February 26, 20259 min readPrivate Space Stations of the Future Promise Luxury. But Can They Deliver?Several companies have contracts with NASA to design private space habitats to replace the International Space Station once its goneBy Sarah Scoles edited by Clara MoskowitzAn illustration of the planned Starlab space station. Image courtesy of StarlabNASA wants to get out of the space station business and put it in the hands of, well, businesses. The agency is planning to send the International Space Station (ISS) to a fiery death through Earths atmosphere in 2031 so it can focus on its longer-term, farther-out (literally) goals such as going back to the moon. Elon Musk recently called for the agency to deorbit the station much sooner.But agency officials are hoping humans will still have a future in Earth orbit through NASAs Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development program. The initiative has commissioned private companies to come up with their own flashy corporate solutions to in-space stays.Those stations could house astronauts from the U.S. as well as other countries. Furthermore, both NASA and the space station makers themselves are banking on the demand of other customersprivate researchers, tourists and companies such as pharmaceutical firmsto stimulate a space economy thats sustainable with or without NASA money.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.The program follows a model similar to the one that NASA has employed to develop astronaut-ferrying spacecraft after the space shuttles retired: the agency has been contracting with private companies such as SpaceX to shuttle cargo and astronauts to the ISS rather than owning and operating its own space vehicles.So far, NASA has partnered with companies on three projects to design space stations as part of the programs first phase. A second phase is on the way, and at least one competitor is nipping at these companies tail fins.An illustration of the planned Axiom Space Station.Image courtesy of Axiom SpaceAxiom StationA company called Axiom Space has been awarded more than $100 million from NASA to develop its station. And NASA isnt Axioms only partner: the company has paired up with a motley crew, from beleaguered aerospace mainstay Boeing to satellite industry giant Maxar to Build-A-Bearthe stuffed animal company. Since 2022 Axiom has been sending missions of private astronauts on SpaceX capsules to the ISS. Over its three trips so far, its travelers have completed 105 research activities in life sciences, materials science and advanced manufacturing. A fourth mission is in the works.The company has also sent Build-A-Bears in Axiom spacesuits along with the private astronauts. Unsurprisingly, you can buy a replica of those gravity-defying bears at Axioms website.Welding and machining of the space stations first module is in progress, and Axiom plans to launch its Payload Power Thermal Module (the stations version of a utility closet) to the ISS in 2027. After its been berthed there for a while, the module will detach and go solo into space, where it will eventually be joined by two habitable modules: an airlock and a research and manufacturing facility. Voil: a space station, likely with human and inanimate ursine residents.But the interior decor is the big buzz around this station. Axiom didnt leave its aesthetics to engineers: it contracted with French architect and designer Philippe Starck, who has designed everything from a Russian oligarchs superyacht to Fossil watches to the insides of New York Citys Paramount Hotel. With his creative touch, Axiom Station will have tufted, organic-looking walls embedded with color-switching LEDs.Starck has said he envisions the environment like an egg, with materials and a color scheme meant to evoke the universes fetushoodwhich, of course, invokes the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey but hopefully not the travails of its protagonist. The shifting LEDs are also meant to blur the view of the outside universe with the stations interior. Or, as Starcks website puts it, just as all the shades of lights and colors of day and night, the egg will also live to the mood and biorhythm of its osmotic inhabitant.Fetal boarders will also have Wi-Fi, video and what Axiom has called the largest window observatory ever constructed for the space environment. Axioms press materials suggest the company is going after the luxury market; another of its projects, for instance, was a spacesuit collaboration with Prada.A mockup of the Axiom AxEMU Spacesuit designed by Prada. The single AxEMU architecture is evolvable, scalable and adaptable for missions on the lunar surface and in low-Earth orbit (LEO).Image courtesy of Prada / Axiom SpaceOrbital ReefOrbital Reef, the name of a planned home meant to bob safely in the ocean of space, is another of NASAs phase one selections. The project, which as of 2024 had won $172 million from NASA, is perhaps the most explosive of the future space stations. Last year and in late 2023 NASA blew up prototypes of the Reefs habitable modulecalled LIFE, for Large Integrated Flexible Environmentin what it called a burst test.LIFE wont have a stiff shell like other stations: it will inflate in orbit to three stories tall and 27 feet in diameter, and it will accommodate sleeping spaces for four astronauts, their science experiments and their exercise equipment, among other amenities. But NASA needed to find out how much pressure the habitat could handle before blowing, so it pumped it up until it burst apart in a spectacular show that resulted in a net of detritus that resembled a sea creature. LIFE reached 74 pounds per square inch in its test last year before it broke downthats more than twice the pressure in a car tire.The Reef is a partnership between Sierra Space and Blue Origin, Jeff Bezoss cosmic company. Given the multipurpose nature of Amazon, Bezoss most famous creation, maybe its no surprise that Blue Origin describes the Reef as a mixed-use business park 250 miles above Earth.Amenities will include a medical center, robotics to help with future experiments, separate quarters for work and play and Sierra Spaces trademarked Astro Garden system, which looks like a hipster coffee shops vertical wall garden and could provide astronauts roughage (and the taste of home) on their journey.Orbital Reef, if all goes as planned, could start operating by the end of the decade, focusing on science, research and tourism, in addition to accommodating governmental guests. With interior details handled by architecture firm Hassellwhich has designed airport terminals, train stations, office buildings and zoos (mixed-use indeed!)the stations central feature is a social hub where astronauts can gather. At its core is a table made for sitting in microgravity. The table appears to have a circular base on which astronauts can hook their feet to stay grounded.An illustration of the planned