Cooling centers are lifesaving architectural typologies, but theyre often haphazardly thrown together after the fact. In the scourging summer heat, cooling centers are typically made wherever city officials and NGOs can find willing space, i.e. vacant hotels, libraries, etc. What would a purpose-built cooling center look like in the context of Phoenix, Arizonaa place that, last year, had 113 straight days with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit? Can a cooling center be more than just a cold room? But also a space that provides collective comfort, social engagement, and joy?This was the point of departure for an exhibition, Collective Comfort: Airing on Possibilities, at San Franciscos Center for Architecture + Design. Collective Comfort was organized by U.C. Berkeleys (Im)material Matters Lab. The Urban Climate Adaptation Lab at University of Houston was a collaborator. Faculty from UCLA and Arizona State University also contributed. Kit of PartsPer the exhibition, stone, thread, and clay are ideal materials for desert climates, so the models on view all explored their speculative application at modern cooling centers. Architecture from ancient Egypt, societies in the arid south of Spain, Indigenous groups from the American Southwest, and nomadic Arab tribes all offer a playbook for keeping cool, so why not revisit these civilizations for folks in Phoenix?The show builds upon years of research by Liz Galvez, (Im)material Matters Lab director. (Courtesy Center for Architecture + Design)On view at Center for Architecture + Design were three full-scale building prototypes that incorporate ancient and intelligent material technologies into contemporary construction methods, organizers elaborated. Collective Comfort builds upon years of research by Liz Galvez, (Im)material Matters Lab director.Cooling centers typically utilize existing buildings to provide air-conditioned spaces, offering citizens immediate relief from high temperatures, organizers shared in exhibition text. Yet, as an emerging architectural typology, many of these centers lack design direction.Collective Comfort posits alternative building materials like brick, as opposed to concrete, for the American Southwest. (Courtesy Center for Architecture + Design)(Courtesy Center for Architecture + Design)They are conceived as emergency buildings often without essential amenities like food, natural daylighting, fresh air, or engaging activities, making it hard for people to imagine spending hours there no matter how dangerously hot it might be outside, exhibition text continued. Furthermore, this approach overlooks the broader causes of extreme heat, including the widespread use of heat-retaining materials in the urban environment and reliance on fossil fuels for cooling.The show ran from November 21, 2024 through February 6, 2025.Collective Comfort was made possible by support from SOM Foundation.

Ed #13 (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 6 x 8 inches. Photos edited by Nash Quinn. All images courtesy of Joan Clare Brown, shared with permissionJoan Clare Brown Juxtaposes Anatomy and Memories in Poignant Porcelain SculpturesFebruary 11, 2025ArtCraftKate MothesDepending on how you look at them, the tendrils seemingly growing from Joan Clare Browns porcelain bases could be perceived as soft and delicate or spiny, defensive, and slightly unsettling. Dualities lie at the heart of the artists approach to ceramics, especially in her ongoing series Ed, which takes personal experience and human anatomy as starting points for a poignant study of grief.I started this series as a response tomy fathers sudden passing, Brown tells Colossal. He was diagnosed with widespread pancreatic cancer and passed away the same day, ultimately of sepsisfrom complications of a perforated bowel. In the Ed works, the cinched base, which mimics a frilly-edged textile cushion or pouch, represents a perforated organ, and the long, growing blades or tendrils emblematize infection.Ed #5 (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 6 x 4 x 5 inchesThe inherent hardness and brittleness of porcelain juxtapose with the softness of textile-like surfaces and organic, plant-like fronds. Each color reflects specific childhood memories of Browns father, like the blue and green hues drawn from his favorite flannel shirt or light pinks and purples redolent of a tablecloth used at her family dinners.Through the permanence of the ceramic form, my hope was to turn something menacing and insidious into a nostalgic and meaningful reminder, Brown says. And by making these pieces, in a way, I feel that he is still present. Explore more on the artists website and Instagram.Ed #16 (2023), porcelain, mason stain, glaze, and luster, 7 x 6 x 4 inchesDetail of Ed #13Ed #10 (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 5 x 5 inchesEd #11 (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 8 x 7 inchesEd #12 (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 5 x 4 inchesDetail of Ed #11Ed #4 (2022), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 4 x 4 inchesEd #3 (2022), porcelain, mason stain, glaze, and luster, 8 x 6 x 4 inchesNext article

