• NFL tells New England Patriots that team cant have Bluesky account
    www.fastcompany.com
    The NFL directed the New England Patriots to delete the teams Bluesky account, Fred Kirsch, the teams VP of content, said on a January 16 episode of the Patriots Unfiltered podcast.While the team briefly had a Bluesky account, Kirsch said it was taken down because its not an approved social media platform for the NFL yet.Bluesky was founded as a research initiative by Jack Dorsey in 2019 but really emerged as an alternative to Elon Musks X and shot up in popularity after Novembers presidential election. It crossed 25 million users last month, as more and more people seemed to become dismayed with Musks shift to the political right.Still, several sports leagues rely on X for accessing large fan bases, including the NFL, which has an ongoing content partnership with the platform that dates back to 2013. An NFL spokesperson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.
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  • Therabody Promo Codes and Deals: 10% Off
    www.wired.com
    Save on the science-backed devices youve been eyeing, with a 10% off Therabody discount code and deals up to 30% off.
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  • Cozy up on the couch this winter with this movie and gaming projector
    www.macworld.com
    MacworldGoing out to a bar or restaurant probably isnt your idea of fun in the winterespecially if it feels like its -10 degrees out.Instead of braving the cold just for some entertainment, add thisgaming and streaming console to the mix.Think of it as your favorite arcade and movie theater had a baby. Thats what this gadget is! Spend your weekend gaming with its thousands of games and wireless controllers. Its now over 30% off, and you can even use it to stream your favorite flicks in 4K.Imagine never having to step outside your cozy living room to find some fun. Youll have access to this projectors36,000+ games that are already built-in. Use the included two wireless controllers and invite a few friends overto duke it out.Feeling more like a movie night? Add your favorite streaming apps right on your projector with Android OS. You can project movies or shows in 1080p and in screen sizes up to 100 inches, giving you the movie theater experience at home.Add thisgaming and streaming projector to your home for cozy, hassle-free entertainment, now just $99.99 while supplies last.2-in-1 Ultimate 1080p HD Gaming Projector with Android 11, 2 Controllers & 36,000+ GamesOnly $99.99 at MacworldStackSocial prices subject to change.
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  • Introducing GS-LoRA++: A Novel Approach to Machine Unlearning for Vision Tasks
    www.marktechpost.com
    Pre-trained vision models have been foundational to modern-day computer vision advances across various domains, such as image classification, object detection, and image segmentation. There is a rather massive amount of data inflow, creating dynamic data environments that require a continual learning process for our models. New regulations for data privacy require specific information to be deleted. However, these pre-trained models face the issue of catastrophic forgetting when exposed to new data or tasks over time. When prompted to delete certain information, the model can forget valuable data or parameters. In order to tackle these problems, researchers from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have developed Practical Continual Forgetting (PCF), which allows the models to forget task-specific features while retaining their performance.Current methods for mitigating catastrophic forgetting involve regularisation techniques, replay buffers, and architectural expansion. These techniques work well but do not allow selective forgetting; instead, they increase the architectures complexity, which causes inefficiencies when adopting new parameters. An optimum balance between trade-off plasticity and stability must exist so as not to excessively retain irrelevant information and be unable to adapt to new environments. However, this proves to be a significant struggle, prompting the need for a new method that enables flexible forgetting mechanisms and provides efficient adaptation.The proposed approach, Practical Continual Forgetting (PCF), has taken a reasonable strategy to deal with catastrophic forgetting and encourage selective forgetting. This framework has been developed to reinforce the strengths of pre-trained vision models. The methodology of PCF involves:Adaptive Forgetting Modules: These modules keep analysing the features the model has previously learned and discard them when they become redundant. Task-specific features that are no longer relevant are removed, but their broader understanding is retained to ensure no generalisation issue arises.Task-Specific Regularization: PCF introduces constraints while training to ensure that the previously learned parameters are not drastically affected. Adapting to new tasks it ensures maximum performance while retaining previously learned information.To test the performance of the PCF framework, experiments were conducted across various tasks, such as recognising faces, detecting objects, and classifying images under different scenarios, including missing data, and continual forgetting. The framework performed strongly in all these cases and outperformed the baseline models. Fewer parameters were used, making them more efficient. The methods showed robustness and practicality, handling rare or missing data better than other techniques.The paper introduces the Practical