Starlab Space Station.StarlabStarlabStarlab Space is a joint venture between aerospace giant Airbus and a company called Voyager Space. Importantly, Voyager is majority shareholder in the organization Nanoracks, which helps scientists payloads make it to space and whose airlock, attached to the ISS, has deployed small satellites out of that station and into orbit. Now, as Starlab Space, these heavies, along with partners such as Mitsubishiand MDA Space, which built the ISSs robotic armplan to build their own space station, called Starlab. The team, which announced a European subsidiary in January, is gunning for a 2028 launch and already boasts a NASA allocation of more than $200 million. In February, the Texas Space Commission also awarded the company $15 million. And it has a former NASA astronaut, Tim Kopra, at the helm.The ISS was probably the most incredible vehicle ever built, Kopra says. But rather than simply replacing that iconic station, he hopes to take lessons from that project and apply them to Starlab. One of those, he says, is the importance of international partnershiphence the multicompany cooperation. Beyond the core collaborators, the team also includes partners such as Palantir, which is creating a digital twin of the Starlab stationa software duplicate of the real deal, which allows engineers to model, monitor and predict onboard goings-onand will use artificial intelligence to enhance operations (and hopefully not go rogue like HAL 9000).Starlab will launch as a complete setup rather than doing so piecemeal, as was the case for the ISS. The ISS strategy, while necessary, was long and complicated, Kopra says. And it resulted in a kind of split architecture. The way [the ISS was] built [was] with a bunch of very small cans, Kopra saysakin to having a house with many small rooms. That meant that the things astronauts needed could be scattered across the space, requiring them to surf microgravity from room to room to perform a task. Thats not so for Starlab: By having a large station like this, you can organize the equipment and inventory management in such a way that you minimize this extra time, he says.Today Starlab Space has a partial mockup of the station and plans to install a full-size one this coming summer at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. We consider [NASA], and NASA considers themselves, as an anchor customer, Kopra says, and we want to be close to where the expertise is.For now, the company is focused on pursuing customers from among the official ranks of astronauts from places like the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada. Company leaders believe only a few tourists might be interested. We dont think thats a very large market, but we certainly have the capacity to support it, Kopra says. More likely customers are nongovernmental spacefarers who are scientists, whether from academia or industrysuch as an investigator from a drug company that wants to develop new pharmaceuticals or someone who wants to experiment with semiconductors and maybe eventually do the manufacturing many miles above sea level.To help make sure everyone, regardless of their cosmic goals, gets a good nights rest, Voyager Space has partnered with hotel bigwig Hilton, which, as the thinking goes, knows about extended stays. Hilton is sharing insights into designing comfortable and functional sleep environments; creating communal spaces to foster connection and socialization, elevating wellness-focused design to go beyond what has been delivered on the International Space Station; and supporting aesthetic design, wayfinding and human ergonomics for crew quarters and shared areas, according to spokesperson Caroline Logan. She did not specify whether continental breakfast was provided.HavenAerospace firm Vast isnt currently part of the LEO Destinations program, but it does have existing agreements with the agency and is vying for a spot in the second phase of the private space station program. And the company may actually be the first to launch a station to space: it plans to send a prototype called Haven-1 to orbit in 2026.The company, along with SpaceX, recently reached out to scientific researchers seeking proposals for experiments about long-term human spaceflight.Vasts initial habitat will have a volume of 45 cubic meters, about the size of an average kitchen in the U.S., and will resemble an Ikea studio put together without colorful options. This stylistic choice makes sense, given the designer Vast had in its Rolodex: Peter Russell-Clarke, whose creative touch informed the designs of iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches.Havens central feature will be a communal table that pops up and down, deploying on demand, like furniture in a space-saving recreational vehicle. A domed window that will be located right above, like a dining room skylight, will give astronauts that coveted view of space. Behind the table, where you might normally find a bookcase or framed photographs, Haven-1 will have a little laboratory. There, experimental payloads live in the wall, where they will look like cubed organizational bins. Additionally, astronauts will be able to stay connected using Starlink Internet.But its Haven-1s successor, Haven-2, that the company imagines will succeed the International Space Station, as Vasts website puts it. The company, which is aiming to launch Haven-2 in 2028, designed it with 55 cubic meters of spacemore like a master bedroom. But this module will be joined by others that will link together like Lincoln Logs. Vast plans to launch a new Haven every six months and to end up with a cross-shaped set of nine by 2032. At that point, experimental payloads will be located inside and outside, space vehicles will be able to visit, and astronauts will perform extravehicular activities. Those astronauts might include private types or official envoys from different countries. The Czech Republic and Vast have already signed a memorandum of understanding, a fuzzy document that nonetheless paves the path for putting Czech astronaut Ale Svoboda closer to that communal table.Future astronauts of all sorts dont yet know howor ifany of these commercial habitats will shake out, what life will be like inside them, what mix of interests their inhabitants will have or if that mix will in fact prove sustainable. Given that the vehicles would be the first privately created and operated space stations, everything about thembesides which spiffy designers have had hands in their interiorsis unknown. First, designs, prototypes and flashy press release illustrations must be transformed into actual objects. Then those objects have to actually get to space. How much that will cost, how long that will take and whether there will be enough paying customers for any, let alone all, of them remain open questionsas does whether their bubble may someday burst like an overstressed LIFE habitat.

