The White Lotus fans have much to look forward to in February: The third season of the satirical anthology series will premiere on Max on Feb. 16, with additional episodes airing weekly at 9 p.m. ET. This installment was filmed around Thailand, including Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, and stars season one's Natasha Rothwell (reprising her role) along with heavy hitters like Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, and Parker Posey. Also returning in February is the Emmy-winning series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Feb. 16), now in its 12th season. On the film side, Max will stream A24's We Live in Time (Feb. 7), a romantic drama about a decadeshown in nonlinear fashionin the life of a couple played by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2024 and is mostly known for inspiring an excellent meme.Here's everything else coming to Max in February, including Puppy Bowl XXI (Feb. 9), the annual Super Bowl Sunday event featuring 142 rescue puppies. Kickoff airs at 1 p.m. ET followed by the competition at 2 p.m. ET.Whats coming to Max in February 2025Available February 142 (2013)Accidentally Brave (2023)Bad Boys (1995)Bad Boys II (2003)Brian Banks (2019)Cabin in the Sky (1949)Cleats & Convos with Deebo Samuel, Episode 114 (B/R)Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)Deepwater Horizon (2016)Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)Dredd (2012)Duplicity (2009)Entertainment (2015)Experimenter (2015)Final Destination (2000)Final Destination 2 (2003)Final Destination 3 (2006)Final Destination 5 (2011)Ivanhoe (1952)Jackie (2016)Jezebel (1938)Jupiter's Darling (1955)Just Mercy (2020)King Solomon's Mines (1950)Kitty Foyle (1940)Kusama: Infinity (2018)Lady Be Good (1941)Lassie Come Home (1943)Life Partners (2014)Lili (1953)Little Women (1949)Love & Basketball (2000)Mad Money (2008)Malcolm X (1992)Mary of Scotland (1936)Massacre (1934)Mechanic: Resurrection (2016)Mildred Pierce (1945)Mister Roberts (1955)Mr. Church (2016)Mrs. Miniver (1942)Neptune's Daughter (1949)Noma: My Perfect Storm (2015)One Way Passage (1932)Safe in Hell (1931)Shadow on the Wall (1950)Skate Kitchen (2018)Skiptrace (2016)Sleepwalking (2008)Speed (1994)Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)Support the Girls (2018)Take Out (2004)Taxi Driver (1976)The Bank Job (2008)The Color Purple (1985)The Conjuring (2013)The Guilty (2018)The Harvey Girls (1946)The Host (2007)The Last Circus (2011)The Last Days on Mars (2013)The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)The Life of Emile Zola (1937)The Lost Patrol (1934)The Notebook (2004)The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)The Search (1948)The Tall Target (1951)The Wave (2016)The Window (1949)The Woman in Red (1935)They Were Expendable (1945)Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)Traitor (2008)Unknown (2011)Vacation from Marriage (1945)Waitress (2007)Watch on the Rhine (1943)We Are the Best! (2014)Available February 2The Edge with Micah Parsons, Episode 122 (B/R)We Baby Bears, Season 2C (Cartoon Network)Available February 390 Day Fianc Pillow Talk: Before the 90 Days, Season 7 (TLC)Common Side Effects, Season 1 (Adult Swim)Dog Detectives, Season 1 (Animal Planet)Very Scary Lovers (ID)Available February 4Celebrity IOU, Season 9 (HGTV)The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Season 3 (CNN Originals)Available February 6Destinations of the Damned with Zak Bagans, Season 1B (Discovery)Izzy Does It, Season 1 (HGTV)The Takedown: American Aryans (Max Original)Available February 7Lu & The Bally Bunch, Season 1AHow I Left the Opus Dei (El Minuto Heroico: Yo Tambin Dej El Opus Dei) (Max Original)We Live in Time (A24) (2024)Available February 8Luther Vandross: Never Too Much (CNN Films)Available February 9Puppy Bowl XXI Kickoff (Animal Planet)Puppy Bowl XXI (Animal Planet)Available February 11Central Intelligence (2016)Central Intelligence: Extended Edition (2016)Father Stu (2022)Available February 12Guy's Grocery Games, Season 37 (Food Network)Available February 13Home Sweet Rome, Season 1B (Max Original)Available February 14Silly Sundays, Season 1AWaitress: The Musical (2023)Available February 16Have I Got News for You, Season 2 (CNN Originals)Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Season 12 (HBO Original)Love & Marriage: Huntsville, Season 9 (OWN)Pearl: The X-Traordinary Origin Story (2022)The White Lotus, Season 3 (HBO Original)Available February 1790 Day Fiance, Season 11 (TLC)Evil Lives Here, Season 17 (ID)Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers (Food Network)Watchmen: Chapter II (2025)Available February 18We Beat The Dream Team (TNT & HBO Original)Available February 19Exposed: Naked Crimes, Season 3 (ID)Moonshiners: Master Distiller, Season 7A (Discovery)Renovation Aloha, Season 2 (HGTV)Available February 20Bea's Block, Season 1B (Max Original)Available February 21Elevation (2024)Available February 22House Hunters Renovation, Season 18 (HGTV)Available February 24End of Watch (2012)Homestead Rescue, Season 12 (Discovery)Available February 25Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest (HBO Original)Wipeout, Season 2B (TBS)Available February 27Cyotl: Hero and Beast (Cyotl: Hroe y Bestia), Season 1 (Max Original)Available February 28Christina on the Coast, Season 6B (HGTV)Morbius (2022)Toad and Friends, Season 1A