Continual Forgetting (PCF) framework, which effectively addresses the problem of continual forgetting in pre-trained vision models by offering a scalable and adaptive solution for selective forgetting. It has the advantages of being analytically precise and adaptable, showing strong potential in applications sensitive to privacy and quite dynamic, as confirmed by strong performance metrics on various architectures. Nevertheless, it would be good to validate the approach further with real-world datasets and in even more complex scenarios to evaluate its robustness fully. Overall, the PCF framework sets a new benchmark for knowledge retention, adaptation, and forgetting in vision models, which has important implications for privacy compliance and task-specific adaptability.Check out the Paper and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our65k+ ML SubReddit. Afeerah Naseem+ postsAfeerah Naseem is a consulting intern at Marktechpost. She is pursuing her B.tech from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kharagpur. She is passionate about Data Science and fascinated by the role of artificial intelligence in solving real-world problems. She loves discovering new technologies and exploring how they can make everyday tasks easier and more efficient. Meet 'Height':The only autonomous project management tool (Sponsored)
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  • Cisco Fixes Critical Privilege Escalation Flaw in Meeting Management (CVSS 9.9)
    thehackernews.com
    Jan 23, 2025Ravie LakshmananNetwork Security / VulnerabilityCisco has released software updates to address a critical security flaw impacting Meeting Management that could permit a remote, authenticated attacker to gain administrator privileges on susceptible instances.The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-20156, carries a CVSS score of 9.9 out 10.0. It has been described as a privilege escalation flaw in the REST API of Cisco Meeting Management."This vulnerability exists because proper authorization is not enforced upon REST API users," the company said in a Wednesday advisory. "An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending API requests to a specific endpoint.""A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain administrator-level control over edge nodes that are managed by Cisco Meeting Management."The networking equipment major credited Ben Leonard-Lagarde of Modux for reporting the security shortcoming. It affects the following versions of the product irrespective of device configuration -Cisco Meeting Management release version 3.9 (Patched in 3.9.1)Cisco Meeting Management release versions 3.8 and earlier (Migrate to a fixed release_Cisco Meeting Management release version 3.10 (Not vulnerable)Cisco has also released patches to remediate a denial-of-service (DoS) flaw affecting BroadWorks that stems from improper memory handling for certain Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) requests (CVE-2025-20165, CVSS score: 7.5). The issue has been fixed in version RI.2024.11."An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a high number of SIP requests to an affected system," it said. "A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust the memory that was allocated to the Cisco BroadWorks Network Servers that handle SIP traffic. If no memory is available, the Network Servers can no longer process incoming requests, resulting in a DoS condition that requires manual intervention to recover."A third vulnerability patched by Cisco is CVE-2025-20128 (CVSS score: 5.3), an integer underflow bug impacting the Object Linking and Embedding 2 (OLE2) decryption routine of ClamAV that could also result in a DoS condition.The company, which acknowledged Google OSS-Fuzz for reporting the flaw, said it's aware of the existence of a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code, although there is no evidence it has been maliciously exploited in the wild.CISA and FBI Detail Ivanti Exploit ChainsNews of Cisco flaws comes as the U.S. government's cybersecurity and law enforcement agencies released technical details of two exploit chains weaponized by nation-state hacking crews to break into Ivanti's cloud service applications in September 2024.The vulnerabilities in question are as follows -CVE-2024-8963, an administrative bypass vulnerabilityCVE-2024-9379, a SQL injection vulnerabilityCVE-2024-8190 and CVE-2024-9380, two remote code execution vulnerabilitiesThe attack sequences, per the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), involved the abuse of CVE-2024-8963 in conjunction with CVE-2024-8190 and CVE-2024-9380 in one case, and CVE-2024-8963 and CVE-2024-9379 in the other.It's worth noting that the first exploit chain was disclosed by Fortinet FortiGuard Labs in October 2024. In at least one instance, the threat actors are believed to have conducted lateral movement after gaining an initial foothold.The second exploit chain has been found to leverage CVE-2024-8963 in combination with CVE-2024-9379 to obtain access to the target network, followed by unsuccessful attempts to implant web shells for persistence."Threat actors chained the listed vulnerabilities to gain initial access, conduct remote code execution (RCE), obtain credentials, and implant web shells on victim networks," the agencies said. "Credentials and sensitive data stored within the affected Ivanti appliances should be considered compromised.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE
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  • Could an Aussie pattern book experiment help solve the UKs housing crisis?