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While Waiting reviewApplause for pause.Image credit: Eurogamer/Optillusion Review by Christian Donlan Contributing Editor Published on Feb. 26, 2025 Can a game make not doing much truly sing? The answer's fascinating.While Waiting is a game that belongs in a gallery. It's installation art, and maybe you know the kind. It's a lark, but a difficult, complex, ponderous lark, if such a thing is possible. It's WarioWare designed by Beckett. It's Super Bartleby Bros. It's a game about waiting, a state of being that so many games are designed to try and minimise or avoid entirely (or sell you ways to jump past, granted). And yet just as waiting pops up in games even when designers are trying to avoid it, waiting can disappear utterly when you try to focus in on it and it alone. While Waiting. So it's about the things you do as waiting is taking place. But does that mean you've ceased to wait, or that you're still waiting and you're doing this other stuff too?While Waiting reviewDeveloper: OptillusionPublisher: OptillusionPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out now on PC (Steam) and Nintendo SwitchThese are philosophical questions of absolutely the least importance, if you ask me, but they can still be exhausting to pick at, the kind of things that won't let go when you're trying to get to sleep. And While Waiting - this is a compliment - is exhausting too, in its own way. It's knackering to play, particularly when you aren't really playing it. Is it interesting? Absolutely. Is it fun? Not really, but I very much doubt that's the point. Did it reorder the world a little and reveal it back to me in a slightly altered way? Good question.While Waiting presents you with a bunch of scenarios that involve waiting. You're queuing for something. You're waiting for a bus or for the rain to stop. You're waiting for the Wi-Fi to sort itself out. You're waiting for your partner to give birth. You can simply sit back and watch each scenario unfold, and then painlessly move from one to the next, or you can meddle around with them somewhat, moving your character about, fussing with things, messing stuff up.Watch on YouTubeTo help you with this, there's a list of optional objectives that come with each scenario. They're only vaguely hinted at, though, so you need to interpret the rather delphic instructions you're given and layer them onto the possibilities around you. So you're waiting for fireworks to go off - anything you can do with a balloon at this point? One of the objective clues definitely seems balloon-shaped... You're waiting for your college chancellor to finish a speech. It's a hot day. Any chance of an ice cream?All of this is delivered with an art style I would describe as lurking somewhere between indie comic and in-flight safety card. This is a continuum I had not really considered until I played While Waiting, but the results are easy to interpret and quietly uncanny, which feels like a perfect fit for the task at hand. At a push, I would say the thing the art most reminds me of is the illustrations in the books my daughter was given at school when she was learning to read. Image credit: Eurogamer/OptillusionInteraction is also interesting, in that it's a little annoying, and in a way that feels like this is on purpose. Movement is slow and floaty, and animations can be unpredictable. It can be hard to do things precisely, as in one challenge when you're trying to push your way through a crowd on New Year's Eve. Even as I type this, though, I realise that pushing your way through a crowd on New Year's Eve is not one of the easiest things to accomplish anyway, so maybe the interaction is expressive. Also, the controls have to rebuild themselves between each scenario, which can't be easy. One scenario will be first-person and you're in bed trying to keep your eyes closed. In the next, you're out on a hill in third-person pointing out landmarks. What While Waiting's trying to do, then, is tricky.As the scenarios pile up, it becomes clear that we're exploring a single life. And as the game moves onward, hopping from one pause to the next, it becomes clear that While Waiting is not really about waiting anyway, but rather about the time that somehow races past when you're focused on life's minutiae. It's about the way that time only speeds up as you age - the way that, to paraphrase Martin Amis, the Atlantic Monthly becomes the Atlantic Fortnightly, the Atlantic Weekly and Daily. To put it slightly differently, it's about the way I look up from the window or the laptop screen one day and notice that my daughter is almost as tall as me. What will the world look like next time I deign to notice it? Image credit: Eurogamer/OptillusionWhile Waiting accessibility optionsDedicated volume sldiers for music and sound. 12 language options.This is rich territory, if you ask me, and While Waiting belongs to a seriously interesting tradition. Last week, while I was waiting for a train to arrive, as it happens, I read John Cheever's story The Swimmer, which I'm now about to spoil utterly if you haven't read it yourself. It's about a young guy at a pool party who decides he's going to swim back to his home through the pools of all of his neighbours. What begins as a bit of fun starts to turn weird, though. There's the sense that time is passing around the swimmer in a strange manner, that the neighborhood is changing and becoming unfamiliar, and that he's falling out of favour with the friends he passes on his way. And waiting for him at home...?Both While Waiting and The Swimmer seem deeply interested in life - what it's made of, how it unfolds, and how easy it is to miss important details. Both are larks, in a way, but difficult, complex, ponderous larks. You know, if such a thing is possible.A copy of While Waiting was provided for review by developer Optillusion.