Reviews for the iPhone 16e have arrived, offering a lot of praise for the new device but also plenty of criticism about one omission in particular: the removal of MagSafe. But according to Apple representatives who spoke with John Gruber, the features absence wont actually be a problem for most users.iPhone 16es target audience apparently wont miss MagSafeMagSafes removal is one of Apples iPhone 16e choices that has seemed the most perplexing to many. But it sounds like Apple doesnt think it will matter to the products target audience.John Gruber writes at Daring Fireball:One week into using the 16e as my main phone, and I still miss MagSafe as much as I did the first night. But according to Apple representatives, most people in the 16es target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging cable. They tend not to use inductive charging at allOn one hand this makes sense. If Apple has market research proving that the vast majority of its target market wont use MagSafe, then removing it may not actually matter much.I wonder, though, who that market really is.For example, is Apple mainly targeting former iPhone SE customers with the iPhone 16e? If so, the fact that those users always charge with a cable could be for a very simple reason: theyve never had the option of MagSafe.Its one thing if charging with a cable is an intentional preference for iPhone 16e buyers. But if Apple thinks its customers wont care just because their current habit involves a cable, Im not sure thats a fair judgment.The previous iPhone SE supported wireless charging, but never MagSafe. So users would have encountered an inferior form of wireless charging, and potentially stuck with wired charging as a result.But maybe Apple knows that even for iPhone 12, 13, and 14 owners who might be upgrading, those users tend not to care about MagSafe. Or the vast ecosystem of MagSafe accessories that goes beyond charging.The iPhone 16e is almost in users hands, so we should find out soonWhat do you think about Apples MagSafe explanation? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Pinterest, the web's de facto mood board, has long been one of the best places for finding and sharing aspirational lifestyle imagery: sumptuous meals, beautiful art and interiors, fashion and beauty inspiration, and an endless list of do-it-yourself home and holiday projects.Or at least it was. These days, the site is engulfed in a torrent of uncanny AI-generated slop, drowning out the real, human-made content that once thrived there.Slop is everywhere on Pinterest, frequently ranking in the top results for common searches. It persists across classic Pinterest categories like home inspiration and DIY hacks, fashion, beauty, food and recipes, art, architecture, and more and often links back to AI-powered content farming sites that masquerade as helpful blogs, using Pinterest as a tool to draw in viewers to useless chum content just to cash in on lucrative display ads.Pinterest users are frustrated, saying the AI onslaught is making the platform less useful and harder to navigate. But SEO spammers powering Pinterest's slopageddon say they're raking in cash.Take a search for "healthy recipe ideas." Of the first dozen pins returned, at least six including the very first result are AI-generated. Only one was explicitly labeled as synthetic.The uncanny posts almost all linked back to recipes on spammy websites, frequently helmed by faux food bloggers with AI-generated "headshots."For instance, look at the so-called blogger and cookbook author behind that top result, a "pineapple chicken and rice" dish. Though the blog postis attributed to a byline simply reading "Sharlene," an author bio to the right of the recipe claims that the person supposedly operating the site is a "passionate cook and busy mom" named "Alice." Alice also has no last name, and her profile pic is clearly AI.A prominent red button, affixed beneath the fake author's bio, implores site visitors to "Follow Me on Pinterest."The same phenomenon persisted on other common food-related searches, like "best casserole recipes." Once again, AI-generated images of phony food linking back to AI-powered blog posts were scattered throughout the top pins.In this case, none were flagged by Pinterest as generated by AI.We found AI seeping into the top results for nearly every search we attempted, from "gothic architecture" to "fantasy concept art" to many specific hairstyles ranging from "long layered haircut" to "pixie cut ideas."The site's AI creep spans topics and keywords, and it can blend in surprisingly well, with AI-generated imagery melting seamlessly at a first glance, anyway into the aesthetics of the site's human-made content.A search for "DIY shelving ideas," for example, seemed free of AI at first glance. But when we zoomed in on a few cozy-looking shelving solutions packed with lush plants and stacks of books, we noticed something was off: none of the books had actual titles, and instead simply bore word-ish markings relaying only a fuzzy vibeof a book spine.Once again, one of these AI-generated images was the very first result in the feed, and none were flagged by the platform or posters as AI-generated.Like clockwork, when we clicked through to the link associated with that top result, we found ourselves on yet another AI-generated blog post. This one