Amid the new chipset, camera improvements, and refreshed design revealed for the S25 Ultra at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, we also saw a notable downgrade the loss of Bluetooth from the S Pen. New announcements suggest Samsung will offer one separately, at a cost.

Potential third party breach may be behind alleged TalkTalk customer information being found for sale online.

Creative studios, especially in the VFX and animation industries, thrive on precision, collaboration, and efficiency. But lets face itmanaging multiple projects, tracking progress, and meeting deadlines can feel like juggling flaming torches. Thats where 2dview steps in, revolutionizing the way studios manage their workflows.Why VFX and Animation Studios Need Better Project ManagementIn todays fast-paced creative landscape, studios deal with:Tight Deadlines: Projects demand quick turnarounds without compromising quality.Complex Workflows: From concept to final render, every stage must align seamlessly.Collaboration Challenges: Teams often work across multiple locations, making communication a hurdle.Without the right tools, studios risk missed deadlines, budget overruns, and frustrated teams. Enter 2dview, the ultimate project management software designed specifically for VFX and animation studios.What Makes 2dview the Best Project Management Software?Effortless VFX Production TrackingTracking progress has never been easier. With 2dview, you can monitor every shot, artist task, and approval process in real-time. Its intuitive dashboard ensures you always have a clear picture of your studios operations.Free Report Generation for In-Depth InsightsWhy waste hours creating reports manually? 2dview offers a free report generation tool, giving you actionable insights into project timelines, resource allocation, and team performance. This empowers you to make data-driven decisions effortlessly.Enhanced Collaboration Across TeamsWhether your artists are in-house or remote, 2dview fosters seamless communication. Share updates, feedback, and approvals without the chaos of email threads or missed messages.Streamlined Workflows for Maximum ProductivityEliminate bottlenecks and redundant steps with 2dviews optimized workflow management. This not only speeds up production but also reduces stress on your team, enabling them to focus on creating stunning visuals.How 2dview Boosts Studio Productivity?Save TimeWith automated tracking and reporting, youll spend less time managing and more time creating.Stay on BudgetAvoid costly delays with real-time project insights and proactive resource management.Deliver with ConfidenceMeet deadlines consistently with streamlined workflows and improved communication.Success Stories: Studios That Transformed with 2dviewStudios worldwide are reaping the benefits of adopting 2dview. From reducing project delivery times by 30% to enhancing team morale, the impact is undeniable.Ready to Elevate Your Studios Performance?Whether youre searching for the best project management software for VFX and animation studios, a free report generation tool, or the ultimate VFX production tracking software, 2dview has got you covered.Take the first step toward smarter project management today!Contact: sales@2dview.comExplore more: https://www.2dview.comYour creative studio deserves the best. Let 2dview help you unlock its full potential!The post Unlock Your Studios Potential with the Best Project Management Software appeared first on Vfxexpress.

Everyone needs their vice. For me, its tacos. Tacos and a cheap can of beer. But each January, the tacos hit differently because the beer is gone. Ive been Dry Januarying for longer than I can remember, and will be the first to praise the hashtag. Over time, mine has extended to February, March, and now through most of the year until the Midwest grows cold and the parties feel cozy.The annual reset offers me a health tune up, and a cessation of habitand thats true for up to half of us who report that Dry January curtails drinking longer term. A glass of champagne or the occasional paloma gets swapped for seltzer and a splash of juiceor god forbid, tap water (*shivers*)and I cease reflexively grabbing something alcoholic to celebrate a hard days work.Whereas I used to quietly mainline homemade gingerade for the month while sidestepping the judgement of friends, the big brandification of sobriety means that my local liquor store eagerly emailed me on January 1 this year, inviting me back to try their Willy Wonka assortment of non alcoholic beers and spiritswhats been estimated as a $13 billion global market in 2023 and growing. NA drinks were once a mark of shame, but now theyre the popular kids, with enticing flavors, sharp labels, and a tempting, ever-so-sanctimonious halo effect of self-care in an era when we should know better.Any level of alcohol is bad for you, notes Daniel Roche, echoing warnings from the former Surgeon General. Roche is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who studies alcohol and nicotine addiction. Going back 10 to 20 years, there was still some argument that there might be some benefits of alcohol, but now, any level of consumption is associated with almost every cancer.