• WWW.CNBC.COM
    Mark Zuckerberg starts Meta earnings call by praising Trump administration
    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised the Trump administration during a call with investors on Wednesday.
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  • WWW.CNBC.COM
    Amazon lays off 'small number' of employees in communications and sustainability units
    Amazon laid off more than 27,000 employees in 2022 and 2023 and has continued making smaller cuts.
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  • BEFORESANDAFTERS.COM
    How One of Us gave a stop-motion feel to their digital visual effects on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
    Behind the scenes of the Sandworm, the shark attack, and those face-stretching shots.Beetlejuice Beetlejuice from Tim Burton includes around 300 visual effects shots from One of Us. These related to a few different scenes. For the Sandworm, One of Us augmented stop-motion animated plates by Mackinnon & Saunders. The VFX studio did something similar for the plane crash, while also orchestrating a CG ocean that had the look of stop-motion. Finally, One of Us crafted a series of disturbing face-stretching effects for a group of influencers during the films finale.Here, One of Us visual effects supervisor James Brennan-Craddock, who worked with production visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton, shares with befores & afters the different techniques used to bring that old-school aesthetic that audiences delighted in from the 1988 original film, into this new adventure.Enter the SandwormEarly on, One of Us produced a pitch video of a fully CG sandworm to show Angus Bickerton. The idea was to replicate a stop-motion or miniature style in the animation, inspired by what had been done for the Sandworm on the first film. We built a digi-double of a puppet, outlines Brennan-Craddock. Instead of skin and muscle, it was latex and foam. We then had very talented animators working on the test to give it that sense of stop-motion and that incredibly charismatic, imperfect jitter people are familiar with. We were even trying to think in terms of where fingers would go and how fingers would move the puppet.Ultimately, a full stop-motion hand-animated approach was employed for the film (orchestrated by Mackinnon & Saunders). One of Us was still heavily involved in Sandworm shots, however, for the wasteland sequences and for the scenes at the church. For the wasteland moments in which the characters enter a portal out to a desert-scape, production filmed with a small square patch of sand and rocks. A yellowy-orange screen was placed around the set to provide for a sandy-like spill and a wind machine utilized as well. A door set piece was also there on set.The first thing we did was postvis, notes Brennan-Craddock. Because we knew McKinnon & Saunders were going to animate a stop-motion version, we provided them with stabilized versions on the postvis shots that they could use as reference. On their side, they use Dragonframe for the animation, so they could overlay our previs on their monitors. We also gave them a whole bunch of extra data. We figured out distances from camera to subjects in real-world scale and translated that to stop-motion scale. For any moving plate, anything with a pan, we stabilized the plate and gave them a massive overscan version and a frame for where the plate should be. They would then match to that.We would then invert that transform to get that back into our shots, continues Brennan-Craddock. The funny thing was, the stop-motion plates we got back, we then had to body track to be able to create the effects to interact with the Sandworm and get the correct lighting and shadows.One of Us then took care of the Titan environment and sand interaction. Seeking to pay homage to the original films look and feel, elements like sand needed to be particularly art directed to ensure the sand still felt practical. Explains Brennan-Craddock: Step one was, we just looked at the original film for the look of the sand effects. When the Sandworm breached the desert surface sand would be thrown up that looked a lot like a buckets worth of sand being thrown up in front of a blue screen. So in Houdini, we scaled down our simulations to that kind of bucket-sized scale. For a while, we were playing with almost a wet sand look, creating cracks and clumps in the ground where the grain was separating. There were little trails coming off, too, and we mixed in some 2D elements on top just to give certain hero shots a bit of extra character.Our environment again was inspired by what was in the original film, but Tim wanted something that felt grander. So alongside the abstract rock formations (that we called noodle rocks) seen in the original, we extended dunes out and built larger mountain ranges on the horizon. Aesthetically we aimed for something that felt like a