Childs Olay (2023), paper collage, 32 x 40 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and SHEER, shared with permissionIntimacy Centers in Nia Winslows Nostalgic Paper Collages Highlighting Black ExperiencesFebruary 11, 2025ArtKate MothesFrom torn pieces of paper, Nia Winslow constructs vibrant scenes that evoke togetherness and nostalgia, often harkening back to the mid-20th century. The Brooklyn-based artist taught herself to create mixed-media collages using paper adhered to wood panels, which draw on narratives, moods, and memories.Winslow predominantly focuses on the African diaspora, tracing stories of the lives of Black individuals in America. Through collages made with a variety of textures, cuttings, and clippings, she illuminates young people playing outdoors, sitting with their parents, and spending time with one another.Steady (2025), paper collage on birchwood panel, 40 x 30 inchesThe artist enjoys combining her passion for style with storytelling. She draws inspiration from artists like Romare Bearden, Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, and Jacob Lawrence, often portraying Black figures during everyday activities and in informal, leisurely settings.Mundane or complex, each piece is created to capture the essence of life through the lens of someone who experiences it, she says in a statement. Cars, urban architecture, garments, and hairstyles emerge in vivid, intimate portraits of community, support, and self-love.Winslows work Steady will be on view at Affordable Art Fair from March 19 to 23 in New York City, presented by SHEER. Find more on the artists website and Instagram.Secret Keeper (2023), paper collage, 24 x 36 inchesMuvah (2022), paper collage, 40 x 30 inchesLicense to Loiter (2021), paper collage on birchwood, 24 x 36 inchesMuvah & Me (2024), paper collage on birchwood panel, 30 x 24 inchesThe Fainting Couch (2022), mixed media paper collage on birchwood panel, 24 x 36 inchesWe Real Cool (2024), paper collage on birchwood panel, 40 x 30 inchesPrevious articleNext article

close Moms for Liberty co-founder voices concern over Kids Off Social Media Act Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice explained her concerns over the Kids Off Social Media Act, namely that it does not apply to YouTube Kids. You went down a rabbit hole and now gardening (or hot rod or political) posts are all you see online. Algorithms are smart, but they dont know when youre ready to get back to your regularly scheduled programming.Its time to reset your feed and take control of what you see.Win an iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence ($999 value).No purchase necessary.Enter to win now!5-MINUTE CLEANUP FOR YOUR PHONE AND COMPUTERStart with FacebookGoodbye, annoying ads. It only takes a minute to kick out the things you no longer want to see.The fix:Filter your advertising topics by going to Settings & Privacy> Settings> Account Center> Ad Preferences> Customize ads.Random Facebook requests can end badly.This one lost a widow $40K. The Facebook logo is pictured at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. (Reuters)Now, on to YouTubeSay your family is staying with you for the holidays and your niece is watching cartoons on your YouTube account all day long. Now thats all YouTube recommends. Delete your search history to get things back to normal.The fix:On the YouTube app, tap You to bring up your History. Tap the cog icon > Settings > Manage All History. At the bottom, youll see DELETEwith a blue down arrow. Tap from the dropdown menu to delete videos from today, a custom range or all time. Click X to remove items individually, if you prefer.10 TECH UPGRADES TO SAVE YOUR TIME, PRIVACY AND MONEY THIS YEARGoing forward, turn off your viewing history any time you dont want those vids in your algorithm. You can set your video and search histories to autodelete, too. Now your YouTube is back to how you like it, with my videopodcast at the very top. Youll love it!TikTok tracks your habitsTikToks algorithm is built to keep you on the app. Every time you like, follow or comment on something, it tells the algorithm youre interested in a video, and more videos like it will pop up on your For You page. Disliking a video or writing a nasty comment doesnt matter, by the way; you still kept watching. TikTok is pictured on a smartphone. (iStock)The fix:Reset your feed. Open your Profile in the bottom right corner then press the three linesat the top right > Settings and Privacy> Content Preferences> Refresh Your For You Feed> Continue.Fine-tune InstagramWatch Instagram Reels instead? Theres no way to reset them, but you can nudge the algorithm in the right direction.The fix:Tap the three dots in the upper right corner. From here, you can adjust:Posts:Select Hide to move them to the bottom of your feed.Stories: Tap Muteso youll no longer see them.Accounts:Choose either Restrict, which limits if an account can interact with you, or Block.IM A TECH EXPERT: 10 AI PROMPTS YOULL USE ALL THE TIMEHeres the giveaway that an email from Instagram about your security is fake.Most apps have this optionOn just about every social platform, you can hide or see less of certain things. The more you take this action, the more you