Core housing programmes government schemes which provide a service unit that residents can themselves extend were a common way in which intragovernmental organisations funded social housing in the postwar period in the global southCredit:Greg Marinovich / South Photos / african.picturesMasterplans have been tools of elite control for more than a century. They stand in stark contrast to the intensely local constructions and urban transformations built by residents themselves. Even at the peak of their influence, masterplanners such as Daniel Burnham or Le Corbusier were hardly oblivious to the ways their work exerted power through design, nor did they miss the potential for explosive conflict. When Le Corbusier described a choice between architecture or revolution in 1920, for instance, he was clearly warning other architects that only adequate modern housing could quell social unrest.Throughout the 20th century, and particularly after 1945, urban dwellers divided into those whose needs were adequately met by formal buildings, and those whose needs were not. The latter category made do by constructing their own houses near workplaces and by hooking up their own electrical lines, setting up their own security systems, and otherwise figuring out how to shelter themselves near work sites. They were architects of an ad hoc urbanism born out of necessity. The self-built settlements, or barriadas, surrounding Lima share some structural functions with the panjachons of post1953 South Korea or the deliberately underserviced Kibera area, both during and after British colonial control, in the city of Nairobi. This kind of selfhelp activity is the most important way in which cities have grown in the last 80 years.Within the world of planning and architecture, there were a few individuals who led the charge away from masterplans for international organisations and development programmes. Three itinerant advisers Jacob Crane, Charles Abrams and John FC Turner championed a new kind of incremental, peopledriven architecture. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating through the following two decades, all three rejected the idea that socalled slums could be wiped away and shiny modern housing put in their place. Instead, they contemplated how international funding might support and improve peoples efforts on the ground. As Turner wrote in his 1976 book Housing by People: Towards Autonomy in Building Environments: Only a rich minority can be supplied in centrally administered ways using centralising technologies, and then only at the expense of an impoverished majority and the rapid exhaustion or poisoning of the planets resources.Based on such ideas, the United Nations conducted experiments with the notion of aided selfhelp housing in the postwar years, testing homes that were a combination of governmental and/or intergovernmental assistance and resident effort. In essence, aided selfhelp experiments built standard cores constituting a minimum liveable housing unit and then encouraged residents to build out the structure. This process incorporated the benefits of fast, massconstructed cores with the lower cost of selfhelp improvements and adaptations. There were many variations of this concept, including programmes that only offered basic services such as water lines and a foundation along with floor plans for eventual construction; governmentsponsored equipment and loans for materials; a concurrent development of local building material industries and a training programme; and mass construction of basic houses with detailed suggestions for how to expand.The March 1962 pilot programme in Tanganyika a recently decolonised nation that achieved independence in December 1961, and would eventually join with Zanzibar to become Tanzania in 1964 offers a window into these early schemes. Prime Minister Julius Nyerere had just assumed office, and a few months later, the UN worked with Nyerere, Nyereres cabinet and the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) to launch a threephase programme on Morogoro Road in Magomeni, a ward in central Dar es Salaam. The planned first phase was a governmentled effort, with 10 houses constructed from March 1962 to April 1963 by the new nations Public Works Division, using a basic model that included a kitchen and latrine. The second phase starting in May 1963, meanwhile, attempted more complex improvements for another 10 houses. This second phase was to be led by homeowners and supplemented by voluntary labourers organised by TANU. Improvements included corrugated aluminium roofing for some houses and corrugated asbestos cement sheets for others, as well as cement plaster, Celotex fibreboard ceiling panels, concrete floors, electrical lighting, iron pipes and proper outbuildings with septic tanks. Because most of these building materials (minus the soil-cement blocks) needed to be purchased and brought in, homeowners would be required to repay material costs at 57 per cent interest over five to 10 years. The third phase had the least structure of all three: in this last phase, the UN and government envisioned only providing technical supervision while groups of residents built their own homes. No number of houses was detailed for the third phase, and it appears none were formally built or tracked by the UN.More than 500 unskilled volunteers contributed to the pilot programme, but skilled labourers also had to be hired, and expensive building supplies purchased. This limited the number of people who could ultimately afford the improved units. And the government was so fully involved that the lead UN housing expert, Jorge Arrigone, speculated that the housing programme could not accurately be described as selfhelp at all. In the end, the scheme did not have a huge impact on the housing crisis in Dar es Salaam; the city and the new nation struggled to house urban dwellers, and the core housing model never became the predominant form of housing construction there. The houses constructed in the