    www.architectsjournal.co.uk
    Last year the New South Wales (NSW) government in south-eastern Australia launched an international competition seeking designs for a new pattern book providing ready-made terrace and small-scale apartment block templates.The five winning designs will create a catalogue of pre-approved housing designs aimed primarily at developers and set to launch this summer. The authority hopes this book of off-the-shelf solutions will accelerate the delivery of low and mid-rise housing in areas where the need is greatest.The state governments key criteria included sustainability, functionality, adaptability, affordability and ability to respond to the unique Australian climate. But, crucially, high-quality and beautiful designs were also significant point scorers.AdvertisementAlthough the winning practices plus one student winner were ultimately all based in Australia or New Zealand, the contest itself piqued the interest of architects from around the world. Of the 212 applicants, five were British. Among them, Stirling Prize-winning Mae Architects, which was the only UK firm to make the 21-strong shortlist. The jury that assessed the submissions included Paul Karakusevic of UK practice Karakusevic Carson Architects. Source: Mae ArchitectsPerspective section of pattern book proposal by Mae ArchitectsWinning practices included Neeson Murcutt Neille and Sydney-based Other Architects.NSWs Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure said the winning designs would have access to a fast-track pathway for the delivery of more well-built homes sooner.In some ways the housing crisis in Australia mirrors our own. Prime minister Anthony Albaneses centre-left Labor government has vowed to build 1.2 million homes by 2030 only 300,000 less than our governments own hefty housing ambitions for the sameperiod.The idea of a pattern book is not new to the UK. It was used effectively by both the Victorians and Georgians and many of these thousands of homes still stand, much-loved, today. Yet the notion of a modern version that offers a quick route through planning red tape is turning heads as a possible solution for the 21st-century deliveryproblem.Advertisement Source: Neeson Murcutt NeilleNSW Pattern Book winner by Neeson Murcutt Neille, Finding Infinity and Monash Urban LabMaes founding director Alex Ely believes a pattern book based around good design principles and aspirations could be a game-changer for UK house-building provided it is delivered with a clear audience and specific aims in mind.The purpose of it has to be around fast-tracking approvals, speeding up the system, argues Ely. Developers would appreciate this as it would speed up returns on their investments. Ely says the NSW approach, which should fast-track permissions on sites currently bogged down in planning, could reopen the door to small to medium-sized developers and housebuilders. Since 1990, there has been a dramatic decline in these developers in the UK, from 15,000 to around 2,500 by October 2024, according to Insider Media.For the concept to work effectively, he adds, there would have to be an acknowledgement that a pattern book overrules certain other planning parameters [on the basis that its proposals] have been designed intelligently, and sensitively.Ely believes that if developers can use pre-approved designs to avoid their projects being stuck in the often arbitrary and gruelling planning process with its associated costs then even if they have to build something better than they usually would they will still do it. Source: Mae ArchitectsPattern modules by Mae ArchitectsDeborah Heenan, chief executive of the London Borough of Newhams in-house affordable housing arm, Populo Living, agrees that the reimagining of standardised house types by NSW offers a vision that could work equally well in the UK to deliver much-needed additional housing.But a snapshot of opinions from across the industry reveals that her positive reaction is far from the consensus in the UK.Pattern books are good for sites that are easy to develop, without complexities that demand bespoke solutions, says Mole Architects director Meredith Bowles. In reality we have pattern books already. The vast majority of housing approved is delivered by housebuilders using the same product across the country.Would it make a difference [to the numbers]? Very little, is my guess, and what would really make a difference [to communities] landscape, public realm, parking solutions, site layout, densification would remain untouched. Source: Spacecraft ArchitectsStreet elevation for pattern book housing by New Zealand-based Spacecraft ArchitectsNeil Murphy, co-founder of profit-with-purpose developer TOWN, is equally sceptical.He told the AJ that, hundreds of years on from the first pattern books, variety within a pattern is still a defining feature of a good street for manypeople.But, while he thinks a new initiative for pre-approved pattern-book housing might help at the margins, he argues that it risks focusing unduly on how buildings look over how places function the same problem, he