[Photo: Anheuser-Busch]At face value, the NA movement is a boon for health. But Ive also had the creeping suspicion that its too convenient. This is the first Dry January where Ive found myself chipping away at a 12-pack of (NA) Budweiser, its white and silver cans glinting in the light like vermeil clydesdales. Ive been enjoying the bite of hops chasing a rich al pastor, my palate convinced that Im drinking the real stuff, to the point Ive been asking myself if I should run back to the store to grab another pack.I havent had a drop of alcohol in weeks, but I still wonder: Am I really giving up drinking this month, if Im still drinking beer? Am I breaking any habit if Im reaching into a cardboard box labeled by Anheuser-Busch InBev?The answer is maybe. And maybe not. Through conversations with half a dozen addiction clinicians and researchers, experts firmly agreed that the proliferation of non-alcoholic beverages pose a net gain for public health. But they generally concurred that I may be onto something. There is little known about how non-alcoholic beverage affect our long-term relationships with drinking, and they could come with risks of their ownnamely, keeping us dependent on the rituals of alcohol at the opportunity of breaking up with it entirely.Were still sorting that out, says Kenneth Leonard, director of the Research Institute on Addictions at University at Buffalo, noting that anything that cues the sensations of alcohol might lead some to seek the real thing. It could certainly elicit some interest in returning and having an alcoholic beverage, and maybe saying, I can just have one, or maybe I can have a couple.Our changing treatment of addictionTo reiterate, the experts I talked to ranged from ever so positive to quite bullish on the proliferation of non-alcoholic products. While many shared light, curious concerns, they agreed that anyone from a light drinker (consuming 1 to 2 drinks a day) to a heavy drinker (who consumes 4 to 5) might benefit from trying them.The key reason for their support is that the medical communitys approach to addiction has shifted over time. Traditional programs like Alcholics Anonymous (which did not respond to comment) coach the complete cessation of drinkingwhich has often even included non alcoholic beers, in case they might trigger a relapse. But over the past few decades, clinicians have softened their approach in treating addiction from abstinence to whats known as harm reduction.I think in the clinical world that theres recognition that people are not going to change in ways they dont want to change, says Leonard. You have somebody come in for treatment for an alcohol use problem, and they say, I want to cut down on my drinking, you know, a clinician is not going to say, well, Im only going to treat you if youre committed to abstinence.Even though abstinence is the ideal long-term outcome to most clinicians, they acknowledge human nature, and will take what they can get. If an NA drink swaps out just one alcoholic drink, they are less concerned about the potential for unknown, long-term consequences than this singular net gainand having a patient take a first potential step in a greater path to recovery.The science has progressed at this point, says Joel Sprunger, a clinical psychologist in the addiction sciences division at the UC College of Medicine. If I can get somebody to go from drinking a 12-pack a night to six-pack a night, its still a lot, but its half. Being able to make that change can build momentumlets cut it in half again. Now Im going to go from six to three, and then from three to one, and then maybe I dont need it after a while.The science of habitsBreaking an addiction to ethanol is particularly difficult, but all new habits take time to form: an average of 66 days (though as many as 258), according to a landmark study published in 2009 that followed nearly 100 people as they charted new behaviors in drinking, eating, and activities like running.Phillippa Lally, who is now the Co-director of Habit Application & Theory Research Group at the University of Surrey, was the lead author on this study. And she is quick to caution, per her own research, that the single month of January wont be long enough for many people to break any habit. However, as for the effect of swapping a beer for an NA beer, she believes it could actually be beneficial to cut back consumption long term.You cant easily break a habit . . . particularly not just by consciously stopping yourself from doing it. It takes effort every time. So, you could exert this effort for the whole of January and then stop and you havent broken the habit, Lally writes via email. Substitution is a potentially useful approach to break a habit: Form a new habit that is stronger than the old one. Choosing a substitute that meets the same goals as the original habit is also a good idea, so a NA drink is a potentially good approach to that too, because it meets the goal of having a drink, potentially of being social, of the enjoyment of the flavor (presuming you do enjoy the flavor).In psychological theory, Lally is correct. In the actual practice of consuming alcohol, she might not be. A study from 2022 tracked beer purchases across 64,280 British households over three years. It asked the question that we are now: Do low and no ABV beers reduce our drinking? In this study, alcohol alternatives were consumed in small overall amounts at a population level: regular beer outsold NA beer at a rate of 32:1. But what it found was striking, and you can see it for yourself on the timeline below. Once households started buying nablab (no and low alcohol beer), they did consume less alcohol overall. Nablab purchases offset 22.5% of regular beer drinkingand that shift in habit continued even a year later. But they also kept on buying normal beer, albeit not as much. (Its also worth noting that another study looking at no and low-alcohol beverages in Great Britain and Spain found little benefit in their consumption: These lighter options were linked to lower mortality rates, but at such low levels it was a moot intervention.)Graphic from Are Lower-Strength Beers Gateways to Higher-Strength Beers? Time Series Analyses of Household Purchases from 64,280 British Households, 20152018 by Eva Jan Llopis, Amy ODonnell, Eileen Kaner, Peter Anderson [Image: Oxford Academic]In other words, NA drinks appear to reduce consumption by someone who drinks, potentially long term, but they arent a proven gateway to full