miniature or slightly cheesy set, with a little bit of realism in the proportions and scope of the environment.One challenge One of Us faced related to the lack of motion blur (as intended) on the stop-motion animation. The Sandworm itself is stop-motion and is jittery and has no motion blur, says Brennan-Craddock. But that doesnt mean everything else had that look. You couldnt do a stop-motion sand explosion. You would just use an element. So we needed to keep that in mind anything that could be filmed wed render with motion blur, anything that would be animated would not.When the church Sandworm scene occursthat is, when it makes an appearance at the weddingOne of Us was also responsible for integrating Mackinnon & Saunders stop-motion animation into live-action plates. The challenge with that was that physically it shouldnt work at all! observes Brennan-Craddock. The worm is quite a lot bigger than anything in that church. On set, Tim Burton literally had a meter long green toy snake that he was acting out the Sandworms motions. We had to work out, how do you translate that to a 20 meter long snake crashing through a 10 meter wide room? Postvis helped us here. We used our test sandworm asset and figured out the action. We would re-scale and re-frame the shots as much as we could without breaking the illusion.A further complication came from the fact that the on-set lighting in the church was deliberately made to oscillate between blue to teal to green to cyan. So, Mackinnon & Saunders actually produced their stop-motion in two passes; a green-lit one and a blue-lit one. One of Us then incorporated the passes by blending between the two to match what was going on in the real world lighting in the plate, states Brennan-Craddock.Orchestrating a plane crashOne of Us again collaborated with Mackinnon & Saunders to reveal what happens to Charles Deetzs plane, and the subsequent shark attack in the ocean. Their team animated Charles and the passengers and they built a little of the aircraft interior, details Brennan-Craddock. Together, we worked with them to figure out the design of that and then we extended the interior.A significant aspect of the plane crash work was the ocean, which was realized as a digital environment. The idea here was for One of Us to produce an ocean that appeared as if it was something completed practically. The way we dealt with that was to split the ocean into foreground, midground and background, says Brennan-Craddock. Each of those depths had different requirements. In the foreground was where Charles would be and youd see him interacting with the water. We had to think, how would you get a character in some water in a stop-motion environment? The answer we came up with was plasticine. You could smush it around a person, and you could create, with your thumbs, waves and splashes. So, in Houdini, we developed a plasticine style for water.This involved making the fluid base very viscous. Then, on top of that base, One of Us effects artists created a system to add physical details. The system would create fingerprints and tool marks in fast moving areas, i.e. areas that would have been manipulated by an animator, advises Brennan-Craddock. In terms of splashes, we treated that as a separate thing where we essentially made little teardrops that would emit from Charles splashing around. Bigger details in a small enough quantity that looked like they could feasibly be added one-by-one by an animator to denote splashes. On top of that, we had a whitewater generator which we built to look like a little sheet of cellophane that was being tracked from position to position. The look of that changed over time to become more resin-y, more transparent and subsurface-y by the end.The mid-ground water was the bulk of the water in the frame. Obviously you wouldnt create a 10 meter by 10 meter chunk of plasticine and try and animate that, that would be madness, notes Brennan-Craddock. But we found a reference quite early on of a short film called Two Balloons that created this amazing mechanical ocean, which was basically a cloth on these pistons. The pistons moved in a sinusoidal motion, pushing the top up to create waves. Inspired by that, we created a system of virtual cloth on screws and the screws would spin and then push up on the cloth to create waves of travel and we had different screws in different depths with different frequencies of the screw to create a forced perspective look. Thats because, again, you wouldnt create a gigantic stop-motion contraption, youd create a smaller one with a forced perspective approach in real life. So we did a similar thing there.When the shark bites Charles, this becomes a comical moment showcasing a large amount of blood that then immediately cuts back to his wife Delia discussing the crash and shark bite. Here, a Mackinnon & Saunders stop-motion animated Charles and Shark were augmented by One of Us to add some