insists, that the UK has had with its recent push for design codes.And while Murphy describes efforts to increase certainty within Englands discretionary planning system as laudable, he urges architects to consider the fate of the local development order. This potentially powerful tool for continental-style, rules-based, coded or pattern-book development has existed since 2004 but is scarcely used in a system that tends to prize control of process over quality or speed ofoutcome. Source: Andrew Burges ArchitectsVisualisation for pattern book housing by New South Wales-based Andrew Burges ArchitectsHawkins\Brown design consultant and project delivery lead Nigel Ostime says the firms own research points to [the pattern book] approach being unsuitable for the UK as a means to industrialise housing delivery.It is too prescriptive in terms of response to local styles and materials particularly if it is limited to five types, he insists. Moreover, it is difficult to see what benefit it would bring commercially without significant investment in and co-ordination of the supply chain at a time when there is little capital for such upfrontcosts.Ostime says, rather than pushing for standardised design solutions, housing providers should focus on sharing information and collaborating more effectively.He says co-operating to develop a strategic pipeline and working to create procurement routes that enable modern methods of construction would be a more effective solution.The trick is to balance standardisation and flexibility, he says. Too much standardisation will break thesystem. Source: Officer WoodsVisualisation of interior of pattern book home by Western Australia-based practice Officer WoodsPhilip Oldfield, head of school at University of New South Wales (UNSW) Built Environment, also has an issue with flexibility in patternbooks.The aim with a pattern book is to amalgamate some of the complex design and planning rules we have into an almost-ready-made series of designs, heexplains.A worthy aim. But Oldfield says the challenge with modern pattern books compared to the template designs historically used for largely empty sites subdivided into many plots is that many infill sites where multistorey apartments are being built are complex [and] have varied geometries and boundary conditions as well as differenttopographies.Its difficult to see how pre-made designs will be applied to the diversity of sites and climates we have in New South Wales.While Oldfield thinks a pattern book is unlikely to prove a game-changer for housing quality (if this is lost in the development process, its often due to value engineering reasons), he does believe it has the potential to provide more speed and certainty fordevelopers. Source: Other Architects/NMBWPerspective drawing for pattern book housing by Other Architects and NMBWBack in the UK, the design template notion is also being looked at by built environment charity the Kings Foundation (formerly the Princes Foundation). Its senior director, Ben Bolgar, is collaborating with Classical architect Ben Pentreath to develop a series of locally informed pattern books showcasing well-proportioned regional homes as part of his work on a government-funded project called the Regional Building Hubs (RBH) initiative.The pattern books sit within the initiatives wider placemaking mission to encourage beautiful places for sustainable communities and build on previous work by the Kings Foundation to develop catalogues, pattern books, and codes through its BIMBY (Beauty-In-My-Back-Yard) Housing Manuals. Bolgar says the RBH team has developed five house types, or chassis, for which details are already drawn up in a set of supply- chain-linked digital patent books.Digital twin software has been developed by Travis Perkins architect Lee Jackson in the form of a smart housebuilding platform called WholeHouse. This allows a provider to specify details such as cladding and window types with half a billion combinations of designs, which can be adjusted around the five chassis.You choose everything and you spec it according to your costs, says Bolgar. Then you press a button and it literally spits out 75 pages of working drawings, [and] the costs. Its designed before you go to site.Meanwhile, the RBH pattern books feed into the digital models to inform the actual designs, explains Bolgar.The pattern books set out urban types, building types, building elements and outline material specifications based on the foundations research of existing patterns and proportions in a given region. The idea is that you have a standard chassis, but it wears a regional overcoat in the same way that a Georgian house looks different in Edinburgh and Cornwall, explains Bolgar.He says the designs are material and detail-led rather than style-led to allow for both modern and traditional versions of the same house types, which will [all] feel like they belong in the same place because of materials, proportioning and detailing.He also believes the RBH tools could create buildings that have a good degree of familiarity with [the] local vernacular to