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereActivisions Call of Duty series has been highly criticised by players for its reliance on skill-based matchmaking, an algorithm that attempts to balance multiplayer games to make sure players arent constantly losing or winning every match they play.Most multiplayer games have a form of skill-based matchmaking. In fact, Ubisofts xDefiant boldly attempted to release without any SBMM, and look where that got them.Call of Duty needs SBMMIn an interview with Insider Gaming, CoDs Matchmaking Rating algorithm creator Charlie Olson explained that at least half of the modern Call of Duty audience would leave if skill-based matchmaking was removed from the game.Olson explained that the common statement of sometimes you stomp, sometimes you get stomped doesnt actually apply to every player. Instead, that only actually applies to around 40% with the top 10% of players still stomping through games.As for why skill-based matchmaking exists, the answer is simple, and has been proven by modern games that dont have it: people dont like being the weak link repeatedly and high-skill players dont like carrying a team of potatoes all the time.Nevertheless, Olson explained that players dont have to just shut up and like SBMM and that developers should be working to make the technology better. The veteran CoD developer explained that he had numerous ideas for improving the system that were turned down.In one example, Olson explains that players should be able to see something about the average skill of your lobby or opponents and receive bonus XP for beating enemies that are higher in skill than them. This idea was pitched for Modern Warfare 2019, but was turned down.Additionally, Olson explained that the mysterious nature of skill-based matchmaking makes it more annoying for players. Alongside the aggressive use of the feature in more recent CoD titles, the fact that players cant see their own skill rating encourages online complaints. Must-Listen: VideoGamer Podcast #10 - Cracking Atomfall w/ Ben Fisher If you are trying to get better at the game, SBMM just rewards you with tougher opponents, Olson explained. Id even say that SBMM punishes players for being good. Thats unfair, and players are right to complain about it.Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):ShooterRelated TopicsCall of Duty Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereThe popular hero-shooter Marvel Rivals by NetEase Games is under fire on February 26, 2025, as users expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the games matchmaking servers and SBMM system. After its 2024 release, millions of players have been enthralled by the games fast-paced 6v6 gameplay and roster of more than 37 Marvel heroes.Amid all the hoopla, though, a growing issue has been surfacing: players have complained about the extremely uneven quality of their matches, with both team and solo queue players experiencing unfairly skewed matches. The games competitive mode relies on the SBMM system, which matches players based on their skill level. The ranks are reset every season, with the most recent one being Season 1, which began on January 10.The community is now getting into Season 1.5, but there have been numerous concerns over unstable servers and matchmaking algorithms that put speed ahead of balance. From unexpected losing streaks to teammates who dont fit in with their elo, players have concluded that something is off.Marvel Rivals players claim Skill-Based matchmaking is broken, call on NetEase to fix itMarvel Rivals fans like ImpressiveStrain are flagging the skill-based matchmaking system in the game as broken and are explaining how they identified the flaws in it. The user started by saying how they love the game but suspect that NetEase changed around their matchmaking algorithm because the players Quick Match history is filled with more defeats than wins.Marvel Rivals players are reporting its broken matchmaking system. Image by VideoGamer.They further explained, Just played the game where I was one of two people on my team to get double-digit kills, and I main support. I get god enemies with 2 brain cell teammates now. Looking at the image the user shared, the victory-defeat ratio is 1:4 which is definitely not good for a player like them, given they were in casual matches.However, in NetEases defense, they did make some improvements with the latest Season 1.5 update where they made match found times quicker so users can load into the matches faster than before. This seems to have impacted the skill-based matchmaking in unranked lobbies where most of the player base of the game enjoys Rivals.On the contrary, some players suspect that NetEase is cashing in on player engagement with such tactics where players seem to engage more when they have fair games and have a win rate near 50%. However, neither is confirmed by NetEase or the Rivals team as well. If you want to know how to check your match history, check out a comprehensive guide here. Marvel RivalsPlatform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Fighting, ShooterRelated TopicsMarvel Rivals Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.If youve got a bonus room but are lacking the right guest room ideas, youre in good company; such a space can be notoriously difficult to design (especially in tight quarters!). For Sara Swabb, AD PRO Member and founder and creative director of Storie Collective in Washington, DC, designing a guest room is about creating a moment of hospitality that feels both personal and cohesive with the rest of the home. When conceiving bedroom ideas for guest room spaces, designers urge clients to think outside the box: Its also a space where you can experiment with things that bring in characterwhether thats with bold patterns, unique furnishings, or vintage finds, says Swabb. At its core, a well-designed guest room makes guests feel cared for, with thoughtful details like soft bedding, layered lighting, and touches that reflect the homeowners