Anthropic CEO promises Claude upgrades including two-way voice mode.

'Circle to Search' on a Galaxy S25 Ultra can now identify a song you sing, hum, or play.

Elevate visual realism through synchronized human movements and animated propsFor much of 3D animation history, artists faced the painstaking challenge of syncing character movements with the props they interacted with. This meticulous process demanded countless hourssometimes daysof trial and error to achieve seamless results. Enter Reallusion Motion+, a game-changer that redefines this legacy workflow. By automatically pairing character motions with prop deployment, Motion+ introduces the fundamental technology behind character-prop animation synchronization that actually works.Building on this innovation, the acclaimed Motion Capture Orlando (MCO) debuted the Skateboard Flatground Skate Tricks motion pack, earning widespread praise. Now, MCO raises the bar once more with BMX, a 3D mocap animation package that flawlessly combines rider and bike movements. The result? Smooth, cohesive animations that bring dynamic action to life like never before.Catch the behind-the-scenes video on MCOs incredible process:Capturing the Adrenaline of BMXBMX began as an ambitious vision to digitize the dynamic trick motions of bicycle motocross. To bring this idea to life, MCO collaborated with Rob Nollis BMX Trickstars, a premier traveling stunt show founded by the X-Games medalist himself. This partnership evolved into multiple proof-of-concept phases, capturing real-life BMX riders performing tricks across a range of difficulty levels.To tackle the challenge of recording the bikes complex movementssuch as those of the frame, wheels, handlebars, cranks, and pedalsMCOs technical lead, Kaszmere, had to get creative. This led to her placing mocap markers on strategic parts of the bike, and reverse-engineering a custom motion capture rig to synchronize fluid motion of the bike with its rider.Digitizing BMX ManeuversTo bring a wide range of BMX tricks to lifeincluding high-flying jumps and technical flatland maneuversMCO staged the motion capture on a large platform equipped with a competition-grade ramp. The entire TrickStars team joined the shoot, ensuring authentic performances for every trick. The result is a meticulously crafted collection of stunt animations, seamlessly pairing virtual riders and bikes, along with perfectly synchronization of the riders and their bikes.iClones X FactorCapturing over 50 paired mocap shots of both the bike and the performer posed a significant data-cleaning and processing challenge for MCO. To overcome this, they turned to iClone, leveraging its powerful tools such as reach constraints and dummy objects for target endpoints. By placing virtual dummy objects on key contact points like the handlebars and pedals, the riders hands and feet could automatically align with those positions. This allowed MCO animators to fine-tune the motions with precision, ensuring the characters movements seamlessly matched the placement and orientation of the bike. This setup was also instrumental in preventing over-extended or disjointed limb positioning.When we first started working with Reallusion, I thought it would be a good idea to learn to edit all our mocap data in iClone, and Im really glad I did because it is simple to learn and the tools are surprisingly powerful, so powerful that I have yet to use MotionBuilder or Maya in any of our mocap packs. Jeff Scheetz, Motion Capture OrlandoCreating Steerable Bike AnimationsAnother standout feature of iClone is its ability to quickly generate large crowds. Using Motion Director, users can steer characters through an environment with a game controller, or create AI-driven animations along predefined pathways.To make the bike steerable, MCO captured all the bike animations for different turning angles, acceleration, deceleration, and stops. A well-planned dance card was laid out for the performer to use as a moving reference.With more motion sequences recorded to train the system, Motion+ has enhanced Motion Director, enabling users to dynamically guide bikes, skateboards, and even wheelchairs within scenes. This exciting new feature will be available soon for all iClone users.One-of-a-Kind Motion PackFeaturing 44 expertly crafted movements that range from basic riding to flatland and vert tricks, BMX is a must-have addition to any mocap collection. Its seamless motion transitions make fluid animation sequences possible, from mounting the bike and riding forward to performing stunts and dismounting. This pack also includes matching BMX bikes with adjustable height, six material variations, and a 1:1 ramp model for breathtaking high-flying jumps.Visit ActorCore 3D motion store today to experience the power of BMX, and see the full behind-the-scenes here!Brought to you by Reallusion:This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If youd like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here.The post How BMX Pushes the Boundaries of Motion Capture appeared first on befores & afters.