provide the background buildings in a particular region. But he insists that each area would always want 20-30 per cent to be bespoke so [the streetscape] doesnt become toouniform. Source: Mae ArchitectsCourtyard view of pattern housing concept by Mae ArchitectsIf successfully rolled out across the UK, these digital house types would be readily available for small builders to use in 14 different regions, as identified by the Kings Foundation.In terms of planning, Bolgar says the system frees up the local authority from looking at every street because they know what its made of. The ingredients, if you like, of a recipe, have already beenapproved.Another key purpose of the initiative is agglomerating the regional supply chain across the UK, giving small builders a leg up. According to Bolgar: If you [bring] all the small builders together, they become the biggest housebuilder in the UK and then you get preferential treatment on supply chains.And will it take off? Bolgar says the Kings Foundation aims to launch the Regional Building Hubs in January 2026 when the current research phase completes. These would be devised as a membership organisation delivering services to small builders and large owners, he says.The outcome, visually, may be poles apart from the homes likely to be built in NSW. But it is telling that two very different organisations, on other sides of the planet, have both independently arrived at a very similar solution. Could history be going full circle?
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  • Details of the week: kitchens and bathrooms
    www.architectsjournal.co.uk
    The AJs Architects Working Details were first published in 1953. Originally written by Colin Boyne, they ran to a series of 15 classic black-bound volumes. After a long lull, the series was revived in 1988 by the AJs then editor Peter Carolin, in a series of spiral-bound volumes edited byDavid Jenkinsand then continued later by Sue Dawson, in an occasional series that appeared up until the early 2000s. Consisting of a selection of details originating from the building studies published in the AJ at the time, Louis Dezart, the AJs in-house Drawings Editor and then later Dawson re-drew and re-scaled the drawings many by hand to fit the pages of the AJ, with constituent components clearly annotated.Almost 20 years on, were very pleased to be bringing the series back, with the first edition published in December featuring a round-up of details published in AJ Specification case studies over the past five years. They have been organised in five sections: faades and cladding; doors and windows; kitchens and bathrooms; roofing and drainage and, finally, walls, ceilings and partitions.The buildings werent especially chosen on their aesthetic merits, but more to demonstrate a range of typologies and scales across the country. And, as with previous versions, this first series is intended to offer a collation of ideas about detailing.AdvertisementEach detail most previously published but some never seen before has been re-edited so the drawings look consistent throughout. They are accompanied by project data and the issue of AJ Specification that the building appeared in for reference, together with some images and a short description authored by the designers of each building.In total we present 28 projects across five sections, which, while not a comprehensive primer, are intended to offer a good comparative range of approaches to key areas of construction. Although some details chosen demonstrate relatively new techniques, the majority refine tried-and-tested methods of making buildings.The overarching aim remains the same as before, however: to enable and encourage those working in the built environment to share information on solving problems in design.Each of the five sections are being published over five weeks with this week the focus being on kitchens and bathrooms. Check out the two previously published sections on faades and cladding and doors and windowsalso.Janus House by Office S&MHidden bathroomPhotos: French + TyeThe clients approached Office S&M to replace a poorly built lean-to behind their terraced house in Walthamstow. They wanted the new extension containing a kitchen and bathroom to be clearly different from the late Victorian property, while relating to it in scale.AdvertisementThe design made best use of the restricted space by splitting the extension diagonally with a storage wall. This removed the need for separate circulation space by hiding the bathroom, shower and storage, while also directing and framing views of the garden. In the kitchen, it provides daylit space, while the bathroom has a view over the garden from the tub.The two-faced aspect of the design is expressed externally by the shapes of the window, door and rooflights: circular openings for the bathroom, rectangular for the kitchen. These motifs responded to fixtures and fittings that the clients had already bought for the extension, such as the kitchen table, terracotta pendant light and pastel 1930s bathroom suite. The contrasting circular and square