style.Read on for guest room decorating ideas we love.Photo: Gordon Gregory1/39Layer textures for instant warmthHere, Swabb and her colleagues created a welcoming atmosphere through white linens and a statement blanket. The upholstered bed and layered bedding (a linen duvet paired with a patterned vintage throw) invite relaxation and comfort, says Swabb. Another thing to note? The wall sconces, which free up space on the sleek black nightstands, leaving room for a stack of books and other personal touches. The trick to achieving this look is to mix materials: Combine soft linens, dark wood tones, and touches of brass for an inviting, layered effect, she says.Photo: Genevieve Garruppo2/39Make your guest room multifunctionalIf youre dreaming of guest room ideas but dont have an additional bedroom up for grabs, remember: Guest rooms can serve more than one purpose, like this home office that doubles as a guest room with a sleeper sofa by AD Pro Directory Member Paris Forino, founder and director of her namesake firm in New York City. With tighter space in NYC apartments, you must get creative and make the most out of each room in the home, says Forino of this Tribeca loft apartment. This way, the room can be used daily during the week, and reserved for guests when needed.Photo: Genevieve Garruppo3/39Pick a comfy couchIf youre going to add a pull-out couch to your guest room, make sure folks can really sink into it and relax, whether curling up with a book or zonking out after a long day. When selecting [a guest room sofa], be careful that it is both comfortable to sit on and to sleep on, Forino says. In a Greenwich Village town house project, I designed this room to function as an office and sitting room during the day, which can be transformed into a guest bedroom when needed. For this custom sleeper sofa, Forino chose a soft, velvet indigo upholstery and plush cushions plus a comfortable mattress.Photo: Gordon Beall4/39Go for blackout window treatmentsTo make sure your guests get a good nights sleep, blackout shades may be worth the splurgeespecially when your visitors are traveling in from afar and struggling with jet lag. Blackout drapes block daylight to aid in sleeping, while sufficient bedside lighting allows guests to read at night, says Tracy Morris, founder and president of Tracy Morris Design in McLean, Virginia. This insight ties into Morriss overall ethos of emphasizing practicality in guest bedrooms. One common mistake in creating a guest bedroom is prioritizing aesthetics over functionality, leading to a space that looks great but lacks comfort or practicality, Morris says. Neglecting essentials, like blackout drapes, sufficient lighting, accessible outlets, or storage, can leave guests feeling inconvenienced.Photo: Marc Mauldin5/39Dont shy away from patternsLeah Alexander, AD PRO member and principal interior designer of the Atlanta-based Beauty Is Abundant, believes the pattern-on-pattern approach utilized here makes for a refined yet whimsical guest space. Its interesting, but in a fairly subdued color palette, Alexander says of the project, which features a mural with customized Porter Teleo motif and nightstand chests from Moes Home Collection. Alexander also points out the dimmable decorative light sources: The brass flush mount light fixture casts a warm glow on the ceiling, she says. The solid onyx table lamps are substantial and stately but allow just enough light through the stone shades.Photo: Stacy Zarin Goldberg6/39Tell a tale with vintage rugsLayered bedding in vibrant hues, paired with a vintage rug, adds warmth and character, making the space feel both intriguing and storied, says Swabb. Another tip illustrated here? When looking for small guest bedroom ideas and inspiration, freeing up nightstand space by incorporating pendant lights on either side of the bed creates a cozy and functional atmosphere for reading or working in bed is a good idea, per Swabb.Photo: Marc Mauldin7/39Let monochrome be your museA monochromatic palette may not be the first thing you consider when it comes to guest room decorating ideas, but taking a calculated risk can be worth your while. This room is transportive because of the simplified architectural details and color drenching, says Alexander. The same Sherwin-Williams Alaea color continues from the walls to the ceiling uninterrupted, creating an enveloping space where the corners appear to recede beyond where they actually end. Plus, Alexander cant help but find the monochromatic dialogue between the headboard and the saturated wall effortlessly chic. To complete the project, she and her team selected a photograph by Fares Micue featuring electric blue for a splash of tension that breaks up the tone-on-tone motif.Photo: Greg Powers8/39Keep personal items to a minimumNeatness is a must for guest rooms, per Morris. Keep decor clean and neutral, but welcoming without personal items. This provides a restful space for guests, she says. She frequently sees the misstep of homeowners overloading a guest room with personal items or decor, and says this can make the quarters feel more like a storage area than a welcoming retreat. On the flip side, ignoring small touches, like fresh linens, extra pillows, or a bedside water carafe, can make the space feel impersonal. Consider adding one or two of these thoughtful elements to make guests feel at ease, but not overwhelmed.Photo: Tim Lenz9/39Add bookshelvesAny guest would be smitten with a bed niche like the one in this guest space in a MK Workshopdesigned apartment. A bookcase allows a little more personality into the design of your guest room, even in a small space. Plus, when placed alongside the bed like in this bedroom, it offers a convenient space for guests to put their watch, phone, or a cup of water before bedtime.Photo: Madeline Tolle; Art: Augustine Kofie10/39Use it as a home officeIf you dont anticipate having guests too often, using your guest room as a full-on home office