sobriety, either. People who started drinking NA beers were still drinking the same, diminished amount of alcohol from the first day they bought an NA beer to a year later. While the studys author did not respond to request for comment, Roche is bullish on the findings, and says he could imagine those nablab drinkers really could kick the habit longer term, but that we dont yet know. His take on NA drinks is optimistic but measured.I dont know that I would come out and say I fully support it, but also Im not strongly against it either, says Roche. I think, you know, having more options available to people as they make more informed decisions about the role that they want these beverages to play in their lives is a good thing. Indeed, one study found that simply by expanding the number of different NA options available next to alcohol increased their rate of purchase. So the proliferation of NA drinks itself likely means more of us will be drinking them.[Image: Ghia]Breaking the links between drinking and our identityYet I cant help but wonder if drinking these convincing mocktails or NA beers is only perpetuating our identity as drinkers. And thats a point that could make you stick with a habit you might otherwise try to kick completely.There is . . . a question of identity here, writes Lally. If people identify as doing dry January, then they are likely to drink again in February. Whereas if they identify as someone who no longer drinks, or drinks rarely, its more likely to stick, but that is likely harder to encourage people to. Could the same be true to someone who still cracks a beer with their tacos?An alternative approach, Lally notes, is to remove cues that lead us to drink, whatever they may be. If these are removed permanently then the change should stick, she continues. However, a lot of the cues are things we cant remove from our lives.Indeed, alcohol is closely associated with every major social activity for adultswhich is both cultural and the result of omnipresent marketing (see: the NFL). Whether were talking about dating, whether were talking about picnics or end of year parties or retirement parties or all those things, theres always celebrations, says Leonard. Theres wine, beer, champagne, all those opportunities. And so you have to sort of imagine, what would those events be with[out alcohol]. You know, maybe they would be fine.The researchers I spoke to agreed that throwing back a few NA drinks at a party was a healthy behaviorand it might even help you deal with social anxiety. If you strongly associate beer with being a social lubricant, well, studies show the placebo effects may come along with it. You may actually get chattier and jollier drinking NA beer. But I think eventually, thats going to peter out well without the drug on board, says Roche. And your association between celebration and consumption may naturally fizzle out, too.In traditional conditioning models of learning, you have a conditioned stimulus, which is beer, and you have an unconditioned stimulus, which is alcohol. The way you extinguish that is, you present the beer cue without the alcohol. And then that should weaken that learning of this really positive, associative factor [of a buzz], says Leonard. But we dont have the data on that.[Image: Athletic Brewing Co.]What else can we do after dry January?If youve read this far, then you might be wondering, what other actions either you or the industry at large can do to reduce the consumption of alcohol. In fact, we do have some data on just that.For the industry, one study has calculated that, if the producers were to reduce the ABV in drinks across the board by 10%an amount that would be largely unnoticeable in many contextswe could reduce overall mortality rates by up to 1.26%. For mass public health, reducing alcohol in alcoholic beverages could make the biggest immediate impact simply because people would drink less ethanol for the same volume of beverage. Similar research on tobacco has even demonstrated that, by swapping cigarettes for lower nicotine cigarettes for six weeks (in randomized double blind trials), people reduced their dependence on and craving for nicotine. Simply offering less of a drug seems to be a good way to get people to consume less of it: even making cups smaller can lead people to drink less at parties.As for individuals, drinking can be a tough habit to break without breaking up with your rituals and social circles associated with it. But if you want to make abstinence feel easier, one of the most effective things you can do is to make more plans for the morning. People who had activities like exercising or volunteering planned for the next day are about half as likely to drink the night before.My biggest takeaway from a couple decades of enjoying alcohol is that, deep down, Ive always known it wasnt good for meeven when studies conveniently teased that a glass or two of wine a day might lengthen your life. Reaching into the fridge for an NA beer feels sneakily similar. You can never have your cake and eat it too. Something always costs something.But I also recognize my concerns are probably vastly overblown, and in just a few years, culture is attempting to reframe and reconcile thousands of years of practices weve had around alcohol.Perhaps not every decision we make is perfect (and thank god or what fun would life be?)but when it comes to our physical health, theres almost always a better thing we can be drinking, and chances are, that glass of NA will do you more good than harm.Liana Reid, who kicked her own heroin addiction decades ago to become a professional interventionist, puts it all pretty bluntly. If were gonna save some lives, people can save some lives by switching to NA, she says. It wont have the same effect. They wont end up in another country or behind the wheel of a car killing somebody.

