Bosses are increasingly watching what their employees are doing during the workday.Demand for employee surveillance software rose 54% from March 2020 to June 2023, a study found.Pressure is on for bosses to cut costs and root out unproductive workers, sources say.If you're reading this during your workday, there are pretty good odds that your boss knows.Employers have monitored workers for a long time, but companies now have more sophisticated ways to watch what employees do while on the clock. Bosses are increasingly deploying tools that can track screen time, log keystrokes, and take videos and screenshots to keep tabs throughout the day.These gadgets, which exploded in use when remote work took off during the pandemic, are part of a broader workplace trend aimed at cutting costs and reducing head count, something execs think can be done more effectively by rooting out less productive workers, sources told Business Insider.Between March 2020 and June 2023, demand for employee surveillance software grew 54%, according to research from Top10VPN, a virtual private network comparison site.Meanwhile, 73% of employers said they used recordings of calls, emails, or other messages as a factor in performance reviews, while 37% said they used a recording to fire an employee, a separate survey from ExpressVPN study found.Five employee monitoring software providers told Business Insider they had seen significant growth in the last year, with four of them reporting that they had scaled their clientele by more than 25% in 2024.Insightful, which makes monitoring software that allows employers to keep tabs on worker productivity through features like screenshotting, says it saw a 45% increase in customers last year. The firm is already on track to see its client base jump by 70% this year, Alexandra Alexin, Insightful's head of demand generation, said.Alexin attributed the increased interest to employers wanting to keep workers accountable, adding that some companies said they were looking to enforce certain policies."It's been fantastic from a business perspective," Alexin told BI, noting that 2024 marked the company's best year on record. "I think that the real focus they have is, if those policies are being enforced, are they seeing more productivity and more efficiency from their workforce or not?"Time Doctor, another performance-tracking software firm that assigns productivity ratings and alerts employers of worker inactivity, said client interest increased by around 50% in 2024. Based on numbers over the last several quarters, the firm expects to see a similar increase in 2025.Liam Martin, the co-founder of Time Doctor, told BI he attributes the uptick in interest in employee monitoring tools to the rise of remote work, though cost-cutting has also come up in conversations with customers."Every single employer that I've spoken to, and I've asked them, 'is your head count going to go down due to AI?' Pretty much everyone has said yes," Martin said, adding that he believed workers who were able to become more productive by using AI were not going to be let go.Controlio, an employee monitoring tool that can rank employees on a scale from "Very Productive" to "Very Distracted" through features like keylogging, video recording, and surveying file activity, says it's seen a 30% increase in clients using its platform.Moath Galeb, an account manager at Controlio, said employers using Controlio are frequently shocked by how unproductive some employees are. He added that some employers have used the technology to determine which employees to let go."A lot of our customers use it solely to have the ability to make decisions," he said.Layoff announcements by companies rose 28% in January, according to a report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas.Meanwhile, a third of business leaders said that reducing costs was their top priority in 2025, according to a survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group. Approximately 86% of executives said they planned on investing in AI or advanced analytics in 2025, BCG found.While employers may be flocking to such tools, workers are less enthused about the prospect of being monitored at work.About 56% of workers who are monitored at work said they felt tense or stressed out, according to the American Psychological Association.Time Doctor's Martin says fewer employees push back against the technology once they understand how it works, adding that he believes the heightened transparency is necessary for remote work to succeed.

For many, budgeting has never felt like more of a challenge, which might explain why it seems to be trendier than ever with all the fads and judgment that attention implies. TikTok influencers offer financial trendbait like loud budgeting and the 100 envelope challenge, which suggest that people can solve their financial problems by following strict rules that can be summed up in a single viral hashtag.Dana Miranda is a personal finance journalist and educator based in central Wisconsin who runs the Healthy Rich newsletter and is the author of You Dont Need a Budget. Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni are based in St. Petersburg, Florida, where they co-host the Frugal Friends Podcast and co-authored Buy What You Love Without Going Broke. These three financial educators believe that budgeting culture has gone to the kinds of extremes that make it difficult to think holistically about financial values and that the best way to manage money might involve letting go of some of the so-called rules.The following conversation has been lightly condensed and edited.Jen Smith: I think that weve learned a lot of our budgeting, and our financial habits and consumption, from the way we consume food. Weve taken something were already familiar with, extreme diets, and transitioned it to money. For women, its been this constant source of shame and struggle and so we really want to get away from the language that causes this shame and struggle and create a new way to think about financial concepts that are a little more freeing and empowering.Dana Miranda: I specifically thought it was important to name budget culture and to show the direct parallel to diet culture. The ways we talk about money are focused on that same restrictive mindset. Its also a very individualistic mindset, when both our approach to food and our approach to money have so many systemic causes and implications that we often dont talk