was published on a website titled Recipes Time, with a subheadline reading "Healthy Choices with Amelia."Amelia, according to a bio on the right side of the page, is said to be a cook. She was "born with a spoon in one hand," it claims, and a "recipe book in the other." Again, though, she has no last name and the bio's associated image, which depicts a smiling family of three, is dotted with telltale AI artifacts, like hands with too many fingers.DIY shelving, of course, has nothing to do with recipes. Neither does travel, another subcategory of content found on Recipes Time. Then again, though, Recipes Time isn't designed to help provide useful information from real experts explaining how to install new shelves or cook a healthy dinner, for that matter. Instead, a scroll through Recipes Time reveals an expansive catalog of AI-generated articles spanning Pinterest-favorite categories, packed with images that appear to be expressly designed for algorithmic success on the platform.Put simply, it's AI-generated SEO spam at its finest. Or, from the position of Pinterest's users and creators, at its worst.Dissatisfaction with the site's descent into slopdom is clear across the web, where users lament that the platform's inability to curb AI creep is eroding Pinterest's usefulness."I was looking for hair color inspo and it was all AI. I couldn't find a single human!!" one dispirited netizen exclaimed in a Reddit post. "Then [I] typed in nail inspo, interior design same thing. Is this platform dead?""Every time I search for examples of stuff for my albums it's filled with AI fake pics," lamented another Pinterest-soured Redditor. "I come to Pinterest for real-world examples. It has become garbage."One frustrated Pinterest user who complained about the service, Josh, says he used to browse the platform "every other day" or so usually for art and wallpapers, but sometimes for recipes or DIY ideas."It's just like finding needles in haystacks now for real art," he told Futurism, adding that the deluge of AI has "devalued" his experience and made it more difficult to find and support human artists and creators.Pinterest "was a pretty good place to find genuine art from artists," Josh told us.But the "genuine art that I would once explore more of," he continued, is now "just AI in abundance."***Jesse Cunningham, who describes himself on LinkedIn as a digital marketer with SEO expertise, is one of the many folks using AI to flood Pinterest with AI-generated content for ad cash. We know so because Cunningham is an avid YouTuber, and has published multiple YouTube videos in which he breaks down exactly how where he promises viewers that they can make thousands of dollars a month by following his lead."I'm talking $10,000 per month on Pinterest... using AI images, using AI text," Cunningham says to kick off one of his videos, which is titled " $10,000/Month using AI Pinterest" and was published in December.Cunningham shows a screenshot of an impressive Pinterest Analytics chart,which he says showcases a steep uptick in his pins' success as the result of his AI use."This graph right here shows you when we started AI do you see the arrow right there? We started using AI on this Pinterest account and you can see the outbound clicks these are outbound clicks, up to almost 5,000 per day," Cunningham triumphantly declares. "That's real traffic, real money going to a website off of this strategy."Cunningham then breaks down his process, which involves astonishingly little effort on his part.First he uses ChatGPT to drum up some post ideas and URL slugs; then using a low-effort AI text-generating platform dubbed "Content Goblin," he inputs a few words into a text box and, moments later, returns lengthy, Pinterest-optimized recipes and listicles, complete with AI-spun imagery.The AI-generated articles, he explains, are then published to a website featuring another fake author. Cunningham's fake blogger is named "Mary," and he has a whole other videodedicated to showing followers how they can spin up their own fake site which, we couldn't help but notice, looks strikingly similar to the ones we found on Pinterest.Lastly, after a bit more ChatGPT fiddling, Cunningham uses yet another AI service to quickly generate a slew of clickworthy-looking pins, each overlaid with bolded headline text.According to Cunningham, quantity is the name of the game."If you want to dominate, you need a lot of rods, a lot of lines in the water, like you're fishing," he says. "I want as many hooks in the water as I want. That's why we do so many pins."Cunningham also showcases his AI-generated pins on his website, where under a headline reading "AI PINTEREST = HUGE OPPORTUNITY," he markets an AI Pinterest "masterclass.""AI has advanced to the point where you can generate stunning, professional-quality pins with just a few clicks," reads a webpage for the course. "And every pin you see on this page? Created using AI.""And the best part?" it continues. "Each of these pins takes less thanoneminute to create."We reached out to Cunningham with a list of questions about his Pinterest strategy. We included questions about the ethics of his AI strategy, asking whether he believes publishing AI-generated content under fake author bylines is fair to Pinterest users looking to find helpful content and if he takes any issue with the notion that his use of AI to "dominate" Pinterest results by publishing as much content as possible is doing a disservice to real bloggers and creators that use the site to support their businesses. We also asked whether he personally tests any of the recipes he generates using AI before publishing them.We didn't hear back.