Xbox is hosting its Developer Direct showcase today, and you'll be able to watch along live on YouTube, Twitch or our handy embed below.The stream starts as 1PM ET / 10AM PT and is supposed to feature updates from the developers of South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33and Doom: The Dark Ages. Xbox is also promising to "visit a surprise location to see another studios brand new game." Windows Central reports the mysterious unannounced game is "a new entry in a legendary Japanese IP which has decades of history," which certainly sounds intriguing. At the very least, the rest of the games featured are slated to launch in 2025.Xbox spent most of 2024 adjusting its strategy around releasing games, delaying some titles to this year, and bringing some formerly exclusive games to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The company seems like it's favoring timed exclusives over hoarding everything for Xbox and PC, so the job of this Developer Direct is a little bit different this time. Besides letting developers sell their games, the real test of the show is if it can get you excited about games that are coming to Xbox first, rather than only coming to Xbox at all.You can watch the Xbox Developer Direct showcase on YouTube, Twitch, or right here in the embed above when it starts at 1PM ET / 10AM PT.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/how-to-watch-the-latest-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-110013502.html?src=rss

We all want to protect our phones from the inevitable drops, scratches and tumbles of daily life, but what if your phone case could protect more than just your device? The best eco-friendly phone cases offer a great blend of durability and sustainability, helping to reduce plastic waste and better the planet.Made from natural materials like biodegradable plastics, recycled ocean waste or even sustainable bamboo, eco-friendly and compostable phone cases prove that you dont have to sacrifice style or protection to go green. Theyre designed to safeguard your device while actively combating plastic pollution, making them a win-win for both you and Mother Earth.Whether youre looking for something sleek and minimal or bold and artistic, theres an eco-friendly option out there that will fit your style. Instead of a standard plastic case, you can choose one thats both practical and planet-friendly. Eco-friendly phone case FAQs What makes a phone case eco-friendly? A phone case can be considered eco-friendly when its designed to protect not just your phone but also the planet. What sets these cases apart is the use of sustainable materials like biodegradable plastics, recycled plastic waste or even natural materials like bamboo or flax straw. Instead of contributing to plastic pollution, these materials break down naturally over time, or are made from recycled content that reduces waste. Eco-friendly cases can also go a step further by being compostable, meaning you can toss them in a compost bin at the end of their life and theyll decompose into the earth without leaving harmful residues. Plus, many brands behind these cases focus on sustainable practices, like reducing carbon emissions during production or offering recycling programs for old cases.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-eco-friendly-phone-cases-150016494.html?src=rss

In 3D rendering tasks, Nvidias RTX 4090 outpaces Apples M3 Max and AMDs Radeon GPUs, while Apple retains an edge in 2D workflows.

Netflix's February 2025 list packs another wave of must-watch titles, as well as the occasional time-waster. Here's everything new on Netflix in February 2025.

Britain's competition regulator launched an investigation into Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems to assess whether they're in breach of strict new tech laws.

Mickey 17 Directed by Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, an employee with the job to die and be reborn every time his life is in danger. The sci-fi drama cast also includes Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo. Featuring music by Jung Jaeil, it has cinematography by Darius Khondji, as created from Edward Ashtons novel Mickey 7.DNEG, Framestore, Rising Sun Pictures, and Turncoat Pictures did the VFX work. Production VFX Supervisor is Dan Glass. The film will be released in 2024.The post Mickey 17 Official Trailer appeared first on Vfxexpress.