first two phases disappeared in successive waves of clearance and rebuilding, and the UN paper trail goes cold on the third phase. Yet the concept of modern core and selfbuilt extension persisted in successive attempts around the world by the UN and other aid organisations and soon, by international banks too.The housing that planners imagined would most empower residents, by encouraging them to add extensions, made people feel disconnected from the cityIt took some time for the World Bank to join in the effort to improve housing at the international level, but when it did, it incorporated many of the ideas tested by earlier selfhelp proponents. Itself another product of the reconstruction efforts following the Second World War, the World Bank turned decisively to the problem of urban poverty in the 1970s in large part because of the leadership of former US secretary of defence Robert McNamara, who served as the organisations president for the entirety of that decade. The World Bank focused on two strategies: sites and services and squatter upgrading.Squatter upgrading programmes attempted to improve lowincome, highdensity urban neighbourhoods through the installation of roads, sewage, water, schools and other community resources. Upgrading emphasised the rationalisation of roads and services, and although the name suggested that residents would stay, plans often involved substantial removal and clearance. For instance, when the World Bank wanted to straighten and widen main roads in the dense settlement of Tondo in Manila, it had to dedensify or reduce the number of families living in the path of the anticipated road.Sites and services, meanwhile, also emphasised the installation of basic amenities, but in locations that were not yet developed and that were often further from dense urban cores. The logic was that as newcomers to cities became familiar with the urban landscape and achieved some income stability, they might want to move out of a crowded self-built neighbourhood into better, perhaps formal housing. Even with a stable income, however, the newly urbanised family might not be able to afford an actual apartment or a city house. In this instance, the World Bank hypothesised that this kind of family might be happy to move to a house in a slightly more distant location in order to trade up in building quality. In theory, a sites and services home would provide a core for water, sewage and other services, while giving residents the freedom to build extra rooms or amenities as they continued to make money.Imelda Marcos and Robert Macnamara at the loan signing ceremony for a World Bank core housing pilot project in the Philippines. This scheme was widely regarded as a failure, though the overall concept of extendable core housing is now being re-evaluatedCredit:World Bank Group / Edwin G Huffman In Manila in the late 1970s, the World Bank funded squatter upgrading in central settlements, starting with Tondo. Sited north of Intramuros, the old Spanish centre of town, and hugging Manila Bay, Tondo was arguably Manilas most famous selfbuilt settlement. Populated in waves for centuries, the dense urban centre became impoverished in the decades after the Second World War because rural inmigration was fierce, and because years of war and colonisation had devastated urban amenities in the region. By 1974, Tondo had evolved into a critical site for redevelopment, as the World Bank officials and Philippine presidentturneddictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda looked for ways to open access to the port and harbour via Radial Route 10. Together, they agreed that upgrading should bring physical order to a community that appeared like an embarrassing eyesore a crowded jumble of housing units to outsiders. Those residents who had to be displaced to make room for widened, straightened roads and easier access to the port were moved to Navotas and the area of Dagat Dagatan in Caloocan City just north of Tondo.The Marcos regime, which had implemented martial law in 1972, shared an understanding of urban hierarchy with not only World Bank workers, but also officials at the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank. This shared thinking organised national space by its current and potential contributions to economic development, the national economy and, eventually, global economic networks. In the eyes of these planners, Greater Manila was the dominant economy, and all the other regions, extensions.The extension is never designed to take over the core urban dwellers have no trouble discerning this intentional hierarchyBut the remote resettlement areas did not function as true extensions of the city: people sent to live there did not have access to the local rural economies, were rejected by their new rural neighbours, and fled back to Manila if they were able. The idea that remote areas could be populated with urban dwellers and that the dense metropolis could be drained into neighbouring extensions simply did not work in practice. The true extensions of core urbanism existed in alleyways, in the selfmade stilt houses hovering precariously over esteros (rivulets), and along the banks of waterways.Though World Bank funding shifted towards housing finance at the end of the 1990s, the ideas surrounding core housing provision and self-built extensions have continued to interest architects such as Elemental, whose 2003 project Quinta Monroy in Iquique, Chile provided extendable cores for 93 households. In 2021, all but one household had extended their homes beyond Elementals planned parametersCredit:Cristbal PalmaDuring the Philippines nine years of martial law, as well as after the restoration of democracy in 1986, informality was resilient and not just in Tondo. The methods by which lowincome urban dwellers learnt to make life liveable by extending power lines illegally through settlements, by extending stilt houses over Manila Bay and over the numerous esteros that thread the city continued throughout the 