is a wise choice. At this LA home, AD100 designer Mandy Cheng differentiated the bedroom section from the office space by lining the area surrounding the bed with tongue-and-groove paneling and solidifying the office space by installing a built-in desk.Photo: Douglas Friedman; Styling: Adam Fortner11/39Add wallpaperSomething you might notice in a lot of our favorite guest rooms? Gorgeous wallpaper. When youre looking to create a space for visitors thatll make them feel more like theyre on an exciting getaway, and less like theyre on a bed not as comfortable as their own back home, a transportive wallpaper is the perfect solution. In this space designed by Ashby Collective, a park-like Schumacher mural offers a unique and dignified setting for a week or two away from home. If youre concerned about wallpapering an entire room, an accent wall can also have a major impact.Photo: Simon Brown12/39Keep it roomyRather than trying to stuff your guest room with as many fun furnishings as possible, keep it roomy, like Emma Sims Hilditch did at this English estate. Extra empty space will be much appreciated when it comes time for your guests to open up those extra large suitcases, so considering this is especially important if youre decorating a small guest bedroom.Photo: Ambroise Tzenas; Styling: Carolina Irving13/39Go monochromaticSettling on a defined color scheme is always a good idea, but why not make your color scheme simply one color? We love the very blue guest bedroom decor in this Pierre Sauvagedesigned French chateaux for its maximalist prints, but monochrome works just as well for making a room feel calm if you forgo the patterns.Photo: Pieter Estersohn14/39Make it feel lived inA circa-1840 New England bed anchors the Charleston, South Carolinainspired guest room in Andrea Ansons New York town house. Vintage furnishings and unique pieces can create a comfortable feeling in a guest room.Photo: Douglas Friedman15/39Channel a modern beach retreatSandy tones and natural textiles can help create a modern beachy vibe with your guest room decor, whether or not youre anywhere near an ocean. Vanessa Alexander and architect Johannes Zingerle created this guest bedroom at a St. Barts retreat, complete with a ceiling fan to keep things extra cool after a day by the pool.Photo: Read McKendree; Styling: Frances Bailey16/39Center on a fireplaceOkay, you might not be in the position to add a fireplace to your guest room, but if you do have one, be sure to make it the focal point. Adding a sitting area around the fireplace, if you have the space, or simply decorating the mantel, like decorator Chauncey Boothby did in this Connecticut estate, is a wonderful way to ensure your guests are thoroughly charmed by their temporary living space.Photo: Kensington Leverne17/39Use a calming color paletteThis Studio Ashbydesigned London home is far from minimal, but its warm color palette is ultracalming.Photo: Durston Saylor18/39Add a TVEspecially if youre going for the comfort of a hotel room, adding a television to your guest room is a surefire way to please your guests, especially if you expect to have kids staying with you. The placement of the TV in this guest room designed by Cathy Purple Cherry allows it to be watched comfortably without having the TV dominate the rooms design.Photo: Franois Halard19/39Make it dramaticAt photographer and antiques dealer Matthias Vriens-McGraths Los Angeles house, a guest room features a Directoire wrought-iron bed draped in antique toile; an angora tulu rug covers the bench.Photo: Bjrn Wallander20/39Add two bedsA guest room in a Sao Paulo residence designed by Sig Bergamin features walls decorated by Nathalie Morhange, Victoria Mill bed linens, and Arraiolos carpets; the armchair is upholstered in a Romo cotton-linen.Photo: Pieter Estersohn21/39Add a reading nookIn architect Steve Menschs house above the Hudson River, near Rhinebeck, New York, an Adesso lamp keep watch over a guest rooms Modloft bed, which is dressed in a Room & Board wool blanket. The Mies van der Rohe chair is vintage, the side table is by B&B Italia, and the rug is by Calvin Klein Home.Photo: Tim Beddow22/39Pile on the pillowsA plush duvet and plenty of pillows will ensure that even the lightest of sleepers are comfortable in your guest bedroom. American-oak beams crisscross the ceiling in a top-floor guest room of designer Anouska Hempels manor home in Wiltshire, England.Photo: Roger Davies23/39Prints on prints on printsInside Sig Bergamins So Paulo home, a brilliant ikat envelops the guest room, where the headboard upholstery and curtain fabric are both by Kravet; the luggage is vintage Louis Vuitton.Photo: Eric Piasecki24/39Make it feel grandPeter Rogers employed a pair of Regency beds in the guest room of his New Orleans home, along with an antique Swedish gilded stool.Photo: Oberto Gili25/39Use welcoming colorsThis guest room in a Marthas Vineyard home is outfitted with twin beds designed by Mark Cunningham; the curtains are of a Robert Kime fabric from John Rosselli & Assoc. and were made by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair.Photo: Scott Frances26/39Include a work spaceA Hamptons guest room designed by Foley & Cox is appointed with a Blu Dot bed and a glass-top trestle table by Richard Wrightman Design; the floor lamp is by Isamu Noguchi.Photo: Miguel Flores-Vianna27/39Make it immersiveGive your guest a proper escape by going fully immersive with your design. A plethora of patterns enlivens a guest room in a Connecticut home designed by Miles Redd, from a Farrow & Ball wallpaper to a vintage fabric on the Louis XVI settee and chair.Photo: Miguel Flores-Vianna28/39Choose a theme to guide your decor decisionsIn a bamboo-themed Florida guest room by John Stefanidis, a Regency bed has curtains of white linen trimmed with grosgrain ribbon; the walls are stenciled with a motif taken from a Stefanidis-designed fabric used in an adjacent sitting room, and a kilim covers the floor.