geometry of the windows was developed from these existing pieces to link exterior to interior, and the theme continues throughout, with details such as rectangular light switches and circular door pulls.The sprayed-on rubber exterior creates a monolithic background which wraps the two halves of the extension together. The unusual industrial material, Prokol polyurea, was chosen because of its low cost, seamless finish and contrast with the existing brickwork of the terraced house. Originally developed for oil rigs, it is waterproof, wont weather and is guaranteed for 60 years.To complement the rubber, further industrial materials are used inside: a polished concrete floor; zinc worktop and encaustic swimming pool tiles. These durable materials are warmed up with a yellow colour scheme that changes in intensity from the canary-yellow Formica kitchen cupboards to the soft, butter-coloured tiles in the bathroom.Location: London SE5| Completion: May 2018| Gross internal floor area: 110m | Structural engineer: MDA Structures | Kitchen designer: Toby Mower | AJ Specification issue: April 2019Southgrove Road by From WorksBespoke kitchen and tablePhoto: Mark HillyerFrom Works was approached to design a bespoke kitchen within a new extension for a family home in Sheffield. The design is a tailored response to the clients ambition to create a calm space, sensitively connected to both garden and the existing interior. A photograph of a moss-covered rock, taken on a countryside walk, was the clients inspiration for the look and feel, and so the design also engages with a certain as-found materiality of the Peak District.In addition, the project looked to highlight what is special about Sheffield: its proximity to the Peak District and the fantastic local material suppliers and fabricators.From Works designed the project with a holistic approach in mind, ensuring that the new kitchen worked within its context. The studio incorporated a new breakfast table designed in solid-edged stained plywood and stainless steel that works in harmony with the greater scheme.Throughout the design process From Works developed a series of material samples to reflect the robust yet characterful nature of the clients early concept photograph. The kitchen and joinery pieces are hand-made locally in Sheffield from solid-edged stained birch plywood and steamed beech with fossil limestone worktops and splashbacks sourced from a Derbyshire quarry.The stained plywood elements evolved through a testing process of experimentation with different stain types, number of coats, application methods, sanding the plywood first using different grits and using different finishing lacquers to ensure an appropriate aesthetic and a durable finish.From Works took a similar approach with the fossil limestone elements, visiting both the quarry and stone workshop on numerous occasions to carefully select the different slabs to help control the variation of fossil and colours to complement the proposed materials palette.Read more hereLocation: Sheffield| Completion: October 2017| Gross internal floor area: 18m | Structural engineer: MDA Structures | Kitchen contractor: From Works| AJ Specification issue: April 2019Nourish Hubby RCKa ArchitectsKitchen hatchPhoto: Francisco Ibez HantkeThe Nourish Hub replaced a vacant former post office to provide new community facilities where learning about healthy eating and cooking food could take place.Featuring a commercial kitchen, dining area, teaching kitchen and rentable workspace, the Hubs main priorities are to provide food, education and community engagement. Therefore the main space has been designed for openness, accessibility and flexibility.The design and layout of the interior spaces was the product of a series of community engagement workshops. The first phase of this took the form of a shutter-painting day that was used to advertise the project and kickstart the consultation process. A young persons workshop helped to define the patterns that now cover the ceiling and make up the branding for the whole project.A new shopfront creates a welcoming face to the Hub, with both kitchens on display. A large opening into the dining space encourages passers-by to come in, while a hatch from the kitchen allows kitchen staff to greet the public and serve takeaway food.The Nourish Hub is an intensely used public building and the products and materials were specified to create a welcoming and uplifting space for the community that was also robust and minimised maintenance.Commercial stainless steel cabinets and countertops were used for both kitchens to create a professional space and these provided cohesive design throughout the Hub. The teaching kitchen uses domestic cookers and induction hobs on a large kitchen island with a dropped central section to promote togetherness through cooking.Timber furniture contrasts with the stainless-steel kitchens, adding warmth and character. Bespoke plywood furniture is positioned around the Hub, inviting users to circulate around the space, grab a plate and get involved.Read more hereLocation: London