about when were giving financial advice. Once we understand the ways we teach and talk about money in our culture, we can understand that even if were not specifically engaging in restrictive budgeting, that kind of culture underlies all of the ways we think about money. Jill Sirianni: I think a lot of us are not taught how to manage our resources well. Were not taught how to spend, were not taught how to save, much less how to invest. Its not usually overtly taught by our parents or caregivers, and its not taught in school so we graduate and take on student loan debt, not really understanding what that means for us in the long term.We also learn that spending is a personality trait. Youre either a spender or a saver. We should be learning that we all spend, and we all should be saving, and there shouldnt be this guilt or shame attached to any of it. We can align our spending with the things that actually matter; our values, the things that are important and life-giving to us. This gives us a sense of confidence and freedom about the ways we spend our money or ways we dont spend our money, if we choose to consume less.Jen: Spending was a hobby when I was growing up. Its what we did on the weekend! We went to the mall. We went to Walmart. That was how I learned what to do with money. I didnt learn how to spend it on investments. I didnt learn how to spend it on vacations after saving up for them. I wasnt taught any of that.Now shopping isnt just a hobby. Its what you do when youre stressed! Its what you do when youre bored! Its the go-to thing to do with any free given second of time. Dana: Thats interesting, because I was raised just the opposite. I grew up in a culture that was anti-debt, anti-spending, pro-saving. Hold on to money as much as you can and work hard to earn it. Thats what I see in people as adults, too sometimes theyre afraid to spend money, because theyve been told their whole life that spending money leads to chaos. Were never taught to question whats going on outside of us, and were never taught to look inside of ourselves and ask ourselves what we want to do with our money. Jill: For our book, we really wanted to teach the skill of spending. Its not a personality trait, its not a moral failing or a moral superiority, its a skill. That means its something you can learn and something you can get better at doing. Stopping all spending and doing something like a no-buy year, we dont think thats the answer. A short no-spend challenge can show us something about our spending habits and speed up the timeline of learning but if you want to learn how to function in the world that we live in, youre going to spend money. Lets hone that skill and do it well!Dana: Your book is such a complement to mine that Im starting to recommend them together. My book focuses on the cultural relationship with money and the personal relationship with money. What I really want people to take away from my book is to start to question the traditional advice that theyre hearing, because I think thats the big skill were not learning. Were looking for a specific set of rules or a specific method, and we end up bouncing from method to method to try to find the right one instead of asking questions about why this person is describing this particular method. Why is this person giving this particular advice? What about their life made that method work for them, and how might that be different from whats in my life or how might it be the same? Thats how people can start piecing together something that works for them, and how they can start questioning whats around them instead of asking someone else to tell them what to do next.I use my book to shift people into that mindset, but I like to recommend your book because it gives people the practical tips that can help them take the next steps.Jill: Our approach is similar to Danas approach: understanding ourselves first. We need to understand some of the reasoning behind what were doing so that we can have self-understanding, and a lot of that involves giving people tools that they can take with them throughout any season of life. When that happens, when we understand what our current spending habits are and learn the ways in which we want to shift them, how we can get more of what really matters, our values, our higher needs; then we can identify what we want to do with our resources. Thats all of our resources: our time, our physical space, our relationships, our mental and emotional energies, as well as our money.So with something like investing and of course thats a whole large topic, there are plenty of books just on that topic we believe that it requires these first steps in order to build a really solid foundation so that people can determine what the best investment strategy might be for them going forward.For many people who are middle or average earners, the best strategy is probably going to be some kind of automation utilizing your Roth IRA and your 401(k), but a lot of times people in this space are still looking at debt payoff and fully funding an emergency fund. These are the types of things they can set on autopilot so they can begin saving for retirement, but first we need to understand the skill of spending. What do I even value? How can I get more of what I want without throwing money at my problems?Jen: There are already plenty of great investment books out there. Rich AF by Vivian Tu, Grow Your Money by Bola Sokunbi, but it is very hard to take action on them if you are spending every dollar you make. The lowest barrier to entry to get started with investing is to spend less. Our book can help people increase their margin so they can start investing faster. They dont have to wait to earn more.Dana: In You Dont Need a Budget, I try to speak to people who might be experiencing financial insecurity or some instability, but the issue with that is that most of the time if someone is experiencing something like food insecurity, it is usually the result of a systemic cultural problem and not something that we can offer personal advice to help them change. Its something that needs to be addressed at a systemic level. What I try to do for readers in that situation is to reiterate that message over and over, because often in the personal finance space theyre getting messages written for people who are middle or average income. Theyre getting tweaks on how to spend their money, which is just not enough so the message I want to send is that