Last year, as other insurance companies fled from California, one startup launched with the goal to help homeowners in the highest-risk areas get coverage. The startup, called Stand, believes that by making targeted design changes, homes can become resilient enough that theyre feasible to insure. While the company focuses on retrofits for existing homes, the same strategies apply to houses built from scratch. We talked to Stands CEO about what homeowners should consider as they begin to rebuild in L.A.and how the right decisions could not just protect residents but begin to deal with the states insurance crisis. Protect yourself from the house next doorIn Pacific Palisades, part of the fire danger came from the fact that homes were densely packed together. If the home next door is burning, thats a problem for your own house not just because the flames may spread, but because the blast of heat can cause damage.One small step that can help: using tempered glass in windows. In any window thats facing anything burning, one of the biggest risk points is that the glass will break from the heat, and then embers will fall inside, says Stand CEO Dan Preston. Its a way a lot of these homes ultimately burn down. So you want to have tempered glass, which dramatically improves the odds that it wont break. Other materials on the house should also be fire-resistant, from the siding to the roof, to protect them from embers blowing through the air.A tall stucco wall between yards can also help stop the spread of fire. In the L.A. fires, some of the homes that survived had this feature. Built-in sprinkler systems, which spray exterior walls with water and flame retardant, are another solution. (One example is from a company called Frontline, which makes a system that attaches to a house with reserves of water and foam, and which automatically turns on when a fire is within range of a house.) Preston says his team had previously been cautious about how well sprinkler systems work. But the recent fires proved their effectiveness. Weve found a couple of examples where they basically saved the home, he says.When rebuilding from scratch, homeowners should also consider a new layout. If a house has a smaller footprint, for example, that means there can be more space between it and the neighbors. If theres at least 15 feet between your home and the next one, as long as your house is built with the right materials, your chances of surviving are much higher, says Preston.[Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images]Keep embers outTerrifying videos from the L.A. fires show embers flying through the air, propelled by hurricane-force winds. Most houses in wildfires ignite because embers make their way through gaps at the bottom or top of the building. Once an ember gets inside, its hard to avoid the house burning down.Making sure that theres flashing (thin strips of metal) around the edges of your house, and that vents are covered with an ember-proof mesh, can keep embers out. These are not huge changeshundreds of dollars, not thousands of dollars of changes, says Preston. They can be pretty minor things. And that can be the difference between losing your multi-million-dollar home or not.Jim and Nancy Evans Malibu home survived the Palisades fire even though many of his neighbors homes didnt. After the Evans previous house on the same lot burned down in a wildfire in 1993, he rebuilt a fire-resilient structure with a metal roof, steel-reinforced walls with cinderblock at the bottom, double-paned windows and 6 feet of stone encircling the house, clear of vegetation. The rest of his yard is landscaped with fire-resilient succulents and oak trees. Evans believes his home survived due to its hardened design and defensible space. Photographed on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Malibu, CA. [Photo: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images]Maintain defensible spaceThe first five feet around a housewhat fire agencies call Zone 0is the most critical place to avoid having flammable objects, whether thats wooden deck chairs, trash cans, or a pile of dead leaves. If embers fly into your yard and ignite something close to your home, its almost inevitable that the fire will spread to the house itself. Inside that five-foot buffer zone, the ideal landscaping might be stones and small, high-moisture plants like cactus. A little farther away from the house, its fine to have trees, though the type of tree matters. (One of the lessons of the L.A. fires was that palm trees are especially flammable, since they tend to have dead branches near the top; native oak trees are safer.) Trees also need to be trimmed correctly. Stand uses models to advise homeowners about where limbs should be cut to make it less likely that the crown can catch on fire. If a house is built with the safest materials, theres more flexibility with landscaping. If you have tempered glass and you have fire-resistant siding, you can actually have more vegetation near the home because its less likely that the home will be lost in those cases, Preston says.The more that houses are built and retrofitted with these strategies in mind, he says, the more that insurance rates can go down. Thats true not just for the individual homeowners making changes, but for the market as a whole. The thing that really drives insurance costs is not just the likelihood that your home will burn down in a year, its the likelihood that your whole neighborhood gets lost, he says. If you could demonstrate that these fires no longer burn down 10,000 homes, but burn down 10, its not going to just reduce your insurance costs by 10% or 20%. It could cut it in half.