very stop-motion-looking blood. We replicated the look of resin, polystyrene, plasticine and cellophane for that, says Brennan-Craddock. Then we had a 2D element on top that hits the screen and starts to come back down again, horror film style.Face-stretchingIn the first film, replacement animation was utilized to showcase some of the characters being able to stretch their faces. A similar moment occurs with influencers inside the church. For this scene, One of Us built 22 influencer digi-doubles based on cyberscans of the on-set actors which were then subject to a range of face-stretching and body-morphing effects. It was the biggest single thing we worked on for the film in terms of artist hours, describes Brennan-Craddock. The influencers were all very elaborate. They were in their Sunday best with shiny, reflective clothes, with a lot of accessories and crazy hair. It was a fun challenge for the assets teamits not often that groom artists get to groom mohawks or elaborate haircuts.With that digital base, One of Us then embarked on the face-stretching. Initially, says Brennan-Craddock, it was going to be much slower and much more painful. We were looking at how to squeeze a body through a screen sized hole. With that same kind of practical aesthetic of the film, we decided it could feel like a latex or silicone prosthetics of some kind and that they could feel like dummies, almost like ragdolls. So, when they get pulled through the hole, theres cloth-like stretching and folding as they are pulled in.Later, the effect for the face stretching was revised to be more of a longer face stretch, with the body contortion only happening over a few frames. Tim was very keen that the effects feel painful, but at the same time, its also a kind of horror/comedy, advises Brennan-Craddock. To do that, we added in a lot of variety in how the faces distort and stretch. Sometimes we led by the nose, or led by the chin, or led by the forehead. We realized that a lot of the pain came from the characters expression, whereas the comedy came from the shape of the stretch.To then make it feel a bit more unsettling, a bit more practical, wed add a lot of skin stretch or cloth stretch effects in the softer parts of the face, eg cheeks or the eyelids or the lips. Wed add some jittering and vibration to make it feel like its painful or like the characters were resisting.With the characters wearing so many accessories, One of Us used this as an opportunity to add a bit of fun variation, like earrings or necklaces being pulled forward, alongside popping eyeballs. The final effects were a mix of CG blend shapes, effects sims, animation, sculpting and compositing. Advises Brennan-Craddock: Essentially they were transitions within the shot from a live action face to CG face. So we came up with a whole bunch of clever AOVs and displacement maps to pipe into comp. But it also came down to comp eyeballing it and artistically blending frame by frame. Theres a little bit of 2D plate warping as well to help with that, a lot of plate retiming and reconstruction. But it was a real artful process. We had fun dailies where people were presenting their bizarre stretching faces.The post How One of Us gave a stop-motion feel to their digital visual effects on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice appeared first on befores & afters.
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  • WWW.FASTCOMPANY.COM
    The architecture industry may soon be unrecognizable
    There only a few absolute truths in life. The two most recognizable are death, and unless youre very rich or politically connected, taxes. There are, however, numerous others just a slight tier below; not the least of which is that nearly everyone has a story of themselves or someone close to them wanting to be an architect at some point in their lives.In our collective societal brains we envision these rarified individuals to be highly creative thinkers and mathematical whizzes who are constantly innovating. Those who study history might even think of the great masters of antiquity such as Imhotep, Vitruvius, Brunelleschi, or other unknown masters of ancient Rome, Persia, Mesoamerica, or China as prime examples of such great genius at work. Folks may even recall the more recent genius of Buckminster Fuller, Eero Saarinen, or Frank Lloyd Wright. The modern reality of our profession, however, could not possibly be further from this perceived history, even in its most romanticized version.The death of architecture as we know itWith the rise of technology there are radical changes headed our way and the architecture/design industry as we know it (and have known it for generations) will soon cease to exist as a result. This is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it has the very real chance to be an incredible opportunity, if we let it.This is not to say that the architects of today arent highly creative or