1980s, 90s, and indeed, to this day. Ironically, perhaps, the kinds of housing that planners imagined would most empower residents by encouraging them to add extensions and by encouraging them to use their selfhelp strategies to build amenities, instead became listless spaces where people felt disconnected from the possibilities of the city. For the government, desirable housing extensions were the luxury of an additional bedroom or even a second storey; for residents, desirable extensions were those that made life more liveable in central Manila. Meanwhile, those families unfortunate enough to have been resettled far from the central city in a sites and services project did not see themselves as even a part of an extended Manila. Resettled urban dwellers more often viewed themselves as cut off from urban life, disconnected from former jobs and rejected by both the city and their new rural neighbours, many of whom opposed their arrival.Tellingly, even after the People Power Revolution successfully removed Marcos from the presidency in 1986, slum clearance and evictions continued under the democratic political regimes that followed. Tondo residents expressed shock and dismay as they found themselves subject to the same urban clearing tactics under Corazon Aquino as they had endured for 14 years under Marcos.From 1972 to 1986, more than 70 per cent of all of the World Banks housingrelated loans were for sites and services and squatter upgrading. By 1998, this had amounted to roughly US$14.6 billion spent on 100 sites and services projects in 53 countries. For about 15 years, until it shifted to housing finance programmes, the World Bank was the largest single organisation to encourage these practices at scale.More recently, architect and academic Stephen Cairns designed an expandable house in Batam, Indonesia one of the worlds fastest-growing citiesCredit:FCL Singapore, Carlina TeterisSites and services fell out of favour by the end of the millennium, abandoned by donors and governments alike for being too expensive and serving too few. They had turned out to be overly dependent on building skills in the general population; poorly coordinated with employment sites; or otherwise ineffectively implemented. All of these critiques are fair and responsive to historical experiences. However, no perfect solution has come along to replace some of these midcentury experiments, and other trials with land titling and home lending have produced equally problematic results. Indeed, in 2022, we came full circle: the World Bank Group published a careful study called Reconsidering Sites and Services, looking for techniques worth reviving.One of the most important lessons in looking at evolving ideas about core and extension in housing is a simple one: so long as some urban residents are seen as not belonging in the core of the city, so long as they are peripheral or marginal to the investments made in a separate urban core, informality will persist and grow. Extensions can only be extensions if they are connected to a centre. And so, in the case of forced remote resettlement, it is hard to argue that these projects indeed extended the city in some way. In addition, extensions are, by definition, second to a core. The extension is never designed to take over the core, nor is it meant to be equal to it. Urban dwellers have no trouble discerning these intentional hierarchies. And in the end, whether DIY housing extensions were done because of creativity, desperate need or something in between, they never fully erased dwellers longing for more equitable distribution of core resources.Whether folded into the design of a core unit, or entirely constructed by residents themselves, extensions will persist among urban dwellers whose needs are not met by formal buildings. Artist Marjetica Potrs installations revolve around such negotiations of housing and infrastructure provision above is an installation view from Architektonika 2, a 2012 exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, in which Potr examined self-built housing in CaracasCredit: Marjetica Potr / Courtesy the artist and Galerie Nordenhake / Photo: Gerhard KassnerThis is the Keynote essay from the AR February 2025: Extensions. Buy your copy at the ARs online shop, or read more from the issue here2025-02-04Reuben J BrownShare

Mud Pies. All images courtesy of Naomi Peterson, shared with permissionNaomi Peterson Channels a Sweet Tooth and Sense of Togetherness in Her Vibrant Cup-CakesFebruary 4, 2025Kate MothesFrosted sponge and overstuffed pies are just a few of the sweet treats Naomi Peterson crafts from clay. Her playful cup-cakes take confectionery as a starting point, adding layers reminiscent of fondant, ice cream scoops, berries, and sprinkles.Many of Petersons pieces are functional, incorporating lids or handles to be used as vessels or coffee mugs. Im drawn to visual sweetness, imagining the potential enjoyment of confectioneries rather than physically consuming them, she tells Colossal. I actually prefer savory and salty foods to sweet ones!Topiary Jar 2Flowers complement playful lattice patterns in vibrant hues, sometimes leaning into a garden theme with topiary forms. Peterson relies on an intuitive approach that combines wheel-thrown techniques with hand-building methods like coils, slabs, and pinching. I construct different forms and plan surfaces later, she says. I find if I pre-plan the surface and shape from the beginning, the process becomes too controlled, limiting spontaneity.Once the basic form is complete, Peterson adds or removes elements through dartingcutting wedge-shaped pieces from a cylinder of clayand embellishing with sprig or press molds. My surfaces require many applications and separate firings to achieve vibrant, layered effects, she says. Before ceramics, I spent many years painting mainly with oils, influencing much of my surface decisions.We often think of confectionery as a token of joy, celebration, and togetherness. Every cake and bon bon reflects Petersons interest in relationships and the way our actions and emotions entwine us with others and our communities. The spaces in between the dot patterns are essential, not to keep each element distant but to connect them, she says. Although not physically connected, each of us is important as part of a whole.Petersons work will be part of Dirt Folk: Planted, a pop-up exhibition running concurrently with the 2025 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference in March in Salt Lake City. If youre on the East Coast, youll be able to see her work in Lines and Patterns from March 22 to May 24 at Baltimore Clayworks. Find more on the artists website and Instagram.Assorted CakesFlower PotAssorted Bon BonsBloom Cake 2Assorted Bon BonsPluff JarConfectionery-inspired mugsHarmoniaAssorted CakesNext article