steer the algorithm.The fix: Next to a post, video or anything else, look for the three-dot or three-line menu that opens more options. On YouTube, for example, tap the three dots next to a video and choose Dont recommend channel or Not interested. In this photo illustration, a YouTube logo is seen displayed on a smartphone. (Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Feeling inspired to clean more of your digital traces? Wipe your browser history while youre at it.Heres how.Final piece of adviceYour social media feed is carefully curated based on who you follow, who follows you and, most importantly, what you do online. Sure, you can reset your algorithm, but dont be fooled. Every post you linger on, like, comment on or share gets tracked and used to shape what you see next. Even just scrolling tells the platform what grabs your attention.Before your next deep dive, remember: Big Tech is always watching, and your every move fine-tunes what pops up next.Get tech-smarter on your scheduleAward-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.National radio:Airing on 500+ stations across the US -Find yours or get the free podcast.Daily newsletter:Join 650,000 people who read the Current (free!)Watch: OnKims YouTube channelPodcast: "Kim Komando Today" - Listen wherever you get podcastsCopyright 2025, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.

ZDNET's key takeaways The RingConn Gen 2 is a subscription-free smart ring that retails for $300 It monitors your sleep, activity, stress, and vitals, and it's got a marathon battery life The only downside is the user interface feels underdeveloped. View now at Amazon Most smart rings these days claim to offer marathon battery lives, but end up falling short of their promise. Take the Oura Ring 4, for example, which claims to have an eight-day battery life, but often only lasts me around four days tops. I still love and willingly recharge that ring, but part of the appeal of smart rings, compared to smartwatches, is their longer battery life.If you want a smart ring with a truly competitive battery life, I've got one for you. I've been testing the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring that boasts a marathon battery life of 10 to 12 days. The smart ring comes with other perks and a few drawbacks that I'll get to below. details View at Amazon Right off the bat, the RingConn 2 has some green flags. Unlike competing smart ring brands with products that start at $350 and go all the way up to $400 or $450, this smart ring costs $300 and does not require a subscription to gain full access to your health data. Sizing starts at size six and goes through size 14, and you can get the ring in three colors: silver, black, and gold.The build of the ring is more square than circular, but I found myself unbothered by this unique shape. It fits comfortably around my finger with no problems. Despite healthy and frequent wear, the ring doesn't tarnish easily either.The RingConn Gen 2 comes with a case that extends its already impressively long battery life, powering the smart ring's empty battery for over 150+ days. As someone who is constantly charging several wearable devices at a time, this long-lasting charging case that I could use without hooking the smart ring up to an outlet made me partial to RingConn.Most smart rings offer up daily scores for two to three important health metrics: sleep, activity, and readiness. Readiness is calculated based on yesterday's activity, how you slept, and other biometric data, like how late your heart rate dropped as you slept.The RingConn Gen 2 measures your vitals, sleep, activity, and stress, but doesn't measure readiness. Instead of readiness, it provides a Wellness Balance feature. It takes all of the aforementioned data and displays it in a flower-like graph, with longer petals for the biometrics that are meeting or excelling the recommended benchmarks and shorter petals for those that aren't. When all your petals are the same length it indicates that your wellness is at equilibrium. I liked that I could see all the important data displayed in such a digestible and visual manner, right as I opened the app. RingConn's Wellness Balance compiles your activity, sleep, vitals, and stress scores into a holistic illustration of your health. Screenshot by Nina Raemont/ZDNETHardcore trainers use the readiness or energy feature on their smart ring apps to gauge how intense their exercise regimen should be for the day. If that's you, you might be displeased with the Wellness Balance functionality, and I'd recommend the Oura Ring, Ultrahuman Ring, or Galaxy Ring instead.The app delivers your scores alongside context that helps inform the reasoning behind your sleep or vitals score. I was ill one day while testing the ring and spent the entire day sleeping. Because of the large amount of time I spent in bed, it told me that too much sleep can slow down my metabolism or lead to weight gain.Also:Your next Apple Watch or smart ring could have a feature that transforms healthcareRingConn says that the battery on its second-generation ring lasts up to 10 to 12 days, but in my testing, I found that it only lasted seven. Still, that's far longer than