Local studio ROAR Architects has extended a Victorian house in southeast London with grass-topped and oak-framed living spaces that overlook a large garden.Named Newton Park Place, the home occupies a Grade II-listed former gardener's cottage, located in the Chislehurst Conservation Area in Bromley.ROAR Architects has extended a Victorian home in southeast LondonWhile alternations made to the home in 2007 were designed to be in keeping with its traditional Victorian architecture, ROAR Architects was tasked with creating a "purposefully different" extension that would reconnect it with its garden.This was made apparent both in its material palette of oak and glass and also its layout, which eschews the typical open-plan design of extensions in favour of two separate rooms for the kitchen diner and living area.The extension is split into two separate rooms"We designed the new extension to be purposefully different from the Grade II-listed gardeners cottage, as supported by Bromley's conservation officer, and the dining area was set back to respect original footprint and historic plan form," ROAR Architects director Craig Rosenblatt told Dezeen."Rather than the typical 'super room' open-plan layout, our client asked for separate spaces," he continued. "The ground floor is designed as four separate spaces all connected by timber doors. Each room feels appropriate to the scale of the old gardener's cottage."A glazed bi-fold window in the living room opens out to the patioCreating two new axes from the existing snug and study at the front of Newton Park Place, each of the new rooms is designed to have a subtly different relationship to the garden, which was designed by landscape architect Lilly Gomm.In the living area, a four-metre-wide glazed bi-fold window above a built-in bench allows the space to open out to the external patio.Read: Studio on the Rye encases Rusty House in London with "seamless" Corten steelThe kitchen also features full-height glazing, while the adjacent "dining nook" is more intimate, with a single large window and a skylight between wooden beams above.These spaces are all framed by the oak structure, made in collaboration with joiner Tim Gaudin, which extends outwards to become a small pergola alongside the living space.A dining nook features a skylight within wooden beamsCrowning the extension is a green roof that has been planted with wildflowers to appear as an extension of the garden when viewed from the main bedroom above.The exposed oak structure and large window frames are the main features on the interiors, which have been kept otherwise minimal to "ensure warm oak and garden became the focal points", according to Rosenblatt.A green roof planted with wildflowers sits on top of the extension"Oak and a green roof was selected from the first concept design images for its sustainable qualities and to purposefully contrast with the existing red brickwork and tiles," he explained.Alongside the kitchen island, a spiral staircase leads down to a small naturally ventilated wine cellar.London-based ROAR Architects was founded by Rosenblatt and Shaun O'Brien in 2017. Previous projects by the studio include the conversion of an end-of-terrace in Kentish Town into two colourful duplexes.The photography is by Chris Wharton.The post ROAR Architects adds oak-framed extension to heritage-listed London home appeared first on Dezeen.