close 'CyberGuy': How to easily transfer files and photos off a computer to your hard drive Tech expert Kurt Knutsson helps you free up space by transferring files to an external drive: connect, copy and back up safely. Is your computer gasping for breath, drowning in a sea of photos, documents and random downloads? We've all been there: that moment when your computer feels like it's about to burst at the seams, threatening to crash your system and lose those precious memories. Today, I'll walk you through steps to transfer files and free up space so you can breathe easily and keep your Mac or PC running smoothly. A laptop and external hard drives (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Choosing the right external hard driveFirst things first, you'll want to use an external hard drive you already have or purchase a new one.External hard drives offer massive storage for all your digital memories. My favorites are small, portable drives with no moving parts called SSDs, or solid-state drives. When selecting an external hard drive, consider these key factors.Storage capacity: Drives range from 128GB to a massive 24TB. For most users, 1TB or 2TB drives are popular choicesHDD vs. SSD: HDDs offer larger capacities at lower prices, while SSDs provide faster speeds and better durabilityTransfer speed and connectivity: Look for USB 3.1 Gen2, USB 3.2 Gen2 or Thunderbolt 4 for the fastest speedsPortability and durability: If you'll be carrying your drive frequently, choose lightweight, compact drives that don't require external powerSecurity features: For sensitive data, consider drives with hardware encryption or biometric authentication A MacBook and an external hard drive (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Connecting your external driveOnce you have yourexternal drive, plug it right into your computer using a USB cable to make sure it's securely connected.Transferring files on a MacIf you're using a Mac, here's how to transfer your files:Open upFinderScroll through your folders and find thefiles and photos you want to transferSelect the files (To select multiple files, click on thefirst file, then hold down theShift key while clicking on additional files)Right-click and chooseCopy or useCommand + COpen theexternal hard drive in FinderRight-click and selectPaste or useCommand + V An external hard drive and a laptop (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Transferring files on a Windows PCFor Windows users, follow these steps:OpenFile ExplorerScroll through your folders (Documents, Pictures, Videos, etc.) and findfiles you want to transferSelect files (To select multiple files, click on the first file, then hold down theCtrl key while clicking on additional files. Alternatively, to select a range of files, click the first file, hold down theShift key and then click thelast file in the range)Right-click and choose theCopy icon or useCtrl + COpen theexternal hard drive in File ExplorerRight-click and select the Paste icon or use Ctrl + VYour files are now safely stored on your external drive.Alternative transfer solutionsIf you're not into the manual method and prefer a more automated approach, there are other transfer solutions available:Cloud storage servicesCloud storage services like iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox let you upload files and access them from anywhere. These services offer automatic syncing and backup, making file transfer and storage more convenient. Popular options include Microsoft OneDrive, Proton Drive and IDrive.Get Kurts favorite cloud services here.File History (Windows)Windows users can utilize the built-in File History feature to automatically back up files to an external drive. This is suitable for a small number of folders but may be time-consuming for large quantities of data.Professional backup softwareFor faster and more efficient transfers, especially when dealing with large quantities of files, consider using professional backup software. These tools often provide features like automatic backups, file compression and encryption for added security.Cloud transfer servicesFor those looking to move data between cloud services, solutions like MultCloud offer seamless file transfer and synchronization between different cloud storage providers. If you have maxed out your iCloud storage,click here to discover what solutions are available. Cloud storage facility (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Kurt's key takeawaysNo more digital clutter, no more stress. You've got this file transfer thing down pat. Whether you choose the manual method for more control or opt for cloud storage for convenience, the key is toregularly back up your important files. Remember, it's not just about freeing up space on your computer. It's about protecting your digital memories and important documents. As we move into 2025, the landscape of digital storage continues to evolve. With advancements in SSD technology, cloud services and data transfer speeds, managing your digital life has never been easier. So go ahead, start that transfer and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a well-organized digital life.Have you ever lost important files or photos? Tell us your worst digital storage nightmare in the comments below.Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading toCyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Despite rising demand for data-driven insights, a high share of mission-critical IT is either approaching or already at end of life.One 3,200 executive survey from infrastructure services provider Kyndryl found the proportion could be as high as 44%. The same polling suggested many organisations that have invested in data-infrastructure modernisation are not yet seeing a return on investment (ROI) from what can prove to be a costly exercise.Of course, for major projects of any kind it usually pays to think through priorities in advance, says Paul Henninger, partner and head of technology and data at KPMG UK.An obvious first step is to discuss and decide on key business outcomes to figure out what the organisation seeks to achieve in future. After all, that is what IT is for and if it does not assist that, any money spent is likely down the drain.Look at desired business outcomes and then decide how to proceed, says Henninger. What do you really need to fix, and how should you ensure you are ready for AI[artificial intelligence] in particular? Identify use cases and specific objectives.Data activities with value drive a specific business outcome; successful modernisation starts with business outcomes and works backwards from there. Thats true regardless of technologies and technicalities, he says.Petra Goude, global practice leader, core enterprise and cloud at Kyndryl, shares this view, while advising enterprises to triage their situation and prioritise critical changes.Dont make it all or nothing, she says. If we fail to meet an ROI, we fail. Doesnt matter if we achieve when its too expensive. Therefore, focus on business outcome.Goude notes that many organisations have regretted going all in on tech modernisations, such as when making a binary choice on cloud versus on-premise that ultimately blew budgets.Kyndryls survey also found technology outpacing training, with about 40% of surveyed leaders reporting skills gaps hindering modernisation.If youre not ready, you say modernisation can solve this, but if you dont have the future skills, it doesnt matter what you do, says Goude.Seth Ravin, CEO, president and chair at enterprise software and support services provider Rimini Street, adds that a lack of enterprise architects, data scientistsor integrators rather than programmers can also prove restrictive.Its tough to structure data in big data sets without understanding how that data is connected and structured, really understanding how to get the most out of data, Ravin says. We need people who can tie programs together using integration tool sets.When people see layoffs, only about half are typically about cost-cutting the other half is rotation for needed skills, moving people out and bringing people in with new skill sets, he adds.Once an enterprise has agreed, defined and described relevant business outcomes, then ask what data will be needed to achieve that, and how to collect, manage and control it.This way it is possible to minimise what would otherwise potentially result in an overwhelming or expensive volume of data to store, analyse and maintain.Data modernisation for data modernisations sake can have you in one of those hype cycles, Henninger adds.Often, its about acquiring a 360-degree view of the customer, yet organisations may fail to examine this data problem end-to-end. Instead, many simply add ERP, CRM or other IT solutions.For example, you might find you cannot answer a seemingly simple question about current employee numbers because when you talk to different functional stakeholders, the concept of employee varies.The number of employees for payroll purposes can be different from the number of employees for legal reasons, or the number when it comes to holiday pay, Henninger adds.Enterprises do not want to be in a position where they are trying to answer six different questions, and trying to fudge an average answer among them. That means ending up with a data set and a complicated, expensive data infrastructure built for everybody and useful for no one. That happens over and over again, Henninger says.Modernising data infrastructure is crucial partly because of the role that trust and security now play around data use in general.Partly, the artificial intelligence challenge makes it quite a lot easier to access and interrogate data sets, including potentially people you dont want, Henninger says. But on some level, the degree to which data was disorganised and trapped in documents was a natural form of security in the past.Previously, even if someone got into the network, they would still have to read the documents but this is much easier for everyone with AI, including malicious actors.The Kyndryl polling also reported that 65% of executives worry about cyber attacks, but just 30% say they feel ready to manage that risk.Organisations must be able to use their data confidently and measure the value of doing so, including identifying and setting appropriate metrics. Then when you can measure it properly, you can quantify progress or triage further intervention successfully, adds Henninger.Once an enterprise knows what data they need, who controls it and how it is maintained over time, they can start to work out the infrastructure needed for necessary analyses.Goude prescribes thinking about it as the right workload in the right platform. Revisit each application and decide what they want to do: speed up, reduce cost, or whatever. Some might not even need to be maintained.A heavily transactional system in a bank, for instance, might skyrocket costs without adding value. In that case, it can make sense to decouple the data from the transaction, perhaps moving the data elsewhere. That might in turn offer different capabilities for cloud analytics or AI.You might enhance applications without completely