W11| Completion: July 2021 | Gross internal floor area: 416m | Structural engineer: Conisbee| Main contractor: Carmelcrest| AJ Specification issue: March 2022The Goodenough by Roz Barr ArchitectsHotel bathrooms and tilingPhotos: John McLeanThis project was the refurbishment of 65 rooms of The Goodenough Club, a four-star hotel that is part of Goodenough College, a charitable foundation providing postgraduate student accommodation in Londons Bloomsbury.The club is situated in five Grade II*-listed Georgian town houses on Mecklenburgh Square, with a mews extension dating from early 2000 to the rear. The project was part of a phased programme of works the practice had been working on since 2014.The aim of the project was to preserve, enhance and restore the historic qualities of the rooms and improve their internal layouts while offering a contemporary response to the listed setting. The practice developed a design palette and elements that could be adapted and repeated across all the buildings and offered a response to both heritage and user requirements. Wall panelling conceals services and all furniture was bespoke, including vanity desks, wardrobes and ottomans, as free-standing pieces that allowed the rooms to retain their distinctive character.The works at Goodenough Club involved extensive research into finding materials and finishes that responded to the historic and listed requirements of the Georgian buildings but were robust enough to sustain daily use within guest rooms.Roz Barr Architects designed and mocked up a typical bathroom and bedroom for both phases of the project. An element of repetition was required to unite the room types and to define an identity for the newly refurbished club. The practice specified a linseed oil wood stain to birch ply panels to offer longevity and allow the natural materiality to be revealed. The colours selected were complemented by oak frames and simple detailing to ensure fabrication was economical. Five complementary colours are used throughout the club, reflecting different room types but also nodding to the heritage of the site. Read more hereLocation: London WC1| Completion: July 2022| Gross internal floor area: N/A| Heritage consultant: Ramona Usher| Main contractor: Oakside, Fileturn| AJ Specification issue: March 2023Hackney School of Food by Surman WestonTeaching kitchen and gardenPhotos: Jim StephensonHackney School of Food was a joint venture between LEAP Federation of Schools and the Chefs in Schools charity. In 2018, Surman Weston won an invited competition to help the organisations realise their vision for a purpose-built food education hub.Situated in one of inner Londons most deprived neighbourhoods, the project converts a redundant school caretakers house into a specialist food education centre for primary school children and the local community. The heart of the project is the educational kitchen, where children learn how to cook fresh, healthy and delicious food from scratch. Working within a tight budget, the kitchen is designed to be robust, unfussy and joyful and to accommodate a class of 30 students.The first floor level of the existing building was removed to create a bright and voluminous double-height space. Architectural interventions were targeted on the elements that add the most educational value: specially designed height-adjustable cooking stations allow all ages and abilities to comfortably cook; above-worktop-level wall finishes are left largely as stripped; and the sprayed-in roof insulation is left exposed.The formerly derelict gardens are transformed into thriving productive spaces that allow children to grow food from seed and provide outdoor cooking and eating spaces. A mural gives the previously stark street-facing elevation a cheerful presence.Cooking stations feature induction hobs mounted flush with stainless steel counters, allowing children to slide heavy pans across the surface. Induction hobs were chosen with user safety in mind the hobs only function when in contact with a pan. Cupboards below the countertops are removable to allow wheelchair users to use the stations.Read more hereLocation: London E5| Completion: February 2020| Gross internal floor area: 59m | Structural engineer: Structure Workshop| Main contractor: Modernarc| AJ Specification issue: April 2021The Little Big House by Knox BhavanAccessible kitchen and bathroomPhotos: Edmund SumnerThis custom-built, energy-efficient dwelling in Hertfordshire was crafted to cater to the specific physical needs of its occupant, Henry Fraser, an artist, author and motivational speaker, who experienced a life-altering accident in 2009, leaving him paralysed from the shoulders down.The project offered an opportunity to fashion a home tailored to Henrys requirements, affording him a degree of independence with the support of live-in carers. Henrys unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship guided the design ethos, alongside the imperative for a controlled internal climate to regulate his body temperature.The architectural configuration was devised to accommodate Henrys disability. Considerable