At some point between his November election win and Mondays inauguration, Donald Trump appears to have drawn inspiration from an unlikely source: Hawk Tuah Girl Haliey Welch.Following in the footsteps of the Talk Tuah podcasterwho launched an overinflated meme coin in December that promptly lost 99% of its valueTrump kicked off his inauguration weekend last Friday by launching a meme coin of his own: $TRUMP. Although it has so far maintained more of its peak value than $HAWK and other predecessors did during their brief market cycles, $TRUMP has proven similarly volatile.Unlike the others, it also opens up an ethical can of worms about whether a world leader with decision-making power over the crypto market should own a tradable asset within that market.Trumps move has been met with a deluge of skepticism and outrage, with perhaps a bit more of it than usual coming from the MAGA side. One reaction nobody can reasonably claim, however, is surprise. Trumps meme coin is in keeping not only with how he campaigned last year but also how he has long conducted himself as a politician and businessman.It was only in 2021 that Trump said Bitcoin seemed like a scam, but he apparently had a change of heart closer to the election. He made hundreds of thousands in 2022 from selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which similarly rely on blockchain technology, and his financial disclosure form for last years election revealed somewhere between $1 million and $5 million invested in a virtual Ethereum key. The real turn in his relationship with cryptocurrency came last May, though, when his campaign announced it would accept donations in cryptocurrency as part of a broader effort to assemble a crypto army leading up to Election Day. (Its time for the crypto army to send a message to Washington, Tyler Winklevoss later wrote on X in his endorsement of Trump.)Perhaps the same advisers who steered Trump toward podcasts instead of traditional media as a venue for campaign interviews suggested he would find friendly ground in the crypto space if he pledged support for its growth. Maybe he arrived at that conclusion on his own. Either way, he cemented his status as the Crypto Candidate last July by giving a keynote speech at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashvillethe industrys largest gathering. By that point, hed already collected $4 million in Bitcoin donations for his campaign.During a nearly 50-minute speech at the conference, Trump pledged to create a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile, and make the U.S. the crypto capital of the planet. He also took pains to contrast his crypto support with the Biden administrations heavy regulation of the industry, promising to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. (Following the November election, Gensler announced he would be stepping down from the role.)Now, after successfully courting the crypto community throughout the election, Trump appears to be reaping the benefits.He announced the Trump coin online last Friday during the Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., hosted by his newly appointed crypto czar, the billionaire and podcaster David Sacks. My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! the president wrote on X. Its time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com Have Fun! The fun began at the low, low price of nearly $6.50 and rose to a high of $74.59 on Sunday. A day later, its value had plummeted to around $40, where it remains at the time of this writing. The coins market cap, according to CoinMarketCap, is currently $8.6 billion.Trump wasnt the only member of the first family to launch a meme coin over the weekend, though. First Lady Melania Trump announced hers on Sunday, and its trajectory has been similarly volatile. (The pastor who delivered the benediction after Trumps swearing-in ceremony on Monday has also reportedly launched a meme coin, though it hasnt exactly reached the same heights.)On brand as alwaysLest anyone suggest the meme coin was a last-second effort to capitalize on his electoral victory as a private citizen before taking office, Trump has continued to promote it as recently as his second night back in the White House.Based on the value Trumps coin accrued, some supporters must have been excited about itbeyond the opportunity for speculative investment. Others on the right have voiced concerns. Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who endorsed Trump, posed the following question on X: Whats the difference between the Hawk Tuah coin and the Trump coin besides nothing? Meanwhile, Michael A. Gayed, a market analyst with a popular Substack, wrote on X that the meme coin made me lose a lot of respect for our coming president. And in an interview with The Atlantic, prominent crypto investor Nic Carter complained that Trumps meme coin exposed the worst parts of the crypto industry to the public eye in a way that really didnt need to happen, right when we were on the cusp of legitimacy.While their grievances are merited, Trumps supporters in this space would be nave to expect Trump would advocate for only the most above-board aspects of crypto, whatever those may be. It would also be ahistorical to expect hed restrict that support to mere advocacy.Trump is notorious for leveraging his brand to enrich himself in ways that could charitably be called questionable, from both a moral and legal standpoint. Immediately