redoing them. Or you might reinvent business processes, Goude says. If you do one approach on everything, you likely wont optimise.Henninger says that beyond a vanishingly small number of compute-intense analytical problems, technology questions for the infrastructure side of data modernisation have largely become software questions.Its more about business intelligence (BI) than AI and advanced analytics management reporting and the resources needed and it is less about how data is stored or queried, streamed or in tables, but creating the right controls and incentives to actively manage the datasets.Problems arise despite getting the data right, because there is drift, or it degrades or the person managing it leaves. Then data is unreliable and the whole system breaks down, and the organisation goes back into silos, says Henninger.Modern data infrastructure resembles lots of other things: likely cloud-based, he says.98% of what compute is needed for decision-making is in the realm of reasonably available commodity hardware.Ravin says it is also important to retain some budget for innovation and not spend it all upgrading multiple software packages.On this point, it is important to consider all the software and its true useful life. Then start making decision on investment in automations and productivity versus upgrades or migrations.Software vendors may say the ERP has to be changed up every three to five years, but thats a work project for everybody, Ravin says. Individual usage analysis might reveal its good for much longer.A rule of thumb is to spend no more than 60-70% of annual budget on operations, and leave 30-40% for innovation. Otherwise, youre dead, Ravin adds. Costs are up. You cant sell for more because of competition, and the place that gets squeezed is profits.Gartner has estimated that perhaps 90% of budgets go on keeping the lights on, with just 10% of modernisation or innovation, he says, adding that thisis similar for resource-strapped SMEs: SMEs tend to have fewer software products, but their needs are still pretty extensive, especially if working outside their home country. The cost of admin is getting higher.He suggests reconsidering the need to be in the cloud at all, especially without bursty, elastic demand, and particularly with equipment costs for on-premise increasingly leveraged.Weve seen all these companies that were cloud-first, finding out that theyre saving millions of dollars bringing it back, he says. Cloud is not always the answer.In Kyndryls survey, 76% of businesses reported investing in AI and machine learning, but only 42% had so far seen positive ROI. Yet benefits are there to be had.Kyndryl sees potential for automated resolution of up to 30% of IT issues, up from 8%, for instance saving massively on maintenance and downtime.Data-infrastructure modernisation of an ageing estate requires carefully examining every investment choice through the lens of ROI-driving business outcomes.You could easily spend enough money to actually have just about the perfect data set, but that could be incredibly expensive, Henninger says. Sure, the data infrastructure might be worth it, but only if it solves the right problem.Read more about legacy infrastructure modernisation projectsAt AWS Re:Invent 2024, CEO Matt Garman shared details of how its GenAI technologies are helping enterprises accelerate the pace of Microsoft and VMware datacentre migrations.VMware is not going away anytime soon. While some IT leaders may be feeling the pain of Broadcoms changes, they still need to seek a long-term plan.

CW+ Premium Content/Computer WeeklyThank you for joining!Access your Pro+ Content below.4 February 2025The need for strong data engineering skillsIn this weeks Computer Weekly, our latest buyers guide examines best practice in data engineering and the importance of data skills. Labour announced its first digital government strategy but will it be more successful than years of failed plans that came before? We also look back at the networking challenges that faced Orange during last years Paris Olympics. Read the issue now.Access this CW+ Content for Free!Already a member? Login hereFeaturesin this issueForrester: Why digitisation needs strong data engineering skillsbyZeid KhaterHow do enterprises become adaptive? If you cant measure it responsively, you cant manage it as an adaptive enterpriseLabours first digital government strategy: Is it dj vu or something new?byBryan GlickLabour won the 2024 general election on a platform of change and its technology cheerleader insists the new digital government strategy is all about change. Have we heard it all before or is this time really different?View Computer Weekly ArchivesNext IssueMore CW+ ContentView All

The new EufyCam S3 Pro promises to capture night footage as clearly as daytime footage, and it delivers.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNETZDNET's key takeawaysThe Asus ProArt PZ13 is an artistically-aligned laptop available at Best Buy for $1,099.It's ready to help pro-level artists with a vibrant OLED touchscreen, long battery life, and supportive apps.However, it's held back by a limited array of ports and a substandard keyboard.Not too long ago, I tested out Microsoft's Surface Pro 11, a laptop that doubles as a tablet. It has Qualcomm's next-gen chipset and a lot of great features that made me enjoy the machine, and I highly recommend it to business professionals who travel a lot. It seems Asus must've seen the Surface Pro and thought to itself, "we can do better," the result of this inspiration being the Asus ProArt PZ13.Also:Best Cyber Monday deals live nowI mentioned the Surface Pro 11 because the two share many similarities, although the ProArt model is better suited for artists and creative professionals. details View at Best Buy Upon lifting the laptop out of its box for the first time, you'll be greeted with a 13.3-inch, 3K (2880 x 1800 pixels) OLED touchscreen. Its resolution isn't as high as Microsoft's laptop, although