White Arkitekter's Sara Kulturhus in Sweden is next in our21st-Century Architecture: 25 Years 25 Buildings series, after bringing one of the world's tallest timber buildings to the small subarctic city of Skellefte.The Sara Kulturhus Centre marked a step-change in the ambition of timber construction, demonstrating that the timber revolution kickstarted a decade earlier by a previous building in this series, Waugh Thistlteton's Murray Grove in 2009, showed no signs of abating.Sara Kulturhus was the most significant building of 2021While the appearance of a timber behemoth in Skellefte a city with a strong green agenda and a rich heritage of timber construction was a less incongruous spectacle than in London, it nonetheless marked a dramatic step-up in scale."One of the biggest challenges of the project was convincing people to build something that hadn't been built before," said the project's lead architects, Robert Schmitz and Oskar Norelius.Among those who needed convincing were Skellefte's municipal leader, Lorents Burman, despite the city already being home to numerous larger wooden structures, including bridges and schools."When I saw the competition proposal, I didn't think it would be possible to build," he told the Guardian. "Twenty floors high in wood? In Skellefte?"The building includes a 20-storey hotelIt was White Arkitekter's ambition to bring Skellefte's history of timber construction into the 21st century that convinced the judges of a 2016 competition.A cluster of blocks organised around a 20-storey hotel, the Sara Kulturhus contains a hotel, theatre, gallery, library and museum, making it a true landmark destination for the city both in its scale and variety of uses.Read: Waugh Thistleton Architects' Murray Grove was the most significant building of 2009The centre's timber structure was a crucial part of this landmark status which, while more expensive than the alternative of concrete, was intended as a celebration of the region's heritage."This was a city centre with a timber heritage lost to concrete over the last century," Schmitz told RIBA Journal. "We are returning timber to it, at a new and grander scale."The building was constructed from CLT and glulamSuch a diverse programme required a variety of construction methods, which "unleashed a world of previously unimagined design possibilities", according to project architect Maria Orvesten, who spoke to Dezeen as part of our Timber Revolution series.Working with structural engineers Florian Kosche, two construction methods were developed that minimised the use of concrete and steel in the structure, both of them based on the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue laminated timber (glulam).As the only truly sustainable building material with benefits in speed, health and wellness beyond the carbon saving the future is woodOliver Wainwright in the GuardianGlulam, made from layers of wood bonded with the grain running in the same direction, was far more suited to achieving the large spans required by the cultural centre's spaces, and therefore used to create columns and beams for the lower levels.CLT, on the other hand, where layers are built up at right angles, is better placed for the creation of walls and floor slabs, with the hotel structure above being created from prefabricated modules organised around two CLT lift cores.Timber is visible throughout the interiorsIn addition to meeting different structural requirements, timber was also utilised to meet acoustic requirements, such as in the concert hall where small, angled panels line the walls."One of the most interesting solutions in Sara Kulturhus Centre was the hybrid solutions based on material optimisation," said Orvested."We used the right material in the right place, based on the qualities of the material."Wood was used for acoustic panels in the theatreThe structure did still require some hybrid elements, such as steel trusses used beneath the hotel tower in order to transfer its weight while allowing the lower spaces to remain column-free.Concrete, too, makes an appearance, not only in the underground levels but around the technical plant to dampen noise and on the uppermost floors of the tower to reduce the impact of wind.Despite these concessions, the structure is estimated to store twice as much carbon dioxide as is believed to have been emitted during construction, which, according to White Arkitekter, is enough to make the building carbon negative over its lifetime.The timber was sourced entirely from forests within a 60-kilometre radius of Skellefte, with prefabricated elements produced in Vsterbotten and Renholmen in Sweden.Timber was exposed externally and internallyWhile some earlier examples of mass-timber buildings opted to conceal their timber structure, Sara Kulturhus revels in it, leaving it exposed and treated with a fire retardant throughout.This approach extends to the centre's fittings, most notably in an oversized timber staircase in the foyer, which acts as both circulation and a stage for impromptu events, sitting beneath the exposed steelwork of the trusses above.Externally, large areas of glazing reveal the wooden interiors next to areas of timber cladding, while the hotel tower is wrapped entirely in a double-skin glazed facade that reveals the timber structure within."With all these exposed timber walls, ceilings and floors, the place feels like a gigantic sauna with the aroma to match," wrote Oliver Wainwright in the Guardian.Read: Anna Heringer's Anandaloy was the most significant building of 2020Like the rest of the city it inhabits, the centre runs on 100 per cent renewable energy, provided by a geothermal heat pump and