have a desire to innovate. Its simply that the industry (especially in the U.S.) has severely and intentionally limited this creativity to a fault for a wide variety of reasons: consistency, profitability, and liability are chief amongst them.Like any technology, AIs rise poses as many potential benefits as it does challenges. Its all in the nuance of how we use it and adapt (or not). Those who do will thrive, those stuck in the ways of the past will count their days numbered (or look for other careers).Our roles as human producers of documents will rapidly morph into something much more resembling creative direction as many drawings become automated. While some will certainly still need to remain deeply involved to check drawings and provide overall concept direction (similar to what many senior designers and firm principals already do now) many other positions will simply no longer be needed as work that historically took teams of people days/weeks to produce will be accomplished in a matter of minutes.This will drastically reduce firm overhead and billing rates will likely soon follow as a result. Once this occurs, large scale firms that historically leveraged their numbers and resources will lose their competitive advantage and we will see the fast rise of micro studios taking on challenges and being competitive on projects previously thought impossible for all but the largest of companies. This will result in the typical business model being flipped on its head causing the industry to reappraise its value and focus on the more creative side of the profession.As is the case with any radical and fast-moving change, this is both deeply exciting and absolutely terrifying at the same time.The future of architectureThis can and will be a golden age of exploration and possibilities if approached correctly. Do we dare to live up to the challenge?For a many reasons, the business of architecture has been profoundly broken for decades. It is often abusive and thrives off a hustle culture of overworking for nominal gainin many cases simply to perpetuate the grandiose myth of a sole genius architect.As an industry we do a terrible job of educating the public, our clients, and to some degree even ourselves, as to what architects actually do. If we cant define that and communicate our value, how can we ever expect things to ever change?This is not a shock to anyone paying the least bit of attention. Its far past time that we burned it all down and started from scratch. Whether we like it or not, a sea change is coming. Circumstance will force our evolution and test our creativity in ways never before imaginedunlocking new practices, potential and possibilities. Lets just all make sure to do this better next time.Our professions culture is trapped in a doom loop and its up to us to change it, said Evelyn Lee, president of the American Institute of Architects. I once told a friend when I was about to go out on my own, rethinking the future of the practice and my place within it, I dont want to be an architect. I just want to do really incredible architecture and theres a really big difference.William Dodge is founder and design principal at p-u-b-l-i-c and cofounder and artist at A Gang of Three.
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  • WWW.FASTCOMPANY.COM
    NASAs returned Bennu asteroid samples contain the building blocks for life
    Asteroid samplesfetched by NASAhold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.The findings provide the strongest evidence yet thatasteroidsmay have planted the seeds of life on Earth and that these ingredients were mingling with water almost right from the start.Thats the kind of environment that could have been essential to the steps that lead from elements to life, said the Smithsonian Institutions Tim McCoy, one of the lead study authors.NASAs Osiris-Rex spacecraft returned 122 grams (4 ounces) ofdust and pebblesfrom the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, delivering the sample canister to the Utah desert in 2023 before swooping off after another space rock. It remains the biggest cosmic haul from beyond the moon. The twoprevious asteroid sample missions, by Japan, yielded considerably less material.Small amounts of Bennus precious black grains leftovers from the solar systems formation 4.5 billion years ago were doled out to the two separate research teams whose studies appeared in the journals Nature and Nature Astronomy. But it was more than enough to tease out the sodium-rich minerals and confirm the presence of amino acids, nitrogen in the form of ammonia and even parts of the genetic code.Some if not all of the delicate salts found at Bennu similar to whats in the dry lakebeds of Californias Mojave Desert and Africas Sahara would be stripped away if present in falling meteorites.This discovery was only possible by analyzing samples that were collected directly from the asteroid then