the battery lives of other smart rings I've tried, which last four to five days on a single charge. I can say without a doubt that this smart ring has the most impressive battery life out of every brand I've tried.The RingConn Gen 2 also boasts a sleep apnea detection feature with 90.7% accuracy, according to its website. If you're a chronic snorer looking to learn more about how your breathing impacts you throughout the night, the sleep apnea feature could help monitor your conditions and answer some of your questions. It tells you when there are significant or minor outliers in your sleep throughout the night, not only providing a graph that details this but also a timeline that shows when your SpO2 fluctuated during the night.I wore the Oura Ring 4 in tandem with the RingConn Gen 2, and found that the latter seems to underestimate both time spent asleep and the steps I've taken throughout the day.The RingConn and Oura both ranked my sleep efficiency in the 87th and 88th percentile. Oura said I got 11 hours and eight minutes of sleep, while RingConn said I spent 10 hours and 50 minutes asleep. RingConn reported 11,091 steps while Oura reported 15,259 steps. I've seen in various Reddit threads that the Oura Ring tends to overestimate step count, which could account for the great disparity in steps between rings.On a healthy night of sleep, Oura recorded eight hours and two minutes, a sleep efficiency of 94% and a sleep score of 90. RingConn recorded an 84 sleep score, seven hours and 45 minutes asleep, and a 91% sleep efficiency. In both cases, RingConn is subtracting around 15 minutes from my night's sleep.ZDNET's buying adviceI enjoyed most aspects of wearing this subscription-free smart ring, and with a price of $300 ($50 less than competitors), it's a smart ring I'd recommend to those looking for an alternative to Oura's subscription-based services. Especially if you want a smart ring with a battery life that will actually last you a week before recharging.The one area where I noticed RingConn's smart ring lacking was in its user interface. The app feels underdeveloped, and some of the messages lacked personal context that proved they were being generated off of my own data. On one good sleep score day, all that it said when I clicked into the sleep tab was: "Good sleep makes you happy." That's my only true gripe, and I hope the recommendations can become more tailored and informative in future software updates.Otherwise, the RingConn Gen 2 is an impressive smart ring with comprehensive health metric monitoring that's on the cheaper end of the smart ring spectrum. It accurately tracks sleep with features like sleep apnea monitoring that could help you uncover your snoring patterns, it's got a marathon battery life (plus a charging case with 150 days' worth of juice in it), and a build you can wear comfortably.Featured reviews

Dyson's Airwrap hair styler has a 17% discount ahead of Presidents' Day weekend (and it's one we haven't seen in a while).

Artificial and natural intelligences can be curated in complementarity in the form of hybrid ... [+] intelligence, once we have a holistic understanding of their respective characteristics.gettyIn recent weeks, the AI landscape reached a new milestone with the release of several reasoning models, including OpenAIs ChatGPT o3-mini, Deep Seek-R1 and Gemini 2.0 Flash. Building on the foundations laid by models like GPT-3 and GPT-4, these latest systems demonstrate notable gains in logical consistency and context awareness. Their rapid evolution does not unfold in isolation but coincide with technological strides on multiple fronts.A pragmatic response to these converging trends would be an investment in double literacy, an approach that curates and aligns both natural and artificial intelligence as a way of curating hybrid intelligence. Why?An Acceleration Of Our Artificial ArsenalAs AI systems grow more capable, jailbreaking manipulating AI to bypass its built-in constraints has become an increasingly pressing concern. More powerful models often prove more vulnerable to exploitation, challenging developers and policymakers to keep safeguards ahead of potential misuse.At the same time, agentic AI and robotics are making striking advances. Robots researched by NASA robotics and pioneered by Boston Dynamics, among others, illustrate how physical machines equipped with sophisticated sensors and actuators can now navigate, manipulate objects, and execute tasks with unprecedented agility. Meanwhile, purely software-based AI agents think advanced virtual assistants or complex problem-solving programs leverage machine learning, natural language processing, and large-scale data analysis to make autonomous decisions. They already tackle intricate tasks such as medical diagnostics or financial modeling without needing a physical form.Increasingly, these two fields converge: software agents orchestrate fleets of robots, while robots generate invaluable real-world data to feed AIs learning processes. Yet, with the rise of powerful AI comes a heightened risk of jailbreaking and related vulnerabilities. The smarter these systems become, the harder they can be to control, underscoring the need for a