solar panels and connected to a network that uses artificial intelligence to predict heating needs.Given Skellefte's status as a city with such a reputation for climate-consciousness, some may argue that the presence of Sara Kulturhus is not necessarily indicative of a wider movement.But for others, the centre was proof that timber construction was not only here to stay, but had firmly cemented its place as the building material of the future."There remain plenty of barriers in the way: the lobbying power of concrete manufacturers, an insurance industry averse to innovation, retrograde building regulations and a construction culture reluctant to change," wrote Wainwright."But as the only truly sustainable building material with benefits in speed, health and wellness beyond the carbon saving the future is wood."Did we get it right? Was Sara Kulturhus by White Arkitekter the most significant building completed in 2021? Let us know in the comments. We will be running a poll once all 25 buildings are revealed to determine the most significant building of the 21st century so far.This article is part of Dezeen's21st-Century Architecture: 25 Years 25 Buildingsseries, which looks at the most significant architecture of the 21st century so far. For the series, we have selected the most influential building from each of the first 25 years of the century.The illustration is byJack Bedford and the photography is by Patrick Degerman.21st Century Architecture: 25 Years 25 Buildings2000:Tate Modern by Herzog & de Meuron2001:Gando Primary School by Dibdo Francis Kr2002:Bergisel Ski Jump by Zaha Hadid2003:Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry2004:Quinta Monroy by Elemental2005:Moriyama House by Ryue Nishizawa2006:Madrid-Barajas airport by RSHP and Estudio Lamela2007:Oslo Opera House by Snhetta2008:Museum of Islamic Art by I M Pei2009:Murray Grove by Waugh Thistleton Architects2010:Burj Khalifa by SOM2011:National September 11 Memorial byHandel Architects2012:CCTV Headquarters by OMA2013:Cardboard Cathedral by ShigeruBan2014:Bosco Verticale by Stefano Boeri2015:UTEC Lima campus by Grafton Architects2016:Transformation of 530 Dwellings by Lacaton & Vassal, Frdric Druot and Christophe Hutin2017:Apple Park by Foster + Partners2018:Amager Bakke by BIG2019:Goldsmith Street by Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley2020:Anandaloy by Anna Heringer2021: Sara Kulturhus by White ArkitekterThis list will be updated as the series progresses.The post Sara Kulturhus by White Arkitekter was the most significant building of 2021 appeared first on Dezeen.

Despite laptops overtaking their towering cousins in market share, these portable computers still lack one vital trait that has kept stationary desktops still relevant today. Desktop computers are, to a very large extent, modular by design, making it easier to upgrade and replace components as needs and technologies change. Sure, some laptops have upgradable RAM and storage, but thats pretty much all there is to them given certain limitations in design.Those limitations include the design of the motherboard itself, an all-in-one all-or-nothing object that is pretty much the soul of a computer. Intel, however, is proposing a rather ground-breaking change that will help make these components more repairable and less wasteful. If followed by its partners, it wont just kick off a new age of modular laptops, it could even give Intel and AMD a huge edge over their Arm-based rivals such as Qualcomm and, of now, Apple.Designer: IntelThe difference in motherboards between desktops and laptops is like night and day. Desktops follow an industry convention that has been shaped over decades, allowing components from rival companies to be mixed and matched as the consumer desires. Laptop motherboards, on the other hand, are often designed based on brand needs and whims. More importantly, they come as a whole package, with many parts soldered onto the board, including the ones that get worn out faster than others.Intels proposed guidelines try to split the laptop motherboard into three distinct parts, two of which would hold the I/O or input out components such as USB and HDMI ports. The third would be where the core silicon is located, specifically the CPU and the GPU, among others. The modularity would allow different affected parts to be replaced if broken or, if desired, even upgraded, without throwing away the rest of the motherboard.Those guidelines also have something for mini PCs, which are like the middle child between desktops and laptops. In this matter, the CPU and motherboard are separated from the graphics card and other components, making it easier to swap out GPUs or CPUs in the future. The growing popularity of mini PCs, partially thanks to the Mac mini and Mac studio, could be the driving force behind this initiative. Ironically, Intel itself has given up on the form factor, licensing its NUC brand to ASUS.Designer: FrameworkThese guidelines might be ideal for reducing e-waste and promoting the right to repair, but it still all depends on whether other players are willing to play ball. Laptop manufacturers might be hesitant to do the work redesigning their laptops, and Intels rival AMD might not be keen to cooperate either. Its still a distant dream, but one can already have a foretaste of the future today with the Framework laptops, proving that it can indeed be done with the right design.The post Modular laptops and mini PCs might be around the corner thanks to Intel first appeared on Yanko Design.

Qi Yang's painterly illustrations highlight the strength of the game's characters.

The KTC H27P22S has become my go-to for playing Marvel Rivals.