After weeks of the Trump administration giving everyonethe press, the court system, its own staffthe runaround on who is in charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, we finally have an answer. According to a report from Semafor (and confirmed by government sources at numerous outlets), Amy Gleason is the acting administrator of DOGE. Which raises a new question: Who is Amy Gleason? Gleason, who lists herself on LinkedIn as a Senior Advisor at the United States Digital Servicethe agency that was reorganized to serve as DOGEis a healthcare executive who co-founded a no-longer operational telehealth company called CareSync and served as the Chief Product Officer at rural healthcare provider Main Street Health. Gleason previously served as a Digital Services Expert at the United States Digital Service under both the first Trump administration and the start of the Biden years, where she reportedly led the creation of the national COVID database and products that used that data to drive the federal response. https://x.com/weijia/status/1894487041787789607 Interestingly, Gleason was also previously recognized by the Obama administration as a Champion of Change for her work improving healthcare technology, including digitizing medical records. She also served as the Vice President of Research at the Cure JM Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to research and support children and families who suffer from Juvenile Myositis. She seems like a somewhat unconventional but, by Trump administration standards at least, quite reasonable pick to help operate an agency that she already has experience working within. But likedoes she actually run the agency, though? Not a shot at her, just genuinely wondering because her name was kept under wraps like it was a state secret until today.Per CBS News, when its reporters reached out to Gleason on Tuesday, she said that she was in Mexico. Is she working remotely? Is Elon cool with that? Because theres kinda been a whole thing with DOGE and forcing government employees to return to office. Whatd she put in that email asking for five things she accomplished last week? And if shes running DOGE, does Elon work for her? Again, nothing against Gleason personally here. Its just that as of yesterday, lawyers at the Department of Justice quite literally told a federal judge that they do not know anything about who runs DOGE. The same DOJ refused to name the agencys head in federal court filings earlier this month. And when asked directly by the press who was serving as DOGE administrator earlier today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gave a whole Whos On First ass response, refusing to give an actual name.So Amy Gleason is the acting administrator of DOGE. Sure. Id be curious to know what she put in her email identifying five things she accomplished last week.

Imran Rahman-JonesTechnology reporter5 hours agoApple says it is working to fix its speech-to-text tool after some social media users found that when they spoke the word "racist" into their iPhones it typed it out as "Trump."The tech giant has suggested the issue with its Dictation service has been caused by a problem it has distinguishing between words with an "r" in them."We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation and we are rolling out a fix today," an Apple spokesperson said. However an expert in speech recognition told the BBC this explanation was "just not plausible." Peter Bell, professor of speech technology at the University of Edinburgh, said it was more likely that someone had altered the underlying software that the tool used.Videos shared online show people speaking the word "racist" into the Dictation tool.Sometimes it is transcribed correctly - but on other occasions it is turned into "Trump", before being quickly restored to the correct word.The BBC has not been able to replicate the mistake, suggesting Apple's fix is already taking effect.Prof Bell said Apple's explanation of phonetic overlap did not make sense because the two words were not similar enough to confuse an artificial intelligence (AI) system.Speech-to-text recognition models are trained by inputting clips of real people speaking alongside an accurate transcript of what they say.They are also taught to understand words in context - for example, they could distinguish the word "cup" from "cut" if it was within the phrase "a cup of tea".Prof Bell says the situation with Apple is unlikely to be a genuine mistake with its data because its English language model would be trained on hundreds of thousands of hours of speech, which should give it a high level of accuracy. For "less well-resourced languages" he said it could be an AI training issue.But he said in this case: "it probably points to somebody that's got access to the process."A former Apple employee who worked on its AI assistant Siri told the New York Times: "This smells like a serious prank."Apple had to row back on another AI-powered feature last month after complaints from the BBC and other news organisations. It suspended its AI summaries of news headlines after it displayed false notifications on stories - including one where it said tennis player Rafael Nadal had come out as gay.The company announced yesterday it would be investing $500bn (395bn) in the US over the next four year, including on a large data centre in Texas to power Apple Intelligence.The company's chief executive Tim Cook also said it may have to change its policies on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) after President Donald Trump has called for an end to DEI programmes.Related topicsMore on this story1 hour ago10 hours ago

If you'd been wondering what went into putting together The Witcher 4's reveal trailer from last year's iteration of The Game Awards, then today's your lucky day. CD Projekt's put out a behind-the-scenes video delving into how it did just that. Read more