***In the face of all this, Pinterest hasn't moved to ban AI. Instead, it recently introduced a suite of ad-focused AI tools for marketers who want to rapidly create ads for products using AI.We reached out to Pinterest with a list of questions about this story. In response, the company insisted that AI isn't widespread on its platform, and defended its embrace of AI."Impressions on generative AI content make up a small percentage of the total impressions on Pinterest," read the emailed statement. "As people continue experimenting with generative AI content, we are working to provide users with more control and context over the content they see on Pinterest. Pinterest will continue intentionally leveraging AI, such as our inclusive AI features, to enhance the experience for our users and creators."Josh, for his part, told us that he'd like to see Pinterest give users like him more control over whether AI is present in their feeds, or at least find a way to reliably mark pins as AI-generated. Pinterest's inability or unwillingness to curb its AI problem, he said, is increasingly pushing him to other platforms."I use other sites that host wallpapers and artwork such as WallHaven, and while they too have AI content they at least allow users to set a filter to hide/show it," he told us, while"Pinterest is just a firehose with no way of stopping it."Like Facebook's AI-mangled fake veterans and shrimp Jesuses, or Instagram's since-killed AI-powered fake users, or Google's ever-worsening AI corrosion, Pinterest's inescapable slop problem poses an urgent question: whois the internet even for anymore?Right now, in Pinterest's case, the answer seems to be that it's for AI spammers, instead of users or good-faith creators which in turn, means a worse internet for everyone.More on AI slop: "True Crime" YouTube Channel Busted as Pure, Made-Up AI SlopShare This Article

Palpable hatred for Elon Musk seems to be everywhere you look this week, from viral ads to Tesla's plummeting stock value.Across the pond in London Town, a group of anti-Musk crusaders operating under the handle "Everyone Hates Elon" have erected a bus stop ad that features the billionaire doing his infamous "Sieg Heil" salute and calls Teslas "Swasticars," both serving as allusions to the unelected political wrecker's increasingly far-right politics and activities."Goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds," the ad's copy reads a reference to the year Nazi Germany invaded Poland, thus sparking off World War II.In the days since the guerrilla group behind the "Swasticar" ad posted videos of it on Instagram and TikTok, their biting missive has been viewed and shared millions of times all while Tesla's value spirals ever downward thanks in part to Musk's wrecking ball approach at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).As market summaries show, Tesla's stock has crashed tremendously in recent days amid an overall market drop and historically low sales numbers in Europe. Though Donald Trump's presidential win last November delivered a spike in value that drove Tesla stock up to an all-time high of $436 per share, it's since plummeted, hitting $360 per share on February 20 and just under $291 by the close of markets on Wednesday.As Business Insider reports, even finance bros that used to be in Tesla's corner now seem convinced that Musk's headlong foray into politics is harming his brand."The worry of [Wall Street] is that Musk dedicating so much time (even more than we expected) to DOGE takes away from his time at Tesla in such a crucial moment and year for the company," Tesla-stanning Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in an investor note viewed by BI.In a lengthy post on Musk's social network, financial advisor and Tesla investor Gary Black admitted that he had been "wrongly bullish" on the EV company for years. Though he danced around the heart of the matter and refused to outright criticize the company's CEO, the Future Fund managing partner said he hopes to "learn from [his] mistakes" when forecasting stock success, which seems like financespeak for throwing one's hands up in the air.By all accounts, Musk's politicking has not only harmed his business' image, but also hurt his bottom line a sign, if there ever was one, that the free market capitalism he and his cronies espouse may not always work in their favor.Share This Article