after winning the presidency in 2016, he paid $25 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging deceptive practices within his Trump University. Earlier, during his run on The Apprentice, he made millions endorsing multilevel marketing outfit ACN, and featuring it on the show. (A show, it should be noted, about making savvy business moves.) Trump and his children would later be sued for fraud over their involvement. Though the ACN fraud case was dismissed just last year, a judge threw it out on jurisdictional grounds, rather than the substance of the allegations. Trumps interest in MLMs didnt end with ACN, either; he also lent his name to one called Ideal Health in the aughts, turning it into the Trump Network.During his first term, in 2019, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages for funneling millions raised from charitable donations into his 2016 presidential campaign. Because Trump had demonstrably abuse[d] charities for personal gain, New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered The Trump Foundation to cease operations. Years later, while running for office again, Trump used campaign donations to cover his vast legal expenses.What reason would anyone have to expect Trump to usher in a new era of deregulated freedom for crypto, and not explore it himself?To answer Portnoys earlier question, one difference between the Hawk Tuah coin and Trumps is that Haliey Welch built her brand from spark-plug folksiness and relatability, which may be why some fans felt betrayed that she would lend her celebrity to a scammy-sounding tech play.Trump, however, has spent much of his career exploiting loopholes to amass wealth and power, and boasting about it. A scammy-sounding tech play isnt betraying his brandit is his brand.The other difference between the two is that Welch is currently in hot water with the SEC over her meme coin, while Trump gets to decide who runs the SEC.

The days of paying 20 bucks for a beer and hot dog at sports stadiums may be heading into their final inning.The Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday released a value menu of cheaper stadium food and drink prices, joining a growing list of team owners who have created lower-priced options for once-overpriced concessions.The Birdland Value Menu offers 12 stadium favorites at a low price11 of which are $5 dollars and under. At stands where such value prices are offered, a hot dog costs $4 and a beer, $5. Pretzel bites, popcorn, nachos and other concessions are also now discounted to under $5. Elsewhere in the Orioless stadium, beer cost $11 and hot dogs cost anywhere from $4.10 to $8.25, depending on the stand.The average price for a hot dog in all Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums is $6, and the average price for a beer is $7. And at football games, the average price for this combo is $15, with some stadiums charging as high as $20.Fan aversion to these high prices has caused a rethink of conventional pricing schemes, with value menus trickling into stadiums across all professional sports, while MLB has moved to capitalize on what appears to be a winning strategy.The Atlanta Falcons introduced value pricing in 2017, slashing hot dog prices from $8 to $2. The teams in-stadium transactions rose 30% in the following five years. The new Utah Hockey Club currently offers four different $3 concessions.And in December, the Phoenix Suns announced their own $2 value menu, which included hot dogs, water, fountain soda, a bag of chips, and popcorn.A family of four used to spend $98 on hot dogs/water/popcorn. Now they can enjoy that same meal for $24, Suns owner Mat Ishbia wrote in an X post following the announcement.The Orioless Birdland prices are less cheap than some of their MLB counterparts. The Toronto Blue Jays has offered a cheap Dugout Deals menu for the past five seasons, where a hot dog costs CA$3.49; the Seattle Mariners released a similar value menu in 2022, where most items cost $3.The pricing moves within the sports industry are part of a larger trend. Fast-food restaurants, for instance, have introduced value deals to entice price-conscious consumers back into restaurants as foot traffic has declined.Baseball in declineThe change in menu pricing may be especially needed for baseball teams. For the better half of the last decade, Americas Pastime has lost viewers and attendees. Through the 1970s and into the 1990s, the World Series consistently received more than 30 million viewers. In 2024, there were just 14 millionand that was the highest its been since 2017.The league made rule changes in 2023 to make the game more entertainingsuch as introducing the pitch clock and increasing base sizeand viewership grew again. But the MLB has still frequently been criticized for pricing out fans.In 2024, the average price for a family of four to attend a baseball game was $140and thats only counting ticket prices, not concessions. The prices can also be much higher when a team is doing well. Some reports said World Series single ticket prices averaged almost $4,000.Getting more fans to the stadium means getting more fans to turn on the television. Excellent stadium experiences can lead to increased team loyalties, turning casual viewers into fanatics.Major League Baseball has existed for more than a century. Its survival over the next century may depend on creating the next generation of fanatics who can afford to show up to stadiums and cheer loudly.

