. Larger rooms like living spaces or dining rooms can be difficult because of the amount of other decor you need to think about, like tables, sofas, artwork, and electronics. Spaces without a lot of natural light are a great place to utilize pattern drenching to bring life into the room, says Elizabeth Rees, founder of Chasing Paper. I also typically avoid rooms that have a lot of visual breaks, like the kitchen, since that can disrupt the natural flow of the pattern and wallpaper, making it less ideal for pattern drenching.Consider the rest of the furniture One common mistake Rees often sees when people attempt pattern drenching is forgetting to consider how the rest of the furniture and decor will interact with the wallpaper design. This trend is such a statement that the rest of the rooms furnishings needs to be carefully considered. Use harmonious colors, simple silhouettes, and subtle textures to help the print really shine. How to Pick the Right PatternIf you are using a single pattern to drench all or most elements in your room, scale will be an important factor, says Peterson. If the pattern has a medium to large scale, make sure that it will time out nicely on elements like Roman shades and smaller upholstered pieces, like a chair. If you are running a pattern onto a ceiling, I would advise sticking with a non-directional pattern so it never feels upside down.JOSH GRUBBSAn attic office by Heather Peterson. Consider medium-scale patterns with a tonal or subdued color palette for pattern drenching as this will prevent the space from being overwhelmed visually. If a print is too small, it can have a dizzying effect when used everywhere in the room, and on the other hand, larger prints run the risk of being too in your face and usually dont flow as well, explains Rees. In terms of color, prints with darker colors will make a bigger design impact in the space versus those with very light colors and lots of blank whitespace.If you're wary, try a two-color stripe or plaid, says Labrum. Limited color combinations keep it feeling cleaner and less overwhelming. Geometric prints work very well for pattern drenching, as do monochromatic or tonal botanicals. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.

Simply put, Tailscale provides secure VPN access to people who hate VPN tools. Ive said previously that their team looked at everything that was wrong, complex to configure, and challenging to use and said, What if we just made all of that better?. Today, the company is announcing a new integration with Jamf Pro for deploying Tailscale across macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices while leveraging Jamfs device compliance capabilities to dynamically inform user access and enforce Zero Trust principles.The best networking solutions are the ones you dont even notice because they just work. Thats what this partnership with Jamf is all aboutmaking secure networking invisible for IT teams and users alike. With this integration, IT admins get a straightforward way to deploy Tailscale, and end users can keep doing their work without ever worrying about complicated setups or weird VPN errors. Avery Pennarun, CEO and Co-Founder of Tailscale.This new Tailscale integration leverages Jamf Pros device compliance features to check for disk encryption, active firewalls, and up-to-date versions of Apples OS to enforce Tailscales Zero Trust networking principles. The end result creates a solution that combines simplicity with security, eliminating headaches for IT teams managing large fleets of Apple devices while needing secure remote access/VPN technology.Key features of the integration:Easily enable Zero Trust security: IT admins can use Jamf Pros compliance tools to make that only verified devices with active firewalls, disk encryption, and updated macOS/iOS can connect to the remote network.Automating setup and configuration: Tailscale can be deployed automatically via Jamf Pro, eliminating needing a manual setup and ensuring consistent security policies across the organization with zero-touchImproving access control: Dynamic policy enforcement ensures that only compliant devices can connect to sensitive IT systems, reducing your overall infosec risk.Wrap up on Jamf Pro and TailscaleAs Apples footprint in the enterprise continues to grow, so do the demands on IT teams to maintain secure access while keeping deployment processes simple and easy to manage. Simply put, most VPN solutions are terrible for IT and terrible for the end user. Tailscales new Jamf integration makes its solution even easier to deploy.The Tailscale and Jamf Pro integration is available on the Jamf Marketplace. For step-by-step instructions on deployment, take a look at Tailscales documentation or read the announcement blog post here.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Jan 20, 2025The Hacker NewsData Security / Data MonitoringEvery week seems to bring news of another data breach, and it's no surprise why: securing sensitive data has become harder than ever. And it's not just because companies are dealing with orders of magnitude more data. Data flows and user roles are constantly shifting, and data is stored across multiple technologies and cloud environments. Not to mention, compliance requirements are only getting stricter and more elaborate. The problem is that while the data landscape has evolved rapidly, the usual strategies for securing that data are stuck in the past. Gone are the days when data lived in predictable places, with access controlled by a chosen few. Today, practically every department in the business needs to use customer data, and AI adoption means huge datasets, and a constant flux of permissions, use cases, and tools. Security teams are struggling to implement effective strategies for securing sensitive data, and a new crop of tools, called data security platforms, have appeared on the scene in the past few years to address the gap.One of these players, Satori, claims their data security platform can "secure all data, from production to AI". We wanted to investigate this claim. But first, what does that even mean for security teams? Let's break it down into two parts: "secure all data" and "from production to AI." Secure all dataWhen Satori says it secures all data, it means that unlike other data