balanced, human-guided approach that ensures such technologies serve constructive ends.MORE FOR YOUGiven these rapid developments, double literacy, mastery of artificial and natural intelligence in complementarity is no longer optional. As (agentic and eventually embodied) AI becomes more deeply intertwined with daily life, individuals, communities, and entire societies must learn to engage with machine intelligence from a position of awareness and agency. But what is natural intelligence?Natural Intelligence: A Composition Of 2 x 4 DimensionsTo fully grasp the importance of double literacy, we must first define what natural intelligence entails. NI is not simply about cognition; it is a composite of twice four dimensions:Aspiration, Emotion, Thought, and Sensation are the four core components of individual intelligence. Aspiration shapes long-term goals, emotion influences decision-making, thought structures logic and learning, and sensation grounds perception and experience.Person, Community, Country, and Planet are the four collective dimensions of intelligence. Individuals are not isolated; they are embedded within communities, shaped by national policies, and influenced by global systems. Micro, meso, macro and meta arenas mutually influence each other, and the whole that they are part of. Everything is connected in a continuum of constant change,A holistic comprehension of NI means understanding that intelligence is neither purely individual nor solely cognitive. It is an interconnected web of experience shaped by our internal aspirations and emotions and the broader social and planetary context in which we operate. Unlike AI, which excels at processing vast datasets, NI integrates meaning, ethics, and adaptability into decision-making.The Beauty Of Double LiteracyNI literacy entails appreciating the multidimensional nature of human intelligence encompassing aspiration, emotion, thought, and sensationand recognizing how these individual facets operate within broader social contexts, from person and community to country and planet.AI literacy involves understanding how AI models work, including their limitations and inherent biases, as well as the ethical considerations accompanying their use such as the potential spread of misinformation and other unintended consequences. It also requires recognizing when to trust AI systems versus relying on human judgment and staying informed about ongoing developments in AI capabilities and regulations.A 360-degree understanding of brain and body, self and society, combined with a granular comprehension of technology, improves our critical thinking and moral reasoning ability. It also equips us to take personal responsibility for decisions and outcomes in increasingly hybrid society, in which billions are still left out from the enjoyment of even the most fundamental of their human rights such as education.Curating Hybrid IntelligenceHybrid intelligence merges the best of AI and NI. Machines enhance human capabilities, while humans inject ethical judgment, empathy, and broader contextual understanding into automated processes. This synergy is transforming multiple domains:Research: AI uncovers unconventional connections, but human researchers ensure meaningful interpretation and real-world application.Medicine: AI can identify early disease patterns in massive data pools, but doctors integrate empathy, patient histories, and ethical considerations.Education: AI tailors learning paths to individual students while educators inspire creativity, critical thinking, and values-based reasoning.Business: AI streamlines operations and analyzes market trends, yet leaders provide strategic direction, relationship-building, and ethical guardrails.By blending AIs precision with NIs depth, hybrid intelligence positions us to address complex societal challenges responsibly.Takeaway: 4 Questions For Daily Double LiteracyTo strengthen double literacy, individuals and organizations can begin by asking four core questions whenever they interface with AI:Why are you using AI? Clarify your motivations and ambitions.What is the AI optimizing for? Understand the systems design, objectives, and incentives.Does this align with my values? Pinpoint where AI complementsor conflicts withyour human priorities.Which decisions will I never delegate to AI? Maintain personal agency and moral responsibility in all human-AI collaborations.As AI continues to evolve, merely adapting to new tools is not enough; we must systematically cultivate our own natural intelligence. Because only a deliberate balance of all our assets will ensure we remain informed curators of an ever-expanding universe of machine intelligence, not passive consumers. Agency amid AI is not a luxury but our best bet to flourish.So far, understanding the organically evolving kaleidoscope that each of us represents is not part of traditional school curricula. It is time to change that to future-proof society.In the meantime, each of us, particularly parents, teachers and caregivers, is well advised to start curating hybrid intelligence at home. Without hybrid intelligence, a deliberate balance of AI and NI, we risk designing systems that outpace our ability to guide them.