Feb 27, 2025Ravie LakshmananMalware / Threat IntelligenceA new campaign is targeting companies in Taiwan with malware known as Winos 4.0 as part of phishing emails masquerading as the country's National Taxation Bureau.The campaign, detected last month by Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, marks a departure from previous attack chains that have leveraged malicious game-related applications."The sender claimed that the malicious file attached was a list of enterprises scheduled for tax inspection and asked the receiver to forward the information to their company's treasurer," security researcher Pei Han Liao said in a report shared with The Hacker News.The attachment mimics an official document from the Ministry of Finance, urging the recipient to download the list of enterprises scheduled for tax inspection.But in reality, the list is a ZIP file containing a malicious DLL ("lastbld2Base.dll") that lays the groundwork for the next attack stage, leading to the execution of shellcode that's responsible for downloading a Winos 4.0 module from a remote server ("206.238.221[.]60") for gathering sensitive data.The component, described as a login module, is capable of taking screenshots, logging keystrokes, altering clipboard content, monitoring connected USB devices, running shellcode, and permitting the execution of sensitive actions (e.g., cmd.exe) when security prompts from Kingsoft Security and Huorong are displayed.Fortinet said it also observed a second attack chain that downloads an online module that can capture screenshots of WeChat and online banks.It's worth noting that the intrusion set distributing the Winos 4.0 malware has been assigned the monikers Void Arachne and Silver Fox, with the malware also overlapping with another remote access trojan tracked as ValleyRAT."They are both derived from the same source: Gh0st RAT, which was developed in China and open-sourced in 2008," Daniel dos Santos, Head of Security Research at Forescout's Vedere Labs, told The Hacker News."Winos and ValleyRAT are variations of Gh0st RAT attributed to Silver Fox by different researchers at different points in time. Winos was a name commonly used in 2023 and 2024 while now ValleyRAT is more commonly used. The tool is constantly evolving, and it has both local Trojan/RAT capabilities as well as a command-and-control server."ValleyRAT, first identified in early 2023, has been recently observed using fake Chrome sites as a conduit to infect Chinese-speaking users. Similar drive-by download schemes have also been employed to deliver Gh0st RAT.Furthermore, Winos 4.0 attack chains have incorporated what's called a CleverSoar installer that's executed by means of an MSI installer package distributed as fake software or gaming-related applications. Also dropped alongside Winos 4.0 via CleverSoar is the open-source Nidhogg rootkit. "The CleverSoar installer [...] checks the user's language settings to verify if they are set to Chinese or Vietnamese," Rapid7 noted in late November 2024. "If the language is not recognized, the installer terminates, effectively preventing infection. This behavior strongly suggests that the threat actor is primarily targeting victims in these regions."The disclosure comes as the Silver Fox APT has been linked to a new campaign that leverages trojanized versions of Philips DICOM viewers to deploy ValleyRAT, which is then used to drop a keylogger, and a cryptocurrency miner on victim computers. Notably, the attacks have been found to use a vulnerable version of the TrueSight driver to disable antivirus software."This campaign leverages trojanized DICOM viewers as lures to infect victim systems with a backdoor (ValleyRAT) for remote access and control, a keylogger to capture user activity and credentials, and a crypto miner to exploit system resources for financial gain," Forescout said.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an updated version of an Android malware called TgToxic (aka ToxicPanda), indicating that the threat actors behind it are continuously making changes in response to public reporting."The modifications seen in the TgToxic payloads reflect the actors' ongoing surveillance of open source intelligence and demonstrate their commitment to enhancing the malware's capabilities to improve security measures and keep researchers at bay," Intel 471 said in a report published this week.TgToxic was first documented by Trend Micro in early 2023, describing it as a banking trojan capable of stealing credentials and funds from crypto wallets as well as bank and finance apps. It has been detected in the wild since at least July 2022, mainly focusing on mobile users in Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.Then in November 2024, Italian online fraud prevention firm Cleafy detailed an updated variant with wide-ranging data-gathering features, while also expanding its operational scope to include Italy, Portugal, Hong Kong, Spain, and Peru. The malware is assessed to be the work of a Chinese-speaking threat actor.Intel 471's latest analysis has found that the malware is distributed via dropper APK files likely via SMS messages or phishing websites. However, the exact delivery mechanism remains unknown.Some of the notable improvements include improved emulator detection capabilities and updates to the command-and-control (C2) URL generation mechanism, underscoring ongoing efforts to sidestep analysis efforts."The malware conducts a thorough evaluation of the device's hardware and system capabilities to detect emulation," Intel 471 said. "The malware examines a set of device properties including brand, model, manufacturer and fingerprint values to identify discrepancies that are typical of emulated systems."Another significant change is the shift from hard-coded C2 domains embedded within the malware's configuration to using forums such as the Atlassian community developer forum to create bogus profiles that include an encrypted string