The Brutalist, a three-and-a-half-hour awards favorite, is a film about human creativity. Ironically, its biggest scandal surrounds artificial intelligence.Brady Corbets epic follows Hungarian Jew Lszl Tth, played by Adrien Brody, as he flees the Nazis and picks up his architecture practice in the United States. Eventually he manages to bring his wife, Erzsbet, played by Felicity Jones, to join him. Both characters frequently speak in Hungarian throughout the film. That dialogue, it turns out, may have been supplemented by an AI speech tool.In an interview with RedShark News, The Brutalists editor, Dvid Jancs, revealed that the film had employed Respeecher, an AI voice editing tool. Cinephiles online blew up, with some even planning to boycott the film. Corbet is now on an oddball apology tour, clarifying just how AI was used by the production. But he shouldnt have to be. The mass freakout fundamentally misunderstands what film editing actually looks like, and how films stay on budget.What is artificial film editing?Jancs is a native Hungarian speaker; he knows how difficult the language is to replicate. Thats true even for Brody, whose mother is in fact a Hungarian refugee. While producers coached Brody and Jones intensively, they used the AI tool Respeecher to insert some of Jancss own pronunciations into the dialogue.In the RedShark interview, Jancs acknowledges how commonplace these types of audio edits are. You can do this in [Avid] Pro Tools yourself, but we had so much dialogue in Hungarian that we really needed to speed up the process otherwise wed still be in post, he said. Thats what the naysayers misunderstand: Film editing is fundamentally artificial. For years, filmmakers have been manipulating dialogue through creative splicing and re-creation. Editing tools have gotten increasingly more sophisticated. Now theyre just labeled with AI.Jancs also said in the interview that generative AI helped create the architectural images featured in the final sequence of the film. Corbet later clarified: Judy Becker and her team did not use AI to create or render any of the buildings. All images were hand-drawn by artists. Remember that The Brutalist, a sprawling cinematic epic of proportions rarely produced in the current film market, was made for a mere $10 million. For reference, the film in which Brody had his breakout, Academy Award-winning role, The Pianist, cost $25 million moreand that was 22 years ago. Hand-drawing all images on The Brutalists budget, even if modulated or inspired by AI, is impressive.But cinephiles online couldnt take it. One viral X post says Jancs is just looking for an excuse to avoid paying visual artists and suggests it amounts to the erasure of a fundamental aspect of . . . acting. Many have said its hypocritical to use AI in a film about the humanity of art; others say Brody should be disqualified from Oscar contention.Whos afraid of the big bad AI?The film industry has a good reason to be fearful of AI. Feature films are being created out of thin air, with no craft behind them. Their quality is still low, but its a daunting sign of whats to come. Some Hollywood studios began collecting body scans of actors, worrying many that extra work would evaporate. Contracts reached in the 2023 Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Writers Guild of America strikes both included AI clauses.But this fear of human replacement has turned AI into a technological boogeyman. The words artificial intelligence are enough of a dog whistle to stir outrage. But lets face it: Hollywood can and will adapt to AI, and there may even be some benefits. These critics are merely burying their heads in the sand instead of properly appraising which applications are helpful and which arent.The Brutalist controversy will eventually pass, though the commotion could be a blow to the films Oscar chances. What will linger is this culture of AI hysteria.