this information is not for you. People are not speaking to your situation, and you should not feel ashamed of the things that you have to do to survive in this system that is not allowing you that kind of security. Its hard as a financial educator and personal finance writer to speak to that situation, because theres no answer for it. Its a systemic thing and a political thing, and its important to say that.Jen: We also believe that debt is neutral. Some people consider a mortgage good debt, and for other people their mortgage can be 50 percent of their income which doesnt make mortgages bad, but in this case it might not be the best decision for you. Credit card debt and high interest debt can be a bad decision, but not always. Sometimes you need those tools to keep you afloat. I often like to say that theres a difference between being hungry and not knowing where your next meal is coming from. A person who is using credit cards to deal with food insecurity is different from a person who is maximizing every line of credit available to them and not dealing with their long-term financial goals.That said, if you are in credit card debt, get rid of that debt first. Thats something Im willing to take a stand on. For everything else, you have to honor your season and your capacity for what you can do financially. Dana: I really think thats the approach we need to take to debt. Its about your season. I take a radical approach in terms of allowing the use of debt, but I also want people to understand how debt products work.I dont think that anybody has a moral obligation to pay off debt as quickly as possible, the way that it is sometimes represented. I think that debt products are a resource to help you live a life thats comfortable and have the experiences that you want and deserve. As long as you understand how debt works and how to deal with any debt you accrue, you can go ahead and use debt products in your life. Its important to avoid actions such as maxing out your credit card or damaging your credit score the kind of things that might reduce your access to debt as a resource but you should also avoid thinking of debt in terms of rules, such as its a rule that we should avoid debt or its a rule that we should pay off debt as quickly as possible. Jill: One of the reframes weve used on debt is the idea of beneficial versus not beneficial. Rather than talking about moral and immoral or good and bad, try to individualize these decisions. Is this good for me and my family, or is this not beneficial for me and my family? Thats going to look different from person to person. Dana: When I say that you dont need a budget, the most important thing Im looking at is eliminating that reliance on restriction and the kinds of boundaries that require you to live a smaller life. You need to be aware of whats happening with your money, but its not just an awareness of where your moneys going because that kind of exercise can lead to self-judgment. You should also be aware of what money is coming in and what resources you have access to. What goals are you trying to achieve, and how can you use money as a part of all of that? This doesnt mean making a spending plan, and it doesnt mean restricting your spending according to someone elses rules but it does mean being aware of money because its one of the things youre dealing with in life. Its one piece of your life that youre being mindful about, the same way that you are about anything else.Jill: Its like asking whether you can have beneficial relationships and interactions in the future without looking at what your past relationships and interactions have been. You just cant. Thats not to say that were going to look back with shame, but we wont be able to make money decisions and choices if we dont know what weve already been doing with our money.Jen: The anticipation of finding that out is typically a lot more overwhelming than what you actually find out. Its also a good idea to reframe some of the negative feelings that might come up. Instead of feeling guilty, for example, you can acknowledge that you regret some of your past decisions. Thats healthy. Regret helps you understand that you can change, and it helps you decide what to do next.Jill: Writing this book has helped me manage some of my own financial regrets and reframe them as learning opportunities.Jen: For me, writing the book has given me accountability to practice what I preach. When I spend, its on something that I truly value and if its to meet a need, I want to make sure what I buy is meeting that need 100 percent, instead of trying to put money towards something that money cant buy.Dana: What Ive learned from writing about personal finance is this empowerment of understanding how things work. How our financial systems work and how they interact with our culture and our political systems. So much of financial education is about telling people the right and wrong things to do, and that isnt accurate for everyone. Once you understand how things work, you can find out whats actually right for you and you can understand why certain things dont work for some people. Then you can take what works for you and do whats going to work best in your life, instead of doing whatever someone else told you is the right thing.See More:

PS5 owners may get a new-look Summer showcase this year according to one insider, instead of the usual State of Play while another title could slip from 2025 to next yearTech11:21, 17 Feb 2025Updated 12:39, 17 Feb 2025PS5 fans will have lots to play soonPlayStation fans have had a rollercoaster couple of weeks. After a huge PSN outage had some saying they were jumping ship to Xbox, a State of Play last week eased concerns and had players fawning over the likes of MindsEye and more.That State of Play reportedly hit 1.8 million views, setting a new record for the format for Sony (thanks, Streams Charts), but Sony is apparently looking to move away from a larger Summer showcase this year, according to one insider.Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb says Sony can't decide whether they'll hold another State of Play with a series of third-party offerings, or if they'll hold a larger PS5 showcase.Fans are desperate to see Insomniac's WolverineThey could still have some fun announcements and they could still start bolstering expectations for 2026, Grubb said on his Game Mess stream (thanks, VGC).Internally it sounds like theyre debating, and flopping between, maybe making something this summer a full showcase versus another State of Play. But they are considering a showcase.And if they have a showcase, that means theyll have a lot of stuff to talk about. And at that point, you would definitely expect to see Wolverine and a lot of other games that could come out next year.Fans had hoped for a Wolverine update at last week's State of Play, as it remains one of Sony's few big exclusives that has been announced. That list also includes Ghost of Yotei, a successor to Ghost of Tsushima that's slated for this year.Fairgame$ has reportedly been delayedFairgame$, a live service title, could be among the games shown off but has reportedly slipped out of 2025 internally, Grubb said.The game was announced in 2023 but has been quiet since. It's part of a slate of live service titles planned by Sony, but many have been cancelled in the wake of Concord's underperformance which led to the game being removed from storefronts and the studio disbanded.Conversely, Helldivers 2, which launched just over a year ago, was a huge success on PS5 and Steam, and Sony has promised to take learnings from each when it comes to upcoming titles.For more on PlayStation, check out the latest PS Plus Extra titles, as well as sales data for the PS5 versus the Xbox Series X and S.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

The Nintendo Switch 2 may be without a release date, but it appears the console is already available on the black market although it'll cost you to get your hands on it earlier than anyone elseTech10:37, 17 Feb 2025Updated 10:38, 17 Feb 2025Will you spend 30k on a Switch 2?Nintendo is promising a big Nintendo Direct on April 2 for its Switch 2 console, but retailers last week seemingly managed to leak the system's price and even its release date.We've even heard Rockstar Games will have a presence in the launch game lineup, alongside the usual suspects like Mario, Zelda, and more.Now, though, Nintendo's worst nightmare may have come true as someone online has suggested the Switch 2 is available to purchase via the black market weeks before the official announcement.Posting over on the growing Nintendo Switch 2 subreddit, one user shared a screenshot of a conversation from a leaker that revealed designs of the Switch before reveal, discussing a Switch 2 unit being available with a black market seller.The exchange (translated by the poster), suggests the Switch 2 is "in stock next week", and according to the seller they have the dock, console, and even a Pro Controller.The conversation, taken from the Xiahongshu forums, includes an offer to get the Switch 2 for $39,780 (over 31,000).While we consider putting in an expenses claim for it (just kidding), it's worth noting that even if the rumours are true, the system is likely not finished in terms of software updates, and won't have any games available even if it was (although at least the Switch 2 is expected to be backward compatible).When it comes to the console's actual price, don't expect to pay a cost that high, with Nintendo focusing on making the system affordable.In an investor meeting earlier this month, Shuntaro Furukawa, the company's president, had the following to say:Article continues below"We are aware that, in addition to how inflation is currently proceeding, the exchange rate environment has also changed significantly since around the time we launched Nintendo Switch in 2017."We also need to consider the price range that consumers expect for Nintendo products. We think a multifaceted consideration of these factors is needed when deciding on the price of a product. I cannot tell you a specific price for Nintendo Switch 2 at this time, but we are taking various factors into account.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Microsoft has given up trying to attract PS5 owners to Xbox consoles says CEOAdam StarkeyPublished February 17, 2025 11:57amUpdated February 17, 2025 11:57am Is Xboxs multiformat strategy a winning one? (Microsoft)Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has discussed the challenges of attracting PlayStation and Switch owners to Xbox consoles.With PlayStation 5 sales more than double those of the Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft has pivoted Xbox into a broader multiplatform publisher, untethered from its own hardware.Weve seen this in action through Xbox marketing which downplays the console, along with the increasing amount of Xbox games heading to other platforms. This strategy seems to be working from a financial standpoint, mostly thanks to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but the big question is whether this could lead to a gradual exit from the console race.In a new interview, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer acknowledged the difficulty in getting PlayStation owners to switch to Xbox and reaffirmed how the company isnt trying to move them all over to Xbox anymore.Speaking on the XboxEra podcast, Spencer explained that while selling games on rival devices means they lose 30% of the sale to the competitors storefront, the remaining 70% helps Xbox build great portfolios of games. By which he means it earns them money.There are people whether its their libraries on a PlayStation or Nintendo, whether its that they like the controller better, they just like the games that are there and I dont want to then look at that say, well, theres no way that we should be able to build a business there, find fans of our franchises there, Spencer said. Im not trying to move them all over to Xbox anymore. Were all so invested in where our games are, lets just allow more people to play. And yes, the 70% that we make on games on other platforms is helpful to us being able to build great portfolios, like we showed at Developer Direct, and I hope this will continue to show through the rest of the year.Spencer went onto echo concerns around Xboxs future, before directly addressing worries around its Xbox Game Pass subscription service being detrimental to game ownership.I just want to show respect to people who voice their concerns to me, Spencer added. Like, I get it. I would never disrespect anybody who comes to me with concern [like], Ive got a library of games on Xbox console, I want to make sure Ill continue to be able to play those games, are we going to still do hardware? Are we still going to be able to play the games weve always played? Am I going to have to rent all my