attention was devoted to situating the bedroom and bathroom, ensuring abundant daylight and garden vistas spaces where Henry frequently resides. The bathroom, designed as a wet room, boasts a generous corner window providing an outlook onto the garden. In the bedroom and den, a discreet harness integrated into the cabinetry offers support as needed, retracting when not in use.Every finish was chosen with functionality, openness and affordability in mind, all geared towards making Henrys daily life easier. Corian and stainless steel were selected for their durability and ease of cleaning. The integrated hoist was seamlessly plastered into the ceiling to minimise its prominence. Sanitary fixtures and appliances were chosen for their durability and affordability.Henry aimed for a low-maintenance bathroom design because he is unable to clean himself and relies on carers for this. The bathroom shower tray is set flush into the flooring, with an extended hose on the hand shower to enable Henry to be washed while in a wheelchair. A wall-mounted custom mirror, with a bathroom TV carefully set into it, is angled to allow Henry to see himself from his wheelchair. The walls feature simple white mosaic tiles, accommodating the small curves in the wall radius.Read more hereLocation: Hertfordshire| Completion: December 2021| Gross internal floor area: 226m | Structural engineer: Structure Workshop| Main contractor: Philiam Construction| AJ Specification issue: March 2024
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  • Making a 3D Pokmon Card in Blender
    www.blendernation.com
    Making a 3D Pokmon Card in Blender By Cody Gindy on January 23, 2025 Video Cody Gindy writes made a 3D Pokmon card illustration using Blender.In this video, I take you through the process. That includes: texturing with real life markers, digital painting, little shading tricks, compositing, starting over, and more :) This is not a tutorial, it's a quick overview of the workflow.I had a lot of fun making this, thanks for watching!!
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  • WhatsApp wins reprieve in India over user data sharing
    techcrunch.com
    An Indian tribunal on Thursday suspended restrictions that would have barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with its parent company Meta, delivering a significant victory for Mark Zuckerbergs social media empire in its largest market by users.The ruling by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal temporarily lifts a five-year ban imposed by Indias antitrust regulator, which had accused WhatsApp of abusing its market dominance through its 2021 privacy policy. India is the largest market for Meta and WhatsApp. More than 700 million users in India use WhatsApp each month, according to insights from Sensor Tower.In November, the Competition Commission of India determined that WhatsApps take-it-or-leave-it privacy update constituted an abuse of Metas dominant position by forcing users to accept expanded data collection without an opt-out option. At the time, the watchdog found Meta was dominant in two key markets in India: a so-called over-the-top messaging apps through smartphones, and online display advertising.While staying the ban on Thursday, the tribunal ordered Meta to deposit about $12.35 million half of a larger penalty within two weeks. The court will next hear the case on March 17.The tribunal, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, expressed concern that the five-year ban could threaten WhatsApps business model, which provides the messaging service free to users.Metas lawyers argued that Indias forthcoming digital privacy law, expected to go into effect later this year, should govern such matters rather than competition rules.We welcome the NCLATs decision to grant a partial stay on the Competition Commission of Indias (CCI) order. While we will evaluate next steps, our focus remains on finding a path forward that supports millions of businesses that depend on our platform for growth and innovation as well as providing high-quality experiences that people expect from WhatsApp, a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.The dispute began when WhatsApp required users to accept expanded data sharing with Metas platforms or risk losing access to the messaging service. While European users can opt out of such sharing, Indian users cannot a distinction that regulators found problematic.
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  • Niagara System Not Rotating with Character in Animation Notify
    realtimevfx.com
    I have created footprints by spawning from a Child Actor Component Renderer in a Niagara system. I then attached this Niagara system to a Notify in an Animation Sequence. The actor being spawned contains a footprint Decal. However, the spawned actor does not align its rotation with the characters rotation. Normally, any FX attached to a Notify should always align with the characters rotation. How should I fix this? 1 post - 1 participant Read full topic
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