Updated Feb. 11 with more details of whats coming when and presumed pricing for the new iPhone.The iPhone SE is the most affordable iPhone. You can buy the third-generation model right now for $429 (unless you live in the EU, Switzerland or Northern Ireland, where it was removed from sale last year because it has a Lightning connector on board). A new model is coming, which will be unlike any previous iPhone in the SE range. And a new rumor guesses itll be pricier than the current iPhone SE, too. Heres your guide to whats happening when.Apple iPhone 14will the next iPhone SE look the same as this?AppleiPhone SE 4th Generation: Price predictionThe current $429 price may not be repeated when the fourth-generation model is released, thanks to the new design, faster processor and significantly upgraded camera (of which more below). Bloombergs Mark Gurman thinks the price will go up. It will feel like a modern smartphone in a package that costs roughly $500, Gurman says.Roughly is a tricky word: $479 would count, but so would $529. My guess is itll be somewhere towards the lower end of that rating, perhaps $489.And theres another thing that could be changing: the name. A recent report claimed that it wont be called iPhone SE at all, but iPhone 16E. I can see the logic here in marketing terms as it disconnects the phone from its affordability tag. But, seriously, its a strong brand so Id be surprised if Apple chose to dump it now.MORE FOR YOUiPhone SE 4th Generation: Why Its UniquePrevious SE models have had designs identical to earlier iPhones, topped up with the latest processor. So, the first-gen looked like the iPhone 5s, and the second and third models resembled the iPhone 8, but with much faster chips.The next model, its thought, will be somewhat based on the look of the iPhone 14 but, for the first time in the SE range, it will have an entirely original design. Unlike the iPhone 14 with its dual rear cameras, the iPhone SE on the way will likely have just one camera, but much more powerful than the iPhone 14 mustered.And it will be a first in other ways: itll be the first SE that has an all-screen front, with an OLED display and with Face ID instead of Touch ID. Inside, it should have a processor capable of Apple Intelligence, and it will debut new Apple tech including the companys first in-house modem.iPhone SE 4th Generation First Contact: Any Minute NowApple announces the new iPhone SE this week, according to Bloombergs Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter. If that seems awful early to you, I agree. Id have expected the next iPhone SE to go on sale in March or April, so next week is too soon for it to be unveiled. Mind you, thats not what Gurman said. Perhaps theres some wiggle room in the word announces.And the lack of an iPhone SE in the European Union countries and more may have encouraged Apple to step on the gas and get the new model (which will swap Lightning for USB-C and so can be sold in the EU) ready for market sooner.Plus, earlier sales mean more user data from the all-new modem, which will be useful when deciding which iPhone 17 models to put it in. Even so, I still think the unveiling wont be this week.iPhone SE 4th Generation Unveiling: This Week Or NextLets work backwards to get a better idea of the schedule. The company expects to announce the device as early as next week, ahead of it going on sale later in the month, according to people with knowledge of the matter, Gurman said in a separate report.A February onsale date means a Friday and there are three of those: Feb. 14, Feb. 21 and Feb. 28. Theres no way it could be the first of those as Apple likes to open pre-sales a week before (and that didnt happen).My gut tells me Feb. 28 is the onsale date, pre-sales a week before. Which means the reveal is likely set for the week before that, perhaps Tuesday, Feb. 18 or Wednesday, Feb. 19. Gurmans suggestion of w/c Feb. 10 is possible, it really seems too soon.iPhone SE 4th Generation Pre-Sales Open: Friday, Feb. 14 or Friday, Feb. 21.Apple doesnt like to be predictable, but it also likes to offer customers time to buy in advance. If theres an early reveal, it could mean pre-sales opening on Valentines Day (and what a lovely thing to buy your secret love).However, Im thinking Friday, Feb. 21 is more likely.iPhone SE 4th Generation Reviews: Tuesday, Feb. 25 Or Soon AfterThe first press reviews will be crucial to such a different iPhone SE as this. Id expect them to appear on or around Tuesday, Feb. 25, assuming the following Friday is the onsale date. Apple often has reviews go live on the Wednesday or Thursday before products are on sale, so Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 are in the frame, too. My best guess: Wednesday, Feb. 26.iPhone SE 4th Generation Reviews: Tuesday, Feb. 25 Or Soon AfteriPhone SE 4th Generation Release Date: Friday, Feb. 21 or Friday, Feb. 28It could be either of the above, but Im overwhelmingly plumping for the second of these: Friday, Feb. 28.Ill be updating this post as soon as theres more information.