games, can I still buy games? I get it. I get the questions.I think weve shown respect for peoples libraries over the generations with backwards compatibility and play anywhere, and I want to continue to do that. You can buy every game thats in Game Pass, were not trying to funnel everybody into one business model. Play the games the way you want to play them. Xbox classic Forza Horizon 5 is heading to PlayStation 5 this year (Playground Games)We obviously have to run a good business, so well have our pricing and everything that we do, but I want to make as many options as possible for the games that we have so they find more and more players.With declining Xbox hardware sales and stagnant Game Pass subscriber numbers though, it seems Microsoft is pinning its hopes on Xbox Cloud Gaming to expand its audience.Its why us embracing Windows and embracing cloud has allowed us to grow, Spencer claimed. One of our fastest growing regions for us right now is Asia and its not because were selling more consoles in Asia, but through cloud and PC, were finding more users year over year than any other place.More TrendingThe fastest kind of platform is cloud. Thats the thing thats growing the fastest year over year and those are players like you were talking about, that presenter in the UK. We were never going to catch that person with our console. So lets find them in a way that works, and its better for Indiana Jones. Its better for Xbox.According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Xbox Cloud Gaming recently broke records for the platform with 140 million hours streamed in the last financial quarter. The company also touted a 30% increase in Game Pass subscribers on PC, but the absence of a new overall figure across all platforms suggests it hasnt grown much (if at all) since the 34 million figure from February last year.Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, so while the appeal of cloud gaming might be on rise, it isnt translating to a significant boost in Xbox Game Pass subscribers. As such, its unclear how much cloud gaming will actually benefit Xbox in the long term.The big question is whether this matters considering Microsoft is now one of the biggest game publishers in the world, thanks to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda. With all the money its earning on the publishing side, the company may now see its planned future consoles as merely a minor side business to its main role as a third party publisher. What does a next gen Xbox mean? (Microsoft)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Transform your living space into a vibrant, personalized light show without breaking the bank. Smart LED strips have revolutionized home lighting, offering endless possibilities for ambiance, from subtle accent lighting to dynamic party effects. Whether youre looking to upgrade your gaming setup, create the perfect movie-watching atmosphere, or just add some flair to your living space, smart LED strips offer a flexible and fun lighting solution.See at AmazonHeres a deal thatll light up your day: The Govee LED Strip Lights, spanning an impressive 100 feet (two 50-foot rolls), are now available for just $43 at Amazon, down from $73. This 41% discount saves you $30 on a versatile lighting system that can transform any room.Change up your living space with some fun lightingThese arent your basic LED strips, and thats part of what make them such a great find. They feature RGBIC technology, which means they can display multiple colors simultaneously along the same strip, creating more dynamic and eye-catching effects than traditional RGB strips. With Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility, you can control your lighting setup with just your voice, adjusting brightness, colors, and effects without reaching for your phone.The Govee Home App opens up a world of customization options, including AI-generated themes from your photos and the ability to share and save custom effects. The upgraded music sync mode includes 11 different options that respond to your music or gaming audio through a sensitive built-in mic.Installation is straightforward just peel and stick to any clean, dry indoor surface. With 100 feet of lighting at your disposal, you can get creative with room layouts, holiday decorations, or entertainment setups. Note that these strips are designed for indoor use only.At $43, this deal offers an affordable way to dramatically transform your space with smart lighting. Whether youre setting up a dorm room, enhancing your home theater, or just want to add some ambiance to your living space, these Govee LED strips provide impressive features at a significantly reduced price.If youre ready to jump in and change up the way your home space looks, be ready to pony up some cash for this deal today. Youre going to want to make sure you jump on this deal ASAP, because it wont be around forever. In fact, this very deal is going away quite soon so if you want to further customize your home theater or other area in your home, its time to spend now so you can save later.See at Amazon

Whats as strong as steel, as light as aluminum, and capable of withstanding ballistic impact, fire, and radiation? Metal foam. Over a decade ago, engineer Afsaneh Rabiei of North Carolina State University invented Composite Metal Foam (CMF)a material made of hollow metal bubbles embedded in steel, titanium, aluminum, or other alloys. From air and space travel to defense, the exceptionally strong and lightweight material could have a variety of applications. After years of testing against ballistics, blasts, vibrations, radiation, and fire, Rabieis company, Advanced Materials Manufacturing, is officially ready for production. Though it wasnt the first metal foam ever invented, Rabiei claims her CMF is the strongest. For example, in a 2019 study published in the journal Composite Structures, researchers demonstrated that vehicle armor made with steel-steel CMF (in which both the bubbles and the material theyre in are made from steel) stopped ball and armor-piercing .50 caliber rounds as efficiently as vehicle armor made with conventional steel, at less than half its weight. The CMF armor was less than half the weight of the rolled homogeneous steel armor needed to achieve the same level of protection, Rabiei, a co-author on the study, said in a North Carolina State University statement. In other words, we were able to achieve significant weight savingswhich