the ProArt PZ13 more than makes up for this with image-enhancing apps.It has Dolby Vision, support for the entire DCI-P3 color gamut, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black for ultra-dark shadows. Everything works together to ensure a stunning visual experience, except for the 60Hz refresh rate. That's a fine speed, but I would've liked to have 120Hz. At 60Hz, motion and animations on this laptop can look a little blurry.Also:One of the most versatile laptops I've tested is a crowd-pleaser with solid hardwareThe device has a really neat feature called Creator Hub. It's a dashboard app that lets you adjust the PZ13 on the fly. The most impressive of its many tools is Color Control, which lets you change the on-screen color gamut at any time. For example, the DCI-P3 option tweaks the colors so they're best suited for movies while Display P3 is recommended for artists as it more accurately displays hues. You can even adjust the color temperature.Creator Hub gives creative professionals a great amount of flexibility. Although I'm not an artist myself, I certainly appreciate having the ability to fine-tune my experience instantly.Asus' machine is no slouch either, as inside the ProArt PZ13 is a Snapdragon X Plus chipset. I was able to maintain about 60 tabs open without experiencing any major slowdown. I had videos playing and Twitch streams running, and I could still check out my email without any issue.Sadly, I couldn't get a specific benchmark number on the SoC (system on a chip). None of the major benchmarking tests have been updated for the Snapdragon X, but hopefully, that day will come soon.Also: This lightweight laptop has one of the best displays I've seen, and it's not a MacBook AirLike other Qualcomm-based laptops, the ProArt PZ13 has a ridiculously long battery life, and for once, the marketing materials were correct. This device ran for over 21 hours straight when on the Best Power Efficiency mode. I left it on overnight and was shocked to see it was still active in the morning. On Best Performance mode, the model manages to outperform most Intel-based laptops, as it lasted for about 14.5 hours on a single charge.These battery times are perfect if you ever need to take the ProArt PZ13 on the road. There's no need to worry about the laptop dying on you at the worst moment. Cesar Cadenas/ZDNETThe tablet is 0.35 inches thick and weighs a little under two pounds. Asus throws in a muted-green protective cover with the purchase. The cover adds some bulk to the device, although not by much. It'll fit snugly inside a bag.As much as I like Asus' new computer, I didn't like the ProArt PZ13's keyboard. Asus states it has a 1.4mm key travel distance. On paper, that should ensure a good typing experience, but I felt the keyboard was flimsy. Pressing a key bends the accessory a bit.Also: One of the longest-lasting laptops I've tested also has a gorgeous displayFurthermore, there are very few ports. You get three in total: two USB-C inputs and an SD card reader. Granted, the device is somewhat thin, so perhaps Asus couldn't find room for any more ports. Still, it could've at least included a headphone jack.My last critique is admittedly a nitpick. I would've appreciated a free stylus in the overall package. Microsoft's 11th-gen Surface Pro had one when I got it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So unless you already have a pen, you'll have to buy one for the PZ13, which isn't a big issue since the laptop is fairly cheap.ZDNET's buying advicePrices for the Asus ProArt PZ13 start at $1,099 on Best Buy, which is a steal. Even though I'm not a fan of the keyboard, this probably isn't a deal-breaker for most, especially if you're mostly using the device in tablet mode.I recommend the ProArt PZ13 to users who want a small but powerful 2-in-1 laptop with a brilliant display, but don't need tons of extra ports or a top-of-the-line keyboard. How we test laptops We use a combination of methods to test laptops here at ZDNET. First, we acquire data from benchmarking software to analyze a system's metrics under the hood, and compare those to advertised numbers. Then, we spend an extended amount of time with the laptop (usually a week or two) using it the same way a typical consumer would, in order to analyze its portability, form factor, and how well the batteryactuallyholds up, among others. For an extensive breakdown, check out our comprehensivelaptop testing methodology.Benchmarking:We run a series of tests to put the computer's hardware through the wringer in order to see what it's capable of.Cinebenchis one of the most commonly-used hardware testing suites, which tests the laptop's rendering performance on single and multiple CPU cores.PCMark 10is another powerful program that covers a wide variety of tasks performed in the workplace.Processor:The "brain" of the laptop, and one of the most important factors that determines performance. This is tested in benchmarking software.The display:Brightness is measured in "nits," and color spectrums are tested in benchmarking software.The graphics processor (GPU):We test the GPU with a combination of benchmarking software, gaming, and media playback.Physical form factor:We carry the laptop around for at least a week and note how well it commutes.Battery testing:We test a unit's battery in a few ways. A handful of benchmarking programs have their own battery testing components, but we also will just let the laptop run for as long as it can under a medium load.The human element:As we mentioned earlier, metrics and system data is important, but numbers alone don't give you the full picture. This is where we weave in our personal experience with the device and tap into the practical use cases that consumers actually care about.Ultimately, our goal is to break down the capabilities of each and every laptop we test into digestible terms that people find useful. 