pointing to the actual C2 server.The TgToxic APK is designed to randomly select one of the community forum URLs provided in the configuration, which serves as a dead drop resolver for the C2 domain.The technique offers several advantages, foremost being that it makes it easier for threat actors to change C2 servers by simply updating the community user profile to point to the new C2 domain without having to issue any updates to the malware itself."This method considerably extends the operational lifespan of malware samples, keeping them functional as long as the user profiles on these forums remain active," Intel 471 said.Subsequent iterations of TgToxic discovered in December 2024 go a step further, relying on a domain generation algorithm (DGA) to create new domain names for use as C2 servers. This makes the malware more resilient to disruption efforts as the DGA can be used to create several domain names, allowing the attackers to switch to a new domain even if some are taken down."TgToxic stands out as a highly sophisticated Android banking trojan due to its advanced anti-analysis techniques, including obfuscation, payload encryption, and anti-emulation mechanisms that evade detection by security tools," Approov CEO Ted Miracco said in a statement."Its use of dynamic command-and-control (C2) strategies, such as domain generation algorithms (DGA), and its automation capabilities enable it to hijack user interfaces, steal credentials, and perform unauthorized transactions with stealth and resilience against countermeasures."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

They look like small pieces of obsidian, smooth and shiny. But a set of small black fragments found inside the skull of a man who died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Southern Italy, in the year 79 CE, are thought to be pieces of his brainturned to glass. The discovery, reported in 2020, was exciting because a human brain had never been found in this state. Now, scientists studying his remains believe theyve found out more details about how the glass fragments were formed: The man was exposed to temperatures of over 500 C, followed by rapid cooling. These conditions also allowed for the preservation of tiny structures and cells inside his brain. Its an extraordinary finding, says Matteo Borrini, a forensic anthropologist at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, who was not involved in the research. It tells us how [brain] preservation can work extreme conditions can produce extreme results. Glittering remains The Roman city of Herculaneum has been covered in ash for many hundreds of years. Excavations over the last few centuries have revealed amazing discoveries of preserved bodies, buildings, furniture, artworks, and even food. Theyve helped archaeologists piece together a picture of what life was like for people living in ancient Rome. But they are still yielding surprises. Around five years ago, Pier Paolo Petrone, a forensic archaeologist at the University of Naples Federico II, was studying remains first excavated in the 1960s of what is believed to be a 20-year-old man. The man was found inside a building thought to have been a place of worship. Archaeologists believe he may have been guarding the building. He was found lying face down on a wooden bed. The carbonized remains of the deceased individual in their bed in Herculaneum.GUIDO GIORDANO ET AL./SCIENTIFIC REPORTS Petrone was documenting the mans charred bones under a lamp when he noticed something unusual. I suddenly saw small glassy remains glittering in the volcanic ash that filled the skull, he tells MIT Technology Review via email. It had a black appearance and shiny surfaces quite similar to obsidian. But, he adds, unlike obsidian, the glassy remains were extremely brittle and easy to crumble. An analysis of the proteins in the sample suggested that the glassy remains were preserved brain tissue. And when Petrone and his colleagues studied bits of the material with microscopes, they were even able to see neurons. I [was] very excited because I understood that [the preserved brain] was something very unique, never seen before in any other archaeological or forensic context, he says. The next question was how the mans brain turned to glass in the first place, says Guido Giordano, a volcanologist at Roma Tre University in Rome, who was also involved in the research. To find out, he and his colleagues subjected tiny pieces of the glass brain fragmentsmeasuring millimeters wideto extreme temperatures in the lab. The goal was to identify its glass transition statethe temperature at which the material changed from brittle to soft. GUIDO GIORDANO ET AL./SCIENTIFIC REPORTS These experiments suggest that the material is a glass, and that it formed when the temperature dropped from above 510 C to room temperature, says Giordano. The heating stage would not have been long. Otherwise the material would have been cooked, and disappeared, he says. This, he adds, is probably what happened to the brains of the other people whose remains were found at Herculaneum, which were not preserved. The short periods of extremely high temperature might have resulted from super-hot volcanic gases and a few centimeters worth of ash, which enveloped the city shortly after the eruption and settled. Denser pyroclastic