There are certain social media rules we can all agree on: Ghosting a conversation is impolite, and replying k to a text is the equivalent of a backhand slap (violent, wrong, and rude). But what about the rest of the rules? When can we really remind someone of our old Venmo request? What happens when someone tries to flirt with you on LinkedIn?Fortunately, terminally online writers Delia Cai and Steffi Cao are here to answer all your digital quandaries, big or small. Welcome to Fast Companys advice column, Posting Playbook. This week, Steffiexplores what to do when a former employer keeps popping up in your feed.I keep seeing social media content from my former employer, where I had such a horrible experience. I dont even follow themit just comes up. What should I do?Felt this question in my soul. Not only are we fighting for our lives to avoid exes, soured friendships, lurking managers, and well-meaning parents on our social media feeds, we have to contend with the fact that companies also have voice-driven social media presences, and in their bid to lock in on the attention economy, we get their content on our feeds. The algorithm has definitely fed me content from a former employer that I absolutely hated working at, and it bums me out every time I get it on my feed. You were just trying to doomscroll, and now you have to relive the memory of an uncomfortable work environment because someone in the social media marketing department is sending out content into the void in their bid to hit their target KPIs.All you can do for this situation is block and mute. Ban all mentions of the company, avoid watching the content of former coworkers who still post the name. Frankly, thats all you can do to draw digital boundaries. Beyond that, you will need to turn inwards, whether thats in the form of a journal, a therapy session, or a night out with friends you made outside of work. A terrible workplace can truly be so mentally and emotionally corrosive, and it sucks to see reminders of a time you felt so defeated or angry for most of your waking hours, but its important to remind yourself of the other aspects of your life that are fulfilling and exciting. You should log off, sure, but its possible that other reminders will crop up, whether its running into the person who made your life miserable IRL, seeing the name of the company when youre managing your investments, or reading a headline about them in the news.The fact is that you can block the mentions, but you still need to deal with the root problem, which is processing whatever happened that made you have such a knee-jerk reaction to glancing upon the company name during your scrolling session. Companies have such an overarching presence in this country, so its important that you are able to make life easier for yourself by doing things that help you heal and serve as a reminder of the wonderful things in your life outside of your previous work. Hopefully you have a job that fulfills you now, hobbies that excite you outside work, or a support system that understands how messed up your old job was. And this is true of seeing any old pain echoed onto new posts. When you see that ex-boyfriend, ex-friend, annoying ex-manager crop up, its important to have something you know you can lean on.Is like-reacting to texts with no response rude?I personally dont like-react to anything except logistics because I do think it feels like a cold reaction (imagining giving someone a thumbs-up when they tell you theyre getting engaged or something), but I dont take it personally when someone does hit me with one. Of course, this has been a social media etiquette question since the heart button was rolled out, but I think weve collectively settled on the golden rule of intent versus impact. Anyone that is over 40 years old? Not rude. Anyone that generally texts with periods? Not rude. Anyone who doesnt have Twitter or TikTok downloaded on their phone? Not rude. Someone who usually types in all lowercase with exclamation points, but their syntax has suddenly changed for this heated conversation? Rude. Someone who saves their contacts with emojis? Rude.

Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron has created the Pharma Research and Early Development Centre in Basel, as part of a wider campus it has masterplanned for pharmaceutical company Roche.Unveiled in 2014, the development has also seen Herzog & de Meuron renovate a historic office building designed in 1937 by Swiss architect Otto R Salvisberg and construct office blocks and a pair of triangular skyscrapers called the Roche Towers.Herzog & de Meuron has completed the Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) CentreThe Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) Centre is made up of four blocky buildings at the centre of the site, including a convention centre, an office and two towers containing laboratories. According to the studio, these are the world's first high-rise laboratories.Taking cues from the work of Salvisberg, Herzog & De Meuron designed the quartet of buildings as a deliberately simple series of white volumes. They step upwards in height from the three-storey convention centre to the 23-storey laboratory to mediate between the surrounding neighbourhood and the neighbouring triangular towers.The centre comprises four white buildings that step upwards in height"Building on the early concepts of noted Swiss architect Otto R Salvisberg, the progenitor of the overall 'white building' motif and original campus masterplan, the pRED Centre buildings integrate into the surrounding urban grid," explained the studio."The four buildings rise from west to east from a height of 18 metres to 114 metres, providing a sense of scale related to the adjacent residential neighbourhood," it added.Read: Cylindrical Bertrand Goldberg building at risk of demolition in IllinoisThe separate blocks of the pRED Centre are united by what the studio calls the "avenue", a network of glazed corridors with planters that overlook social and garden spaces.While central cores provide lift circulation through the laboratory blocks, the more open-plan areas are connected via spiral staircases, with a glazed link bridge connecting the two buildings on their 13th floors.The separate blocks are united by corridors with planters"On ground level, the four buildings are connected by the 'avenue', a large, covered boulevard and a plug-in point for numerous special services from lobbies, conference space and offices to dining and social spaces," said Herzog & de Meuron."The areas between buildings offer generous green filters and paths, providing distinct views and relationships with the street and nearby parks and opening up the site to become an active part of urban life," it added.Spiral staircases connect the open-plan interiorsExternally, the two lower blocks are defined by ribbons of glazing alternated with horizontal bands of white concrete panelling, intended to mirror the nearby low-rise buildings by Salvisberg in the 1930s.The two taller blocks are fully glazed and constructed using a closed-cavity facade system that allows for maximum daylight while maintaining clean, controlled conditions in the laboratories.Elsewhere in Switzerland, Herzog & de Meuron recently completed a children's hospital in Zurich that is modelled on a small town among a tree-filled landscape and designed to improve patient wellbeing. Its other recent projects include an arched apartment in Austria and an infinity pool that "blends into the waters" at Lake Como.The photography is courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron.The post Herzog & de Meuron completes blocky high-rise laboratories in Basel appeared first on Dezeen.