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New report warns of the perfect password manager heist.gettyYou dont need me to remind you that hackers and cybercriminals want to steal your passwords, but Im going to anyway. New that by innovative syncjacking browser attacks, pitching Google against Microsoft to steal one account password from the other, or even using avatars to grab the credential goodies. The point is that malware steals such credentials to such an extent that there are already one billion stolen passwords available on the dark web. A new report from Picus Security experts has warned that password managers are now being targeted in what it called a perfect heist scenario. Heres what you need to do to stay safe.SneakThief Attackers Create The Perfect HeistYour Password Manager Is Their TargetThreat actors are leveraging sophisticated extraction methods, including memory scraping, registry harvesting and compromising local and cloud-based password stores, Dr. Suleyman Ozarslan, vice-president of Picus Labs, warned, to obtain credentials that give attackers the keys to the kingdom. A new analysis of more than a million malware samples was undertaken by Picus Security researchers and the shocking result was that 25% of these are targeting credentials in password stores. Your password manager is under attack, make no mistake about that; the criminals carrying out the attacks are prioritizing complex, prolonged, multi-stage attacks that require a new generation of malware to succeed.Not only do these numbers mean that such malware usage has grown by 25% over a 12-month period, but for the first time ever, it also now appears in the top 10 attack techniques listed in the MITRE ATT&CK Framework. Picus Labs researchers have come up with SneakThief as a term to describe this evolution of info-stealing malware, likening the ever-sophisticated approaches employed to the perfect heist.MORE FOR YOUMitigating The Perfect Heist Password Manager AttacksIts vital that password managers are used in tandem with multi-factor authentication and that employees never reuse a password, Ozarslan said, especially for their password manager. Explaining that SneakThief malware is not an exception but increasingly the rule, Ozarslan recommended that focusing on that previously mentioned MITRE top 10 is the most viable way to stop the kill chain of sophisticated malware strains as early as possible. Which is great for the enterprise and less so for the consumer. I always advise using a password manager, and these attacks do not alter that: a password manager remains your most potent defense against password theft. Remember to use a strong master password that cannot be easily guessed; pass-phrases are a great way to achieve this without hitting the I cant remember it stumbling block. Always use 2FA in conjunction with your password manager, and ensure whatever solution you use has strong defenses in place against the compromise of your vault.

The growing demand for precise synchronization of complex systems across various industries has driven the evolution of timing technology.

Facepalm: Gaming executive Peter T. Akemann has pleaded guilty to a serious aviation incident that occurred during the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Akemann, co-founder of the Call of Duty studio Treyarch and former president of Skydance Interactive, admitted striking a firefighting plane with a drone, an act that could have had catastrophic consequences. On January 9, Akemann flew his DJI Mini 3 Pro drone into restricted airspace over the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. The drone collided with a "Super Scooper" water-dumping plane, causing significant damage to its left wing. The impact caused a 3-inch-by-6-inch hole, forcing the aircraft to be grounded for repairs.According to the plea agreement, Akemann launched his drone from a parking structure near the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. He flew the drone at least 2,500 meters away from its launch point, far beyond the legal limit of visual line of sight. At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration had implemented temporary flight restrictions prohibiting drone operations near the Southern California wildfires.Facing potential jail time, Akemann agreed to a plea deal that includes 150 hours of community service focused on Southern California's wildfire relief efforts. He will also pay a $65,000 fine to cover the cost of repairing the damaged firefighting plane."Flying drones during times of emergency poses an extreme threat to personnel trying to help people and compromises the overall ability of police and fire to conduct operations," U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally, one of the prosecutors on the case, said. McNally warned that individuals who fly drones under such conditions will face arrest and prosecution.Akemann established his name in the gaming community as a co-founder of Treyarch, a studio known for its work on the Call of Duty franchise and Spider-Man games. However, he parted ways with Treyarch more than two decades ago. More recently, Akemann held the position of president and chief technologist at Skydance Interactive. Reports indicate that he recently left this role, though the exact timing and circumstances of his departure remain unclear. // Related StoriesThrough his attorneys, Akemann expressed deep remorse for his actions.Akemann's legal team also hinted at potential mitigating factors, specifically mentioning his reliance on the DJI drone's geofencing safeguard feature and its alleged failure in this instance.DJI's geofencing system was designed to prevent drones from entering restricted airspace. Interestingly, this incident occurred just days before DJI announced significant changes to its geofencing system. On January 13, DJI updated its GEO system, effectively removing the automatic restriction of drone flights in previously designated no-fly zones. Instead, the system now only provides warnings to operators, placing the responsibility for compliance entirely on the drone pilot.