carefully preserved back on Earth, the Institute of Science Tokyos Yasuhito Sekine, who was not involved in the studies, said in an accompanying editorial.Combining the ingredients of life with an environment of sodium-rich salt water, or brines, thats really the pathway to life, said McCoy, the National Museum of Natural Historys curator of meteorites. These processes probably occurred much earlier and were much more widespread than we had thought before.NASAs Daniel Glavin said one of the biggest surprises was the relatively high abundance of nitrogen, including ammonia. While all of the organic molecules found in the Bennu samples have been identified before in meteorites, Glavin said the ones from Bennu are valid real extraterrestrial organic material formed in space and not a result of contamination from Earth.Bennu a rubble pile just one-third of a mile (one-half of a kilometer) across was originally part of a much larger asteroid that got clobbered by other space rocks. The latest results suggest this parent body had an extensive underground network of lakes or even oceans, and that the water evaporated away, leaving behind the salty clues.Sixty labs around the world are analyzing bits of Bennu as part of initial studies, said the University of Arizonas Dante Lauretta, the missions chief scientist who took part in both studies.Most of the $1 billion missions cache has been set aside for future analysis. Scientists stress more testing is needed to better understand the Bennu samples, as well as more asteroid and comet sample returns. China plans to launch an asteroid sample return mission this year.Many are pushing for a mission to collect rocks and dirt from the potentially waterlogged dwarf planet Ceres in the main asteroid belt. Jupiters moon Europa and Saturns moon Enceladus also beckon as enticing water worlds. Meanwhile, NASA has core samples awaiting pickup at Mars, but their delivery is on hold while the space agency studies the quickest and cheapest way to get them here.Are we alone? McCoy said. Thats one of the questions were trying to answer.Marcia Dunn, AP aerospace writerThe Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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  • WWW.YANKODESIGN.COM
    Nike 24.7 Marks the Biggest Shift in the Brands Performance Wear Yet
    Nike is introducing the 24.7 collection as a defining moment in its approach to athleisure, positioning it as a step forward in the evolution of performance-driven lifestyle wear that merges comfort, versatility, and contemporary fashion. The sportswear giant is shifting gears, moving beyond performance-driven apparel and moving into a more refined approach to athleisure. With consumers demanding more from their wardrobes, Nikes answer is a lineup that blends technical innovation with everyday style.Designer: NikeNikeUnlike past releases that leaned into high-energy branding and performance-driven marketing, 24.7 adopts a more sophisticated direction, focusing on subtlety and versatility in its design language. The pieces are made to be worn beyond the gym, on the move, at work, or even while winding down. It is a calculated shift, signaling that Nike sees the future of sportswear as something that seamlessly integrates into daily life. And if I am being honest, I do not understand why it took Nike so long to recognize this shift. Athleisure has been evolving for years, with brands refining the intersection of sport and lifestyle, yet Nikearguably the most influential force in the industryhas only now begun fully embracing this transition.The Design Philosophy Behind 24.7At first glance, the 24.7 collection doesnt immediately resemble what many have come to expect from Nike. The oversized swooshes, aggressive graphics, and high-contrast designs that have defined many of the brands past collections are noticeably absent, signaling a shift in aesthetic direction. Instead, the collection embraces minimalism, tonal branding, and subtle details that feel more at home in a high-end boutique than a sports store.This departure from traditional Nike aesthetics is not incidental but a deliberate choice to align with a more polished and adaptable approach to performance-driven fashion. The locker-loop details, internal heat-pressed tags featuring Nikes Total Orange stripe, and muted color palette reference the brands deep-rooted history in sportswear while signaling a refined aesthetic.NikeFrom my perspective, this shift is a long-overdue evolution in Nikes approach to sportswear. The emphasis on structured silhouettes, refined materials, and tonal branding marks a significant departure from the brands past reliance on bold graphics and oversized logos. This shift highlights the versatility Nike is pushing with 24.7, proving that performance apparel can be understated yet impactful.These pieces arent confined to performance wear, nor are they purely casual. They are designed to