In a nutshell: Recent antitrust laws approved in the EU provide the European Commission with significant firepower against monopoly-loving corporations. It now has its sights set on Microsoft, which is hoping to resolve the legal dispute with a new pricing policy. Microsoft is looking into a potential change in how the company sells Office and Teams in a single package to appease European authorities and avoid a hefty antitrust fine. Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed Microsoft's diplomatic attempt to Reuters. The insiders said the company is trying to end a years-long investigation into its alleged anticompetitive practices with Office and Teams bundles.The Europen Commission investigation started five years ago after Slack filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft. The complaint claimed that Redmond was reverting to its past monopolistic behavior by boosting Teams adoption through Office integration. Teams and other collaboration or video conferencing services saw a significant surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft was allegedly reaping all the benefits thanks to its popular productivity suite.Brussels received an additional antitrust complaint in 2023 when German videoconferencing company Alfaview asked EU antitrust authorities to stop Microsoft from bundling Office and Teams. Europe imposed a 2.2 billion fine against Microsoft a couple of decades ago, and new penalties can now go up to 10 percent of a company's global yearly revenue.Microsoft started to sell an "unbundled" version of Teams without Office in 2023. Sources say Redmond is willing to go even further, offering a wider price difference between an Office and Teams bundle and the two tools sold independently. Microsoft added Teams to Office 365 in 2017. It eventually replaced Skype for Business for 365 users' videoconferencing and collaboration needs.Reuters notes that the European Commission asked some companies for feedback regarding Microsoft's offering. They have until this week to reply. After that, the EU could perform a "formal" market test using the new prices, before evaluating Redmond's proposal. // Related StoriesAn EC insider stated that the Commission would like to move on and employ its staffing and resources against different "enemies." By accepting Microsoft's offer, the EU could focus on its latest antitrust investigations against Apple and Google.

One of the foundations of the Civilization franchise has always been learning the tips and tricks for how to engage with the other Leaders. Whether they are players or NPCs, relations between the other major players are unavoidable. You still have the choice to be friendly or hostile, but Civilization 7 introduces a new system that adds even more strategies and options to how you interact called Influence. There are a lot of similarities to Influence as other resources you need to manage, such as Gold and Food, but what you need and use it for is vastly different. Well help you be the best leader you can be by explaining everything you need to know about Influence in Civilization 7.2K GamesInfluence is a new form of currency you can accumulate in Civilization 7 each turn based on what structures you build, social policies you research, Wonders you make, and more. Anything you see the Influence icon for, which looks like a circle with a grid, will impact your Influence. But, there are ways to lose Influence besides spending it as well. If you do things like surprise attack another civ or razing settlements will cost you Influence. You can see how much Influence you are earning per tern on the top of the screen next to your gold total and income.Recommended VideosAs you build Influence, you will need to decide how you want to spend it. Your first opportunities will be when you first meet a new civ and are given the option to give them a friendly, neutral, or hostile greeting. Either of the extremes will cost 20 Influence and impact your relationship with them right off the bat.2K GamesAfter you meet a civ, you can use your Influence in many ways to benefit both parties or negatively impact them. These include Treaties, Endeavors, Sanctions, Treaties, and Espionage. Each one will last a set number of turns and give a chance to improve (or reduce) your relationship with that Leader plus another temporary bonus. For example, improving trade relations can give one or both Leaders bonus gold for a number of turns. The specific outcome is dependent on whether or not the other Leader supports your proposal, which grants you both the bonus, accepts it, which will only benefit one, or reject it and the proposal doesnt happen.RelatedBesides selecting a Leader and choosing to spend Influence on these actions, other Leaders can come to you with the same proposals. When this happens, you have the same three options of support, accept, and reject, but support and reject will cost you a small amount of Influence too.Another use for Influence relates to Independant Powers, which are the new name for the smaller NPC settlements on the map. By default, they are neutral towards you but you can use your Influence to befriend and even incorporate them into your civ. Once you make contact with one (so long as they are not hostile) you can use your influence to begin befriending them. With enough influence, you can become their suzerain and incorporate them as a new town for your civ.Editors Recommendations