security platforms, Satori focuses on securing every type of data within an organization, not just a specific subset. Legacy data security solutions, including DSPM (Data Security Posture Management) platforms, primarily focus on securing analytical data data that is typically used for business intelligence or reporting. However, Satori extends its security to cover operational data, semi-structured data, and other data types that other platforms may overlook. This comprehensive approach ensures that not only is your analytical data secure, but all forms of data, including semi-structured, are protected throughout their lifecycle.From Production to AI"From production to AI" refers to the security of data across the entire pipeline, from its creation and use in production environments to its application in AI models and processes. This is where many data security solutions fall short. Legacy platforms often focus primarily on securing data in analytical environments like data lakes, warehouses, and lakehouses. But they often neglect operational or production data, where risks can arise.For example, developers or engineers may need temporary access to production databases to address issues or perform maintenance. Without proper safeguards, giving them access can lead to over-privileged access, making them an internal threat. Satori's approach helps mitigate this risk by ensuring that access to sensitive production data is tightly controlled, even for temporary or emergency situations. Furthermore, legacy data security solutions neglect BI tools, leaving implementation of row-level security on these tools to security teams - not a simple task. Satori, on the other hand, supports fine-grained access control on BI tools, allowing security teams to manage access to them alongside data stores.So how does it work?You can't secure data if you don't know what data you have and where it's located. Satori combines the visibility capabilities offered by DSPMs, which are required by security teams to secure customer data. This makes it easy to answer the primary data security questions across databases, data warehouses, and data lakes:Where are my data assets (databases, warehouses, etc)?Satori continuously discovers and monitors data assets.Where is my sensitive data?Satori continuously classifies data and tags it with appropriate data type tags.Who has access to what data?Satori analyzes your data store configuration to give you data access governance and understand what users have access to what data.Who has access to what sensitive data?When combined with Satori's continuous data discovery and classification, you know who has access to a specific database or table and what types of sensitive data are used.Who is doing what, with what data?Satori gives you complete Data Activity Monitoring across all your data stores in a central location. You can easily enrich audit logs by creating customized access log reports for platforms like Splunk, Snowflake, DataDog, or Elastic. That way, you know exactly what users were doing with the data, who approved these activities, and what security policies were applied.In Satori, data stores are discovered automatically by scanning cloud accounts or added directly in the management console, via API or with Terraform. Connect all of your cloud accounts to Satori and receive notifications for all of the new data stores and data assets added to them.Once discovered, data stores are continuously monitored to produce a full inventory of the data assets they contain, classified to the column level with a broad set of out-of-the-box or customer-built classifiers. A mapping of the permissions structure is performed to clearly show which users have access to what data assets. Finally, any risky misconfiguration that may degrade their security posture is detected, with alerts produced for the relevant teams to remediate. Teams can use Satori's posture manager to get an overview of your organization's database user permissions over time:More than visibilityMost security teams go about tackling the data security challenge in a sequential process:Map out your dataIdentify who has access to what dataApply controls to reduce risk and meet compliance requirementsThe problem with this approach is that teams often get stuck in step 1, getting caught in a loop as new data stores and users are introduced. Satori overhauls this process by introducing automation at every step. Both the work of discovering and classifying data and the enforcement of security policies happen in real time, adjusting automatically as new data stores are added.Satori makes it easy to enforce the appropriate security controls at scale, using: RBAC (role-based access control) and ABAC (attribute-based access control)Satori allows organizations to apply RBAC and ABAC universally, even on platforms that do not have such native support.You can create masking profiles, which can then be used to create dynamic masking policies.Temporary data accessWhen users need access to data, they can get it automatically for a set amount of time. This relieves the organization of over-privileged data access, one of the main root causes of sensitive data exposure.Fine-grained access control across multiple data storesFor example, you can apply data masking to your Snowflake cloud data, as well as your MSSQL and Postgres databases.Enforcement of approval workflowsIn many cases, access to most datasets requires approval from data owners or data stewards. Satori makes it easy to implement such a process directly or by integrating with workflow tools like Jira, ServiceNow, or even Slack.Final wordsSatori doesn't just show you where your data is or who has access to it it helps you actively control it, from production databases to AI models. By automating key tasks like discovering sensitive data, managing permissions, and enforcing access controls, Satori makes protecting data simpler and more effective. For security teams, it's a way to move beyond just mapping data security risks and actually mitigate them.To learn more about Satori, visit Satori's website or schedule a 1:1 demo meeting.Found this article interesting? This article is a contributed piece from one of our valued partners. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Our missionAt Newsifier, were redefining the future of digital news publishing. As a rapidly growing SaaS company, were on a mission to empower news publishers globally with our AI-powered, all-in-one CMS. We help small and medium-sized News Publishers drive traffic and revenue growth while eliminating technical complexity.We are a bootstrapped, profit-making and founder-led company. Our small yet talented team of experts, mostly developers, has helped over 400 News Publishers since 2020.We are a team of ambitious but down-to-earth people who take pride in continuously improving our product and seeing our customers succeed. Fun fact: our churn rate is literally 0.Weve been growing organically and are gearing up to accelerate our growth, scaling up our marketing and sales efforts. And that's where you come in!Who we are looking forWe are looking for an entrepreneurial Account Executive to join us as Newsifier's one of the first 'quota carriers'. Youre ambitious and will succeed at whatever you put your mind to. You know you can sell and are hungry for an entrepreneurial and high-impact journey.You will be given the freedom to shape the growth of Newsifier while working closely with the Co-founder Gerard.What you can expect You'll join an already successful and profit-making SaaS company that operates in an untapped market with vast opportunities. You'll be the driving force for our global revenue growth, building and managing our sales pipeline and converting the list of 50.000 prospects into clients. You'll expand our partnerships with companies serving news publishers but are not direct competitors. Such as advertising agencies or specialized SEO tools for news publishers. Youll help to shape our sales processes as you build them together, experimenting with different messaging and strategies. We value initiative and are open to any creative strategy that will fuel our growth. Youll become the best person in the company at explaining and pitching Newsifier. Youll work more broadly across the business than any other normal sales role, stepping up to collaborate with marketing, events, community, and whatever needs to be done. You'll have a massive impact on revenue growth and shape our sales and partnership function as we scale.What you bring in Youre entrepreneurial and want to be part of building a business. Its a huge plus if you have set up your own projects or startups in the past. You are ambitious and get energized when hitting revenue targets. Youre happy to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes. You bring in experience in B2B SaaS sales and have a track record of overachieving targets. Huge plus if you have experience in Publishing, Ad-tech or similar industries. You have successfully set up multichannel outreach automation and sales processes. You have an innovative mindset and enjoy optimizing processes and leveraging the latest AI tools and technologies to scale quickly. You are a cold-calling wizard and can engage in meaningful conversations and handle objections on the spot. You are an outstanding communicator written and verbal and can collaborate with cross-functional teams. You are a fluent user of Hubspot, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, Loom and other similar tools.What we offer: Opportunity to be an in-house entrepreneur Full-time remote work and an opportunity to visit us in sunny Barcelona Your base salary will depend on your experience, let's have an open chat about it Generous and uncapped bonus - 15% of the new ARR is yours Bi-annual global get-togethers to have fun Upon successful collaboration and commitment to a long-term partnership, you'll be offered shares

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. The second wave of AI coding is here Ask people building generative AI what generative AI is good for right nowwhat theyre really fired up aboutand many will tell you: coding. Everyone from established AI giants to buzzy startups is promising to take coding assistants to the next level. Instead of providing developers with a kind of supercharged autocomplete, this next generation can prototype, test, and debug code for you. The upshot is that developers could essentially turn into managers, who may spend more time reviewing and correcting code written by a model than writing it from scratch themselves.But theres more. Many of the people building generative coding assistants think that they could be a fast track to artificial general intelligence, the hypothetical superhuman technology that a number of top firms claim to have in their sights.Read the full story.Will Douglas Heaven OpenAI has created an AI model for longevity science When you think of AIs contributions to science, you probably think of AlphaFold, the Google DeepMind protein-folding program that earned its creator a Nobel Prize last year. Now OpenAI says its getting into the science game toowith a model for engineering proteins. The company says it has developed a language model that dreams up proteins capable of turning regular cells into stem cellsand that it has handily beat humans at the task. The work represents OpenAIs first model focused on biological data and its first public claim that its models can deliver unexpected scientific results. But until outside scientists get their hands on it, we cant say just how impressive it really is. Read the full story. Antonio Regalado Cleaner jet fuel: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2025 New fuels made from used cooking oil, industrial waste, or even gases in the air could help power planes without fossil fuels. Depending on the source, they can reduce emissions by half or nearly eliminate them. And they can generally be used in existing planes, which could enable quick climate progress. These alternative jet fuels have been in development for years, but now theyre becoming a big business, with factories springing up to produce them and new government mandates requiring their use. So while only about 0.5% of the roughly 100 billion gallons of jet fuel consumed by planes last year was something other than fossil fuel, that could soon change. Read the full story.Casey Crownhart Cleaner jet fuel is one of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2025, MIT Technology Reviews annual list of tech to watch. Check out the rest of the list, and cast your vote for the honorary 11th breakthrough. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 TikTok is back online in the US The company thanked Donald Trump for vowing to fight the federal ban its facing. (The Verge)+ The app went dark for users in America for around 14 hours. (WP $)+ AI search startup Perplexity has suggested merging with TikTok. (CNBC)+ Heres how people actually make money on TikTok. (WSJ $)2 Trumps staff has an Elon Musk problem Aides are annoyed by his constant contributions to matters he has little knowledge of. (WSJ $)+ A power struggle between the two men is inevitable. (Slate $)+ The great and the good of crypto attended a VIP Trump party on Friday. (NY Mag $)3 AI is speeding up the Pentagons kill list Although the US military cant use the tech to directly kill humans, AI is making it faster and easier to plan how to do just that. (TechCrunch)+ OpenAIs new defense contract completes its military pivot. (MIT Technology Review)4 The majority of Americans havent had their latest covid booster Though they could help to protect youand others. (Undark)+ Its five years today since the US registered its first covid case. (USA Today)5 Europol is cracking down on encryption The agency plans to pressure Big Tech to give police access to encrypted messages. (FT $)6 This Swiss startup has created a powerful robotic wormBorobotics wants to deploy the bots to dig for geo-thermal heat in our gardens. (The Next Web) 7 Thousands of lithium batteries were destroyed in a massive fireThe worlds largest battery storage plant went up in flames in California. (New Scientist $) + Three takeaways about the current state of batteries. (MIT Technology Review)8 Amazons delivery drones struggle in the rain Bloomberg $) 9 A Ring doorbell captured a meteorite crashing to Earth Its the first known example of a meteorite fall documented by a doorbell cam. (CBS News)10 AI is coming for your wardrobe A wave of new apps will suggest what to wear and what to pair it with. (The Guardian)Quote of the day "TikTok was 100x better than anything you've created. An Instagram user snaps at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the wake of TikToks temporary US blackout over the weekend. The big story Running Tide is facing scientist departures and growing concerns over seaweed sinking for carbon removal June 2022 Running Tide, an aquaculture company based in Portland, Maine, hopes to set tens of thousands of tiny floating kelp farms adrift in the North Atlantic. The idea is that the fast-growing macroalgae will eventually sink to the ocean floor, storing away thousands of tons of carbon dioxide in the process. The company has raised millions in venture funding and gained widespread media attention. But it struggled to grow kelp along rope lines in the open ocean during initial attempts last year and has lost a string of scientists in recent months, sources with knowledge of the matter tell MIT Technology Review. What happens next? Read the full story. James Temple We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + Why not cheer up your Monday with the kings of merriment, The Smiths?+ This is fascinating: how fish detect color and why its so different to us humans.+ The people of Finland know a thing or two about happiness.+ Its time to get planning a spring getaway, and these destinations look just fabulous.

The New Hospitals Programme is unachievable in its current form, according to the governments top infrastructure advisor.The 20bn scheme, which was first announced under former prime minister Boris Johnson, has been given a red rating by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) in its latest review of the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).Source: Keir Starmer / FlickrThe prime minister Keir Starmer with health secretary Wes StreetingBased on data from last March, before Labour took office, the latest annual review covers 227 projects, of which 68 are infrastructure and construction schemes.This subset of projects has a whole life cost of 374bn. The vast majority of infrastructure and construction schemes (48) were ranked amber, with just 10 ranked green and seven ranked red, including the first phase of HS2 and the New Hospitals Programme.According to the IPA, a red rating means that successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable.It means that the project in question has major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which are not currently manageable or resolvable.The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed, it said.According to reports by the BBC, health secretary Wes Streeting will make an announcement on the New Hospitals Programme this week, in which he will set out a revised timetable for the scheme.As many as 40 hospital projects are meant to be delivered as part of the programme and the new Labour government has committed to delivering them, although Streeting said last September that it would likely be done over a longer time frame.HS2 is currently undergoing a whole programme reset as ministers attempt to get a grip on the scheme, which has been beset by cost and schedule overruns.> Also read:Governments top infrastructure advisor never been convinced by HS2 governance structureIn her foreword to the IPAs report, Georgia Gould, parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, confirmed that the government would publish its 10-year national infrastructure strategy in the spring.This will set out our approach to core economic infrastructure like transport and energy, and for the first time will profile our social infrastructure plans for the schools and hospitals which underpin a successful modern economy, she said.Gould also stressed that the construction industry needed to embrace new ways of doing things and seize the opportunities that come with a digital revolution.At a time of rising prices, particularly in construction, data analytics and AI are important tools to deliver value for money for the taxpayer, she said.I am pleased to see the progress made by the IPA in this space, allowing us to modernise and keep up with the fast moving technological landscape.The IPA is soon set to be merged with the National Infrastructure Commission, to create the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.