exist in a space where movement and sophistication come together effortlessly, allowing wearers to transition through different parts of their day without compromise. The adaptability of these garments is what sets them apart, ensuring that they feel just as natural in an active setting as they do in a social or professional environment.NikeNike has taken a distinct step away from its historically bold branding, opting instead for subtle imprints like the tonal Nike 24.7 logo discreetly placed on garments such as chinos. This minimalist approach speaks to the collections refined direction, proving that performance apparel does not need to rely on loud graphics or oversized logos to make an impact. The confidence of the design lies in its restraint.Versatility is the priority, with structured silhouettes that emphasize precision in tailoring rather than attention-grabbing branding. This shift mirrors the rise of quiet luxury in fashion, where understated design and premium materials work together to create apparel meant to be worn throughout the entire day without feeling out of place in any scenario.Fabric Innovation and Market PositioningNike isnt solely relying on design to distinguish this collection, as fabric innovation plays an equally significant role in defining the overall experience of wearing these garments. The introduction of ImpossiblySoft and PerfectStretch materials marks a leap into premium technical wear.NikeImpossiblySoft: A Spacer-knit fabric with four-way stretch designed to feel effortless on the skin while maintaining structure. Found in the collections crewnecks, joggers, and half-zips, it creates a balance between softness and function.PerfectStretch: A tailored fabric engineered for movement. Used in pleated skirts, wide-leg pants, and woven shirts, it brings a refined look to traditionally sporty pieces.Both materials use Nikes signature Dri-FIT technology, which helps regulate moisture and temperature, ensuring that comfort and performance go hand in hand. This pairing allows the garments to maintain breathability and sweat-wicking properties while ensuring an elevated look that doesnt compromise on mobility. Sweat-wicking, breathable, and adaptivethese fabrics allow 24.7 to blur the line between performance gear and premium leisurewear.NikeNikes messaging surrounding the 24.7 collection is carefully crafted to reflect a broader lifestyle shift. The phrase From sport to life, from mindset to movement encapsulates the idea that athletic wear is no longer just about training or competing but is instead becoming an integral part of daily wardrobes for individuals who prioritize both performance and personal style.NikeThe decision to feature British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith in the campaign reinforces the collections emphasis on adaptability. She describes the fabrics as soft and luxurious, praising the tonal branding for its refined aesthetic. For her, the pieces in this collection stand out because they seamlessly blend performance and style in a way that feels natural and effortless. Whether shes training, traveling, or making public appearances, she needs apparel that adapts. Thats the exact ethos Nike is building into 24.7.Nike isnt the first brand to embrace the concept of elevated athleisure, as the market has already been shaped by key players who have blurred the line between functional sportswear and high-end fashion. Brands like Lululemon have long merged performance and luxury, while Represent has pushed technical apparel into the premium space. Even luxury fashion houses have started experimenting with sport-inspired silhouettes.NikeWhat sets Nike apart is its deep-rooted performance credibility. While other brands focus on aesthetics first, Nike builds from function. 24.7 is a response to shifting consumer expectationsclothes need to perform, but they also need to look good outside of the gym.What This Means for Nikes FutureNikes introduction of the 24.7 collection signals a long-term commitment to reshaping its approach to lifestyle and performance apparel. It hints at a broader evolution in the brands approach to apparel. If this collection gains traction, we could see Nike doubling down on technical lifestyle wear and expanding its Sportswear line with even more refined offerings.NikeThat raises a few questions. Will Nike lean further into high-end athleisure? Could we see collaborations that push this aesthetic even further? More importantly, will consumers embrace this understated approach, or will they still gravitate towards Nikes more traditional bold branding?One thing is clear: 24.7 marks a new direction for Nike. Whether its a turning point or just a strategic play remains to be seen, but the brand is making it clearperformance and style no longer exist in separate lanes.The post Nike 24.7 Marks the Biggest Shift in the Brands Performance Wear Yet first appeared on Yanko Design.