Drop your phone, and panic is usually the first reaction. After all, watching an expensive smartphone hurtle towards the ground can be gut-wrenching. Seeing a cracked screen, shattered backplate, or dent on the frame is a horrible feeling, even more so when your phone costs a whopping $1,299. Meet the ArmorPro, the perfect bulletproof vest for your expensive Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a flagship-worthy case made from one of the strongest materials known for its ability to legitimately repel bullets.Kevlar isnt typically something youd associate with phone casesits more at home in aerospace tech and protective gear. Yet, here it is, wrapping the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in a sleek, minimalist design. The ArmorPro case takes this powerhouse material and makes it accessible for your daily battles against gravity, scratches, and the occasional coffee spill. Benks, the maker behind the case claims the case can shield the phone from 6-foot drops with absolute confidence. That feeling of panic as the phone falls? A thing of yesterdayDesigner: BenksClick Here to Buy Now: $31.99 $39.99 (20% off, use coupon code YANKO20). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hour!The ArmorPro brings subtle, sophisticated security to the new S25 Ultra. The 600D Kevlar (from Dupont) build means your phone gets supreme impact resistance, keeping it looking (and functioning) as good as new even after years of use. The case feels steady in hand, with a grip thats secure without being sticky. The Kevlars woven pattern strikes a balance between industrial strength and understated elegance, making it as pleasant to look at as it is to use.With most flagship phones, the camera is usually its crown jewel, and a case that doesnt protect the camera isnt a case worth having. To that end, the ArmorPro comes with a metallic lip that encircles the camera layout, making sure that it hits the floor instead of the glass covering your camera. Scratches and smudges? The design keeps those pricey lenses away from rough surfaces like tabletops. Sure, it might cause your phone to wobble a tiny bit when kept on a flat surface, but thats more of a Samsung problem for having all their cameras in one isolated corner.The ArmorPro design includes a TPU frame intended to manage everyday drops. The brand notes a drop resistance of around six feet, which might help users breathe easier when navigating crowded subways or busy sidewalks. Reinforced edges aim to disperse shock away from sensitive areas, reducing the chance of cracks creeping across screens or scuffing the lens housing, providing durability to corners.Peer inside and youll also see that the case comes with a built-in MagSafe-compatible ring for snapping on chargers, wallets, or other accessories. The magnets here dont play around8N of magnetic strength makes sure your phone and accessory align with precision. No awkward adjustments, no sliding off. Its also perfect considering the rollout of the Qi2 standard, which brings magnetic charging to all new phones so that it isnt gatekept by Apple.Benks backs this case with a one-year warranty and a 30-day return policy, which says theyre confident itll do what theyve designed it to. After all, you dont want your expensive smartphone to be betrayed by a case that doesnt do the job. You want something that holds up under real-world conditions, not just in marketing copy with a tiny Conditions Apply hidden away in some corner.Click Here to Buy Now: $31.99 $39.99 (20% off, use coupon code YANKO20). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hour!The post Dont Buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Without this $39 Kevlar Case with Built-in MagSafe first appeared on Yanko Design.