Drift KingWhy did Blizzard bring hectic and chaotic drifting in custom cars to World of Warcraft? I dont know, but its the games most fun feature in yearsIn World of Warcraft's big update - Undermine(d) - expect a lot of fast cars and disastrous wipeouts.Image credit: VG247 Article by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on Feb. 26, 2025 In case you've not been paying attention to Azeroth and World of Warcraft recently released another major update: Undermine(d). In it, players can explore a vast subterranean landscape populated with Goblins and all the havoc they get up to. One of the major features added with this update is drifting, via a new driving system that revitalizes an otherwise ancient grounded mounted movement system.Drifting around the Undermine is incredibly fun, offering a fast-paced and inherently chaotic intermission between quests and combat encounters. For the first time in the game's history, ground travel is in itself engaging, and given the lack of flying in this update, seems to be to be the glue that keeps everything together.But what went into this new addition, and how long did it take to get it right? To help answer that question, I sat down with game director Ion Hazzikostas and lead game designer Maria Hamilton, who peeled back the curtain on WoW's latest bombastic feature.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. VG247: What was the inception of the drifting mechanic?Hamilton: "We knew we were going to this crazy, busy, chaotic Goblin city space, and we built the zone specifically in mind as that kind of a space. When we were thinking about what would make sense in terms of traversing it, it was all about the mean streets, and the car customisation, and the culture, and the drifting and dangerous driving [...] It was primarily about [asking] what would a Goblin drive, and we pretty much ended up with a crazy car."VG247: You mention it was built with this Goblin environment in mind. How does that adjust the map design process, as opposed to traditional WoW zones or the verticality in Dragonflight?Hamilton: "Yes, but we wanted a lot of varying heights as well. But we wanted that through ramps and drops, so that it felt dangerous! Like, who in their right mind would put that turn there with that drop like that?"Hazzikostas: "There are no safety regulations in The Undermine."Hamilton: "Who would put chemical vats you can drive right into there? It was all about that chaos of living in that place." It was all about making a car that this guy would drive.Image credit: BlizzardVG247: How did you arrive at the feel of this new driving and drifting system? It's one thing to say 'we want to add a new driving mechanic', but that could mean something more realistic - simulation-style? Or something more arcadey and wild, like you'd see in a Crazy Taxi game... what was the feel you wanted to go for?Hamilton: [smiles and nods]VG247: Was Crazy Taxi in particular a direct inspiration?Hamilton: "No, but hectic and chaotic was what we were going for. Absolutely [that]." Hazzikostas: "I think with the feeling, it was fast and fun. We certainly weren't looking for aa realistic simulation where you take a turn too tight and now you're delayed in getting to your destination. Frankly, when we knew we were going to build a place where flying was not available because of the story we were telling and the world we were building, we needed to make sure players didn't miss [flying] too much. That you could get around quickly, and it was fun to traverse the environment. That it was empowering, not punishing."Part of that is just tight controls, speed, and adding that extra layer of customisation that helps with the race aspects of it, but also what suits your personal preference." You can see here a design doc for the car itself, which is very Gobliny. | Image credit: BlizzardVG247: How did you get it to work, considering the foundational systems in WoW. If you compare current ground-mounted movement, this is quite different! You mentioned it was built similar to how Dragon Riding was built - so how did you go about making this?Hazzikostas: "Collaboration with our amazing engineers who worked magic to make this happen. There were lessons learned from translating flight to dragon riding, and then to sky riding later on."VG247: Could you elaborate on those lessons?Hazzikostas: "It's building concepts of physics and momentum into a movement system that otherwise would be a player moving at a fixed rate and direction until you took the finger off the keyboard. A huge amount of the work that made this possible came in over the course of Dragonflight and early War Within to make flying work that way. Now, there are more constraints with being tied to the ground, but also more freedom in some ways in thinking about how you're going to interact and move over objects, whereas flying is all about air traversal."Hamilton: "It was a lot of math." Once you get out the car, you can expect a variety of dungeons and other dangers all around the Undermine | Image credit: BlizzardVG247: Was there a eureka moment where the team played a build and went, that's it?Hamilton: "I don't think we hit that in quite a while. We'd play a version and say, 'That's great. but my steering went a bit crazy, is that customizable or are we going to change that?' We had been playing it for months, so we were blind to some of the issues. So, when we went to the Public Test Realms, we paid attention to a lot of players and streams, and we went 'Ah, we should adjust it this way'! We made a lot of changes early in the PTR. But honestly, the engineers spent a lot of time adding controls that we could adjust, so we have different values that we can play with."It started feeling really good in the PTR, we started hearing people saying 'This is fun, I get it now'. And the controls are the hard part too, because a lot of people drive with the wheel or the controller, rather than a keyboard. So there was that as well."VG247: One final question on the racing. Having played a lot of WoW Classic recently, players love the Mirage Raceway. They love hosting their own races and playing that way. Are there any plans for any in-game events, calendar events to encourage players to jump in these new cars and have fun with 'em?Hazzikostas: "That's a good question and a cool idea. I think right now we're focused on delivering the system that's grounded in the story of Undermine. But we're always looking for opportunities to make use of this tech, and to give players the freedom to have their own fun as we move forward."Sound like something fun? You can experience it firsthand right now in World of Warcraft: The War Within. Here's hoping, like with Dragon Riding, we'll see the feature expand beyond the cavernous Undermine and take up a larger part of WoW's future.This article was based on information shared at a Blizzard press and influencer preview event on February 23, with travel and accommodation covered by Blizzard.