benefits vehicle performance and fuel efficiencywithout sacrificing protection. Two years earlier, Rabiei and her colleagues found that CMF insulates against heat far better than a solid sheet of the same metal. As the team explained in a 2016 study published in the International Journal of Thermal Sciences, they exposed one side of a 2.5-inch by 2.5-inch by 0.75-inch (6.35 centimeter by 6.35 centimeter by 1.91 centimeter) thick piece of bulk stainless steel, as well as one side of a sample of CMF of the same size, to a 1,472-degree Fahrenheit (800-degree Celsius) flame. While the steel took four minutes to reach the same temperature, the CMF took eight. The presence of air pockets inside CMF make it so effective at blocking heat, mainly because heat travels more slowly through air than through metal, Rabiei explained in another university statement. That means CMF could protect heat-sensitive materialswhether hazardous chemicals or vehicles carrying astronauts through space. On the topic of space, Rabiei revealed ten years ago that CMF is capable of shielding various forms of radiation. In a 2015 study published in the journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry, her team showed that CMF is effective at blocking X-rays and gamma rays (dangerous space radiation) as well as neutron radiation (which takes place in nuclear reactors and during nuclear explosions). In short, CMFs hold promise for a variety of applications: from space exploration to shipping nuclear waste, explosives and hazardous materials, to military and security applications and even cars, buses and trains, Rabiei said in the statement on the ballistic tests.Heres another riddle for you: what do metal foam and ancient Romans have in common? Both enhanced previous inventions and applications. While the Romans took inventions from other civilizations and made them better, CMF takes applications of other materials and seemingly achieves them with less weight. It remains to be seen, however, if manufacturers are also convinced of this.

Last Days to Vote for the ArchDaily 2025 Building of the Year AwardsSave this picture!Background photography Syam Sreesylam. Courtesy of WallmakersTime is running out! We invite you to take part in the ArchDaily 2025 Building of the Year Awards by casting your vote for the projects that have made the biggest impact on the built environment.This year, ArchDaily's projects database has featured thousands of inspiring works, and thanks to your participation, 4,000 projects have been narrowed down to just 75 finalistsrepresenting the best in each category. Now, it's time to choose the winners.As a registered user, you can vote for your favorite project in each of the 15 categories, with one vote per category. But hurryvoting closes on February 20, 2025, at 12:01 AM (EST).Thank you for being part of this global network of architects, designers, and enthusiasts who help us celebrate architectural excellence in all its forms.The ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.Vote HereAbout this authorCite: ArchDaily. "Last Days to Vote for the ArchDaily 2025 Building of the Year Awards" 17 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026970/last-days-to-vote-for-the-2025-archdaily-building-of-the-year-awards&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

How Should Historic Buildings in the United States Address Energy Efficiency Mandates?Save this picture!Ford's Theater, Washington DC, USA. Image Maxwell MacKenzieThe United States is a country with an extensive history, its buildings holding onto legacies from later times. For their cultural significance, these structures are greatly celebrated and protected, however, they are also exempt from certain energy efficiency mandates. As cities push toward reaching climate goals, these mandates are under scrutiny. Preservationists argue that historic buildings deserve protection from potentially damaging retrofits. On the other hand, sustainability advocates bring up the need for energy efficiency improvements across all sectors of the built environment. The challenge lies in achieving a balance between the competing priorities - ensuring the maintenance of heritage and environmental responsibility.Many interrelated factors lend to the exemption of historic buildings in the U.S. from energy performance codes. A major reason is the commitment to preserving the building's original character. Many historic structures feature unique materials, such as hand-crafted woodwork, masonry, and decorative ironwork, that are at the risk of being compromised by modern energy retrofits. Regulatory bodies such as the National Park Service's Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation emphasize maintaining original materials and avoiding alterations that could diminish the building's authenticity. Save this picture!The cost and complexity of upgrading older buildings to meet contemporary energy standards bring another inevitable challenge. Historic buildings often have structural nuances that make it difficult to integrate high-performance insulation, double-glazed windows, or modern HVAC systems without extreme modifications. Modern energy codes tend to focus on new construction and major renovations, which implies that many historic buildings, unless undergoing substantial redevelopment, remain untouched by energy regulations. Related Article The Hidden Carbon Cost of Climate Retrofits Historic buildings constitute a significant part of the urban fabric and can consume substantial amounts of the city's energy. While some structures were designed with passive climate control strategies, others rely on outdated mechanical systems that contribute to excessive energy use. This inefficiency is especially an issue in cities with high concentrations of historic properties, such as New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. Without a concerted effort to address their energy performance, these buildings could undermine broader urban sustainability efforts.Local governments in the U.S. are beginning to push for greater accountability when it comes to the energy performance of historic buildings. New York City's Local Law 97, for example, places emissions caps on large buildings, including many historic structures, signaling a shift away from blanket exemptions. Some cities are also requiring energy benchmarking and performance reporting for historic structures, even if they are not yet subject to specific