New Samsung Galaxy S25 devices are up for preorder, as Samsung unveils discounts to compete with iPhone 16 incentives.Samsung S25 preorder deals are live - Image credit: SamsungAnnounced on Jan. 22, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series includes the S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra all of which are eligible for preorder deals.Get the S25 deals Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Microsoft recently revealed the next wave of games that will be added to Game Pass in the coming days. With the likes of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Sniper Elite: Resistance, Eternal Strands, Far Cry New Dawn,and more included in that lineup, theres plenty for subscribers to look forward to. However, it seems that wont be the extent of it.As per Insider Gaming,February will also see Microsoft continuing its rollout of Activision Blizzard titles for the Game Pass catalog. Allegedly joining the services library next month are acclaimed platformer Crash Bandicoot 4: Its About Timeand Blizzard Entertainments MOBAHeroes of the Storm.The two will also be joined byMadden NFL 25,which will be available to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers via EA Play, its claimed.Presumably, Microsoft will be officially announced this in the final days of January. February will also see the Game Pass launch of Obsidian Entertainments fantasy action RPGAvowed.

Marvels Spider-ManandRatchet and Clankdeveloper Insomniac Games is seeing some notable changes with its leadership. Ted Price, who founded the studio in 1994 and has served as its CEO for more than 30 years, has announced that he will be retiring and leaving the games industry at the end of March.Despite a challenging 2024, Insomniacs stayed fully focused on building games for our fans, Prices announcement reads. As a result of the teams persistence and collaboration, were in one of the strongest positions weve experienced in years, with each game in development looking beautiful and playing fantastic.Therefore, last week, I felt comfortable announcing to the Insomniac team that after having been incredibly fortunate to enjoy such a fulfilling career in games, Ill be retiring from the industry at the end of March. Today, Im sharing this news more broadly.I actually made this decision last year. For me, after over 30 years of leading Insomniac, I felt it was simply time to step aside and let others pave the way for our team.During the past year, I had the opportunity to work with the senior leadership team at Insomniac to create a succession plan that I know will provide the continuity, stability and strong leadership necessary to deliver more of what our fans cherish over the next several decades.Price is being replaced by three new co-leads who will now lead Insomniac Games. Namely, theyre Chad Dezern (formerly the Head of Creative), Ryan Schneider (formerly the Head of Brand and Leadership Strategy), and Jen Huang (formerly the CFO).In a lengthy message published on the official PlayStation Blog, the studios incoming trifecta of new co-heads has spoken about the outgoing CEOs work and legacy. The three also say Insomniac will continue to work on the kind of titles that the studio has come to be known for.Our shared intention is to preserve what has made Insomniac special for 30-plus years while exploring how we can strategically evolve to succeed for decades to come, they said. Well continue prioritizing our studio culture, built around transparency and collaboration. We strive for a workplace where employees can do the best work of their careers.What does all this mean for our players and fans? Were going to keep making the games you love, while taking care of the people who make them. This aligns with our studio vision of making a positive and lasting impact on peoples lives.Insomniac Games is currently working onMarvels Wolverine.Announced in 2021, the game reportedly saw a recent change in creative leadership. Reports have alleged it will launch sometime in 2026.Meanwhile,Marvels Spider-Man 2,currently available for PS5, launches for PC on January 30.

Unreal Engine, which has been known in its various incarnations as the premiere perhaps even de facto game engine for over a decade, is already quite familiar to major game developers, especially those with AAA experience. It might be harder to explain to the world of animated TV shows, though perhaps not for long. The engine is being used in tRead More