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    Logitechs New Sensor Helps Offices Save Energy By Tracking Their Employees
    The modern office has a peculiar way of clinging to inefficiencies. Lights stay on in empty conference rooms, HVAC systems blast cool air over unoccupied desks, and hybrid work schedules turn entire floors into ghost towns. Logitechs Spot sensor claims to fix thatan unassuming puck-shaped device packed with mmWave radar, designed to detect human presence and optimize energy consumption. It sounds like a pragmatic upgrade, but when a device is built to track movement at all times, the question isnt just what it can do, but who it ultimately serves.In essence, Spot is a spatial awareness tool (not the kind of spatial that Apple talks about). Unlike traditional motion sensors, which rely on infrared or basic heat detection, mmWave radar allows Spot to detect even the smallest movementsbreathing, slight shifts in posture, the restless tapping of fingers on a desk. This makes it vastly more accurate than older tech, which often misfires when someone sits too still. The device feeds this data into Logitechs office management platform, providing real-time insights about occupancy. Lights, ventilation, and other smart systems can then adjust dynamically, reducing waste in spaces that arent actually being used.Designer: LogitechIn theory, this is great. Offices hemorrhage money on unused space, and anything that reduces waste is a win. The hardware itself is sleek, unobtrusive, and entirely wireless, running on Bluetooth and Thread, with a promised battery life of up to four years. It doesnt use cameras or microphones, which makes it less invasive than the surveillance tools that companies quietly deploy under the guise of productivity tracking. But heres where things get murkyjust because a device isnt *overtly* spying on you doesnt mean it isnt feeding data into a broader ecosystem that can be used in ways employees might not fully grasp.The rise of smart offices often parallels a rise in employer oversight. The same infrastructure that powers energy efficiency can easily be repurposed for monitoring work habits. If a system knows when a meeting room is occupied, it also knows how long people spend in it. If it tracks desk occupancy, it can reveal attendance patterns. Even if Logitech swears up and down that Spot is about sustainability and nothing else, data has a way of becoming useful to those looking for patternsmanagers, landlords, HR departments.This is where corporate efficiency starts to blur into something else. On one end, a company might use Spots data to adjust real estate investmentsscaling down leased space based on actual occupancy. Thats a rational use case. On the other, the same data could be weaponized against employees, subtly influencing return-to-office policies or flagging underutilized desks. Its easy to imagine a scenario where your absence from a workstation becomes a point of discussion, not because a boss is watching you, but because the system quietly logs every fluctuation in space usage.The irony is that the same technology that promises to streamline workspaces could also contribute to their slow demise. If hybrid work continues to dominate, sensors like Spot might end up proving that offices are redundant. Real estate firms are already bracing for a reckoning as occupancy rates stagnate, and if data-driven insights confirm that companies dont need the square footage they once did, landlords will be the ones scrambling for solutions. In that sense, Spot could be an accelerantgiving businesses the justification they need to downsize for good.To Logitechs credit, the company has positioned Spot as a tool for efficiency, not surveillance. There are no direct integrations with employee monitoring software, no granular tracking tied to individuals. The fact that it relies on radar instead of cameras is a crucial distinctionone that at least suggests a baseline respect for privacy. But technology rarely exists in a vacuum. Even if Spot itself doesnt cross ethical lines, it contributes to a broader culture where data collection is increasingly normalized, where presence detection subtly shifts from convenience to expectation.If you strip away the corporate implications, Spot is an objectively solid product. Its compact, well-designed, and technologically impressive. It does what its supposed to do, and it does it better than most alternatives. And if companies deploy Spot responsibly (thats a big IF) transparently sharing its purpose, keeping employee data anonymized, and using it strictly for resource management it could be a meaningful step toward making offices more sustainable without compromising trust. The push for efficiency doesnt have to come at the cost of autonomy, and in the best-case scenario, tools like this could help build smarter workplaces that respect both people and privacy. Whether businesses choose to use it that way is another question entirely.The post Logitechs New Sensor Helps Offices Save Energy By Tracking Their Employees first appeared on Yanko Design.
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  • WWW.WIRED.COM
    Trumps Plan for Elon Musk to Bring the Stranded Astronauts Home ASAP Is a Headache for NASA
    Bringing forward the return of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would leave just a single astronaut operating the US portion of the International Space Station.
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  • WWW.NYTIMES.COM
    Microsoft Continues A.I. Spending Growth as Profit Grows 10%
    The tech giants revenue was up 12 percent to $69.6 billion, but investors are showing their nerves after a long boom for tech stocks.
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  • APPLEINSIDER.COM
    Apple Maps shows users the Gulf of Mexico when searching for 'Gulf of America'
    Apple Maps has seemingly taken a half step in addressing the United States Gulf of Mexico renaming, but it isn't clear if this is the permanent solution or a placeholder.Apple Maps showing search results for 'Gulf of America'When President Trump took office on January 20, 2025, one of the first executive orders he signed changed the names of multiple locations in and out of the United States. The most controversial was the change from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.Politicians were quick to question Apple and Google on when the change would be reflected in their respective mapping apps. Google responded by stating Google Maps would be updated when the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was updated it still shows the Gulf of Mexico. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
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