retrofit mandates. These policies mark the beginning of a broader trend toward increasing the sustainability of existing buildings, including those with historic status.Save this picture!Save this picture!Along with upcoming policy updates, technological advancements are also making it more feasible to retrofit historic buildings without compromising their architectural character. In some cases, adaptive reuse projects present opportunities to integrate sustainability measures without excessive alterations to the historic fabric. However, many property owners remain hesitant to pursue energy upgrades due to concerns over cost, regulatory hurdles, and the potential for adverse effects on historic integrity.A driver of change is the increased availability of financial incentives aimed at encouraging sustainable retrofits of historic buildings. The federal Historic Tax Credit program, which provides financial support for rehabilitation projects, has helped incentivize preservation. Some states and municipalities are now incorporating energy efficiency grants and tax incentives into these programs, making it easier for property owners to invest in energy-saving improvements. These incentives are crucial in addressing the economic barriers that often prevent historic buildings from being upgraded. Some of America's most iconic buildings, from the Ford Foundation Headquarters in New York to historic courthouses across the Midwest, have already undergone modern energy retrofits that preserve their legacy while meeting contemporary sustainability standards. Save this picture!These projects serve as proof that heritage and progress can coexist. Historic building retrofits challenge architects and engineers to think outside the box. Unlike modern buildings designed with adaptability in mind, historic structures present unique constraints that require creative solutions. This often leads to breakthroughs in material science and engineering that benefit preservation efforts but also contribute to the broader field of sustainable architecture.Balancing historic preservation with energy efficiency is an arduous task, but it is increasingly clear that these two goals are not mutually exclusive. Many experts argue that a more flexible, performance-based approach to energy codes for historic buildings could be the key to achieving both objectives. Instead of imposing rigid standards that may not be feasible for historic properties, performance-based codes would allow owners to implement tailored solutions that improve energy efficiency while preserving the unique qualities of their buildings. Increased collaboration between preservationists, sustainability professionals, and policymakers could enable solutions that respect both heritage and climate goals.Save this picture!Looking ahead, it is likely that historic buildings will face increased pressure to comply with energy efficiency standards. The challenge will be crafting regulations that recognize the importance of these structures while also ensuring they contribute to national and local sustainability efforts. Emerging policies, technologies, and financial incentives suggest that a path forward exists that bridges the gap between preservation and performance. While historic buildings have long enjoyed exemptions from energy codes, the future will likely require a more integrated approach, ensuring that these treasured structures remain both culturally significant and environmentally responsible for generations to come.Image gallerySee allShow lessAbout this authorAnkitha GattupalliAuthorCite: Ankitha Gattupalli. "How Should Historic Buildings in the United States Address Energy Efficiency Mandates?" 17 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026988/how-should-historic-buildings-in-the-united-states-address-energy-efficiency-mandates&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! 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Robotaxi services are spreading broadly. While theyve clearly had issues in San Francisco as have I, driving in San Francisco those challenges are improving. Now, both Uber and Lyft appear to be taking steps toward replacing their ride-share drivers with AI.We may be on the verge of one of the first large-scale AI job replacement efforts that everyone will witness. This transition will fix a key issue with ride-sharing by aligning revenue more directly with its users. However, it wont address a deeper problem that ride-sharing has in common with social media: a decoupled revenue business model where the people using a service arent necessarily funding it.Lets talk about decoupled revenue. Then, well close with my Product of the Week: a new and awesome notebook from Lenovo that sports a brand-new processor from Intel.The Problem With Decoupled RevenueThe problem with both social media and ride-sharing is that the people paying for the service arent treated as the primary customers.With social media, advertisers fund the platforms, but users engage with content as if they were the primary customers. With ride-sharing, the platform enables car owners to monetize their vehicles, but thats a cost of the service. Since riders are the ones paying, they should be the customers of the drivers, not the platform.In both cases, the platform prioritizes those who provide the revenueadvertisers for social media and riders for ride-sharingwhile those who power the service, such as content creators and drivers, are treated as cost centers rather than valued participants.This decoupling means that those who make the service possible like Uber/Lyft drivers and social media users are often overlooked. Their needs are subordinated to those of the entities providing the funding, like advertisers on social media and riders for Uber/Lyft. Instead of being seen as assets to be optimized, social media content creators and ride-share drivers are frequently treated as problems to be managed. Both conditions are true. Users drive the advertising revenue because ads are worthless without users. Likewise, if there arent any drivers, there is nothing for riders to use.Managers often fail to make this distinction. I once knew a general manager who argued that his plant would run much better without sales reps mucking things up forgetting they were the reason the plant had business in the first place. He was fired shortly thereafter because he was an idiot, but this wasnt a unique situation. I was an internal auditor, and it was surprising how many high-ranking executives didnt seem to know how things actually worked which is kind of scary when you think about it.Businesses generally function better when the people using a service and those funding it are the same. When revenue and users are decoupled, as they are in social media and ride-sharing, platforms risk alienating the people who keep them running. You dont mess with your revenue sources.Will Robotaxis Disrupt or Fix Ride-Sharing?Robotaxis may fix ride-share or badly break it. If Uber and Lyft go to robotaxi services, then the people who use this service to monetize their cars are kind of screwed unless they want to work for nearly free because they wont be able to compete with an AI driver. However, this would also eliminate the problem the drivers represent in terms of being treated more like a cost center than a customer. With robotaxis, Uber and Lyft can just focus on the riders who then become their customers.Now, I know these services have been considering allowing ride-share car owners to stay with the service but buy and maintain the autonomous vehicles themselves, enabling them to earn back a significant part of the revenue. That could resemble a B&B model, but with cars and trucks, maintenance, insurance, and liability concerns create additional hurdles. Plus, while these cars will essentially be electric, we dont have automated charging stations for them to use. Charging infrastructure is critical if autonomous vehicles operate independently, and solutions like robotic charging or battery swaps are still in development.Given these challenges, Uber and Lyft will likely choose to own their fleets and install unique charging ports, automated charging stations, and stand-by parking lots to accommodate typical fluctuations in demand throughout the day.Initially, There Would Be a BlendRight now, robotaxi service technology is suitable for urban areas. However, if the rider needs to go some distance, then, at least in the short term, a human driver would still be needed until we have approved autonomous driving technology that can operate within and between cities.We might even see some integration between autonomous cars and airplanes for service within a state. At least some of the aircraft being considered for this are VTOL (vertical take-off and landing), which provides the potential for more localized landing pads where riders could transfer from their autonomous car to an autonomous plane.There have also been some concepts where an autonomous lifting body attaches to the car when it needs to bypass traffic or travel longer distances. That would be cool, but I think safety concerns might keep people from wanting to use it. I recall a flying car many years ago based on a Ford Pinto where the wings and car came apart at altitude, killing the companys founders.Wrapping UpWhile robotaxis may improve ride-sharing by better aligning revenue with users, what happens to the displaced Uber and Lyft drivers? In some cases and Tesla is exploring this some may work remotely, taking control when a robotaxi runs into trouble to guide it to safety or a repair station. But this would require far fewer drivers than today, offering only temporary employment for some, while most would be out of luck.For us users, things will become much more convenient with lower prices, better service, and less concern about whether your driver is a serial killer. (I watch too many police TV shows!) There will be fewer interesting conversations, although, come to think of it, generative AI is conversational, so you might be able to talk to the car during your ride, and it will certainly be less likely to be abusing drugs or reading messages instead of focusing on the road.The experience should be cheaper, safer, and far more convenient, which will fix the decoupled revenue problem.Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i PrototypePhoto by AuthorThe new Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i prototype is pretty awesome. The shipping version of this laptop uses Nvidia RTX graphics, but this one uses Intel ARC and isnt due until July.This AI PC, one of Intels first, uses the 9u processor also called the Ultra 9 processor. It has a 16-inch OLED screen that looks awesome, and OLEDs have become more efficient, so they arent the huge battery killers they once were.I prefer a larger screen because I generally work off a desktop machine, so going down to a 14-inch or even 13-inch is incredibly painful. Fifteen inches is fine, but that extra inch on a 16-inch makes a noticeable and positive difference.The downside is I cant really work on this laptop on a plane. Still, I generally just watch movies when Im flying because I need time to unwind and chill out since I just dont feel like working every single moment anymore, and films on this screen are incredible.When this laptop ships, the price should be around $1,500 (this could change with tariffs), which is reasonable for a 16-inch OLED with discrete graphics. Intel ARC graphics use a blend of AMDs and Nvidias approaches to upscaling, and, in their stand-alone cards, ARC represents one of the better values in GPUs. The IdeaPad Pro 5i is the first laptop Ive seen with these graphics.The drivers on this prototype were undergoing some changes, but Id expect between 10 and 20 hours of battery life depending on use, which would be huge for a 16-inch laptop.The graphics are more than adequate for my needs. There still isnt a lot of desktop AI stuff outside Office 365. So, while its NPU is light, with 11 TOPS compared to over 40 for other AI PCs, the total TOPS is close to 100, with the GPU contributing additional AI processing power.The downside is that this laptop wont run Recall or Cocreator until Microsoft enables those. Recall is on hold and only available in trial form, although Ive found ChatGPTs Dalle-E web implementation to be just fine. (Microsoft could enable Dall-E on laptops with discrete graphics; its only a matter of time). Given how fast AI is advancing, it is nice to have an AI PC from Intel because most companies still test Intel hardware, which is better to ensure a positive outcome.Overall, this is a very nice product. Mine, pictured above, came in silver-black. It is attractive, useful, and well-priced, making the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i prototype with ARC graphics my Product of the Week. Sorry you wont be able to buy one for yourself until July.