flows from the volcano would have hit the building hours later, possibly after the brain had a chance to rapidly cool down. The ash clouds can easily be 500 or 600 degrees [but] they may quickly pass and quickly vanish, says Giordano, who, along with his colleagues, published the results in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday. That would provide the fast cooling that is required to produce the glass. A unique case No one knows for sure why this young mans brain was the only one to form glass fragments. It might have been because he was sheltered inside the building, says Giordano. It is thought that most of Herculaneums other residents flocked to the citys shores, hoping to be rescued. Its also not clear why the man was found lying face down on a bed. We dont know what he was doing, says Giordano. He might not have been guarding the building at all, says Karl Harrison, a forensic archaeologist at the University of Exeter in the UK. In a fire, people will end up in rooms they dont know, because theyre running through smoke, he says. The conditions may have been similar during the volcanic eruption. People end up in funny places, he adds. Either way, its a unique finding. Archaeologists have unearthed ancient human brains beforeover 4,400 have been discovered since the mid-17th century. But these samples tend to have been preserved through drying, freezing, or a process called saponification, in which the brains effectively turn to soap, says Harrison. He was involved in work on a site in Turkey at which an 8,000-year-old brain was found. That brain appears to have carbonized and turned charcoal-like, he says. Some of the glassy brain fragments remain at the site in Herculaneum, but others are being kept at universities, where scientists plan to continue research on them. Petrone wants to further study the proteins in the samples to learn more about whats in them. Holding the fragments feels quite amazing, says Giordano. A few times I stop and think: Im actually holding a bit of a brain of a human, he says. It can be touching.

Submitted by WA ContentsNational Pavilion UAE will explore sustainable food production at the 2025 Venice Biennale United Arab Emirates Architecture News - Feb 27, 2025 - 16:23 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates has announced its theme and details for the upcoming 19th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.The 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy. Titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, the exhibition is curated by architect and engineer Carlo Ratti.The Pressure Cooker exhibition, which is curated by Emirati scholar and architect Azza Aboualam, explores the changing relationship between architecture and food production in the United Arab Emirates and offers creative solutions for more sustainable food production at the individual and community levels.Pressure Cooker provides architectural ideas made especially for arid environments and investigates themes of self-sufficiency using a research-based methodology.Corn fields and net houses in Liwa, Abu Dhabi. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE La Biennale di Venezia. Image Ola AllouzThe exhibition provides fresh insights into food security, a problem that is becoming more urgent on a regional and international scale, by reinventing the greenhouse for arid regions. Traditional farming practices are increasingly under risk from temperature extremes and soil degradation as a result of climate change's disruption of agricultural systems.According to recent studies, if emissions keep increasing, a sizable amount of the world's food production may be in jeopardy by the end of the century. Pressure Cooker looks at how local knowledge of food production has evolved over time to fit the unique climate and environmental circumstances of the Gulf region.It places the food production environment in the United Arab Emirates in this global framework, highlighting the necessity of flexible methods.The exhibition examines the UAE's current food-growing infrastructures, which are situated in resource-rich settings that are frequently hidden, disregarded, or physically isolated from metropolitan centers. It does this by drawing on fieldwork and archival research. The study looks at local design solutions, from the traditional to the cutting edge, that were developed throughout time during periods of food scarcity.Pressure Cooker investigates how architecture may address the food security issues facing the UAE and the world by putting forth a number of greenhouse models. This could lead to a future where these forms are included into our built and lived environments.Aboualam's research findings will highlight the various ways that architecture, food, and the built environment intersect. They will be displayed in Venice and accompanied by a publication. In an effort to assist the research of cultural practitioners, curators, and researchers in the United Arab Emirates, the National Pavilion UAE is still working with regional organizations like Zayed University.Azza Aboualam. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE La Biennale di Venezia. Image Nio Consorte of Seeing Things"Pressure Cooker will exhibit research that speaks to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: food security. The exhibition examines the intersection of architecture, innovation, and sustainability to address critical issues shaping our shared future," said curator Azza Aboualam."The curatorial approach is rooted in contemporary research, linking the UAEs unique cultural and architectural identity to pressing globalchallenges, offering grounded, technical, and imaginative perspectives on food systems and sustainability.""Ultimately, Pressure Cooker asks: Using the UAE as a case study, how can architecture be mobilized towards greater food security?," Aboualam added."The UAEs participation in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia reflects our nations steadfast commitment to fostering innovation in addressing critical global challenges. The exhibition highlights the intersection of architecture and food security, demonstrating how sustainable design can contribute to building climate resilience and enhancing resource management," said His Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture."This thought-provoking showcase exemplifies the UAEs leadership in advancing architectural solutions tailored for arid environments while promoting a global dialogue on sustainability and self-sufficiency in food. We are proud to support this remarkable effort that celebrates Emirati ingenuity and inspires innovative pathways for a sustainable future," Al Qassimi added.The National Pavilion UAE is commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture and has a permanent pavilion at La Biennale di Venezias Arsenale Sale dArmi.Greenhouses in Hatta, Dubai. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE La Biennale di Venezia. Image Ola AllouzEmirati architect Azza Aboualam is a co-founder and director of research at Holesum Studio, a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm with offices in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and New York, USA. She is also an assistant professor at Zayed University's College of Arts and Creative Enterprises in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A few years after graduating from Yale School of Architecture, she co-founded the studio in 2021.In addition to this announcement, Qatar announced that it will build a national pavilion in the historic venue of Giardini della Biennale, which first opened to the public in 1895. The Trkiye Pavilion announced its theme and curators. Titled Grounded, the exhibition will be curated by Istanbul-based curator Ceren Erdem and Berlin-based architect Bilge Kalfa.Moreover, the Finland Pavilion will exploreThe Pavilion Architecture of Stewardship, highlighting the various types of labor that go into building and maintaining architecture. The Austrian Pavilion will explore the theme ofAgency for Better Living, focusing on affordable housing and tackling the cities of Vienna and Rome.The top image in the article: Greenhouses in Alzubair, Sharjah. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE La Biennale di Venezia. Image Ola Allouz.> via National Pavilion UAE

Submitted by WA ContentsOMA-designed New Museum expansion is set to open in Fall 2025 United States Architecture News - Feb 27, 2025 - 15:15 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The New Museum has today revealed that its new building expansion, designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, will open to the public this fall.Encompassing a total of 60,000 square foot (5,574 square meters), the OMA-designed addition will double the Museum's gallery space - by adding a total of 9,600 square foot (892 square meters) and blend in with the current SANAA-designed flagship building on the Bowery at Prince Street.Among many other new and expanded features, it will create a purpose-built home for the Museum's cultural incubator NEW INC, create new venues for artist residencies and public programs, improve visitor flow with the addition of three elevators, an atrium stair, and an entrance plaza, and mark a turning point for the city and the Museum.GalleriesThe New Museum was established in 1977 at a temporary location on Hudson Street. Since then, it has experimented and changed as a center for new ideas and art, growing at significant points in its history to better serve the public and artists. The New Museum is Manhattans only museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art."The New Museum is an incubator for new cultural perspectives and production, and the expansion aims to embody that attitude of openness," said Shohei Shigematsu, OMA Partner."Imagined as a highly connected yet distinct counterpart to the existing museums verticality and solidity, the new building will offer horizontally expansive galleries for curatorial variety, open vertical circulation, and a diversity of spaces for gathering, exchange, and creation.""The building is further shaped to create an active public faceincluding an outdoor plaza at the ground, moments of transparency throughout the central atrium, and terraced openings at the topthat will openly engage the surrounding community and beyond," Shigematsu added.Atrium stairToby Devan Lewis, a longtime New Museum Trustee whose $30 million gift to the Capital Campaign is the largest gift in the Museum's history, will be honored with the name of the OMA building. With $82 million in building expenditures, the New Museum has generated $118 million thus far toward its $125 million Capital Campaign goal."The New Museum has always been a future-facing museumnot a place for preserving and recording history, but a place where history is made," said Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director of the New Museum."We are thrilled to be working with Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas on OMAs first public building in New York City, ushering in a new era of possibilities for the New Museum as a vital civic resource for New Yorkers and the global arts community," Phillips added.The OMA-designed addition will blend in seamlessly on the inside while looking distinctive on the outside, complementing the New Museum's existing architecture. The Museum's exhibition area will be doubled in the new seven-story structure, with the second, third, and fourth level ceiling heights aligned to allow for seamless communication between the two structures.With the capacity to function independently or seamlessly integrate with the current galleries, the new galleries will provide much-needed space for shows that are highly flexible and flow horizontally across the buildings.Through the addition of three more elevators, two of which will be used for gallery access, and an atrium stairway that will provide views of the neighborhood and the chance for site-specific art installations, the OMA design will enhance vertical circulation for visitors.A new entry plaza would establish an outdoor space for public art installations at the intersection of Bowery and Prince Street, while the Museum's expanded lobby on the ground floor will house a full-service caf and an expanded bookstore.The new structure will house a 74-seat forum, a dedicated studio for artists-in-residence, and a specially designed residence for NEW INC, the first museum-born cultural incubator. It will provide its yearly cohort of more than 120 creative entrepreneurs with state-of-the-art production facilities and collaborative workspaces.ForumWith three more upper-floor terraces overlooking the Bowery, the New Museum's seventh-floor Sky Room will increase in size while maintaining its expansive vistas of downtown Manhattan.Using materials that evoke and compliment the old SANAA structure, laminated glass with metal mesh will create a basic, cohesive facade on the outside while enabling a greater level of transparency.New Humans: Memories of the Future will open the expanded building with an exploration of artists' ongoing concern with what it means to be human in the face of rapid technological change, continuing the New Museum's long tradition of showcasing thought-provoking and topical exhibitions. In addition to New Humans, the expanded New Museum will reopen with multiple site-specific commissions enabled by new architectural spaces.The New Museum will reveal its 2026 exhibition schedule later this year. It will feature the first solo exhibition of artist Arthur Jafa at the New York Museum as well as the upcoming New Museum Triennial, which was introduced in 2009 as the first recurring international exhibition in New York City dedicated to up-and-coming artists from around the globe.Project factsProject name:New Museum ExpansionArchitects: OMA/Shohei Shigematsu and Rem KoolhaasLocation:New York, USALocal architect:Cooper RobertsonNew Museum Building Project Coordinator: New Museum, Dennis Szakacs, Chief Operating OfficerProject and Cost Management:Gardiner and Theobald, Jonathan Andrew, Senior Director, Stephen Becker, Director (PM), Michael J. Day, Associate Director (Cost); PML, Peter Lehrer, President, Scott Weisberg, Executive Vice President & COOConstruction Manager:F.J. Sciame Construction, Co., Inc, Joseph Mizzi, President and Chief Operating Services Officer, Steven Colletta, Senior Vice President, Thomas Sevchuk, Vice PresidentStructural Engineer: ARUP, Matt Jackson, Principal, and Christopher Adams, Senior Structural EngineerMechanical Systems: ARUP, Matt Jackson, Principal, and Neil Muir, Senior Mechanical EngineerFaade:Front, Marc Simmons, Principal, and Jeff Kim, Senior AssociateGeotechnical:Langan, Arthur Alzamora, Senior VP, and Mark Gallagher, Senior PrincipalCivil Engineer: Philip Habib & Associates, Philip Habib, PresidentSignage:2x4, Susan Sellers, Executive Creative Director, and Florian Mews, Design Director; T-Squared Design Studio, Inc., Trisia J. Tomanelli, President; Visual Graphic Systems (VGS), Lorraine Conte, Senior Account Executive.All renderings Bloom Images.> via New Museum

If you're among the 45 million American households renting, your monthly rent is likely one of your biggest expenses. What if you could pay rent with a credit card? Paying with plastic could give you a few extra weeks to cover the bill or even help you earn rewards.Some property owners or rental companies make it easy to pay rent via an online portal, whereas others require a third-party service or some type of workaround. If your landlord offers it as an option, keep in mind there may be expensive fees and drawbacks. Below, we explain all the different ways you can pay rent with a credit card, how they work and what they cost. TAX SOFTWARE DEALS OF THE WEEK H&R Block Free Simple Tax Returns eFile: $0 (save $0) TurboTax Deluxe 2024 (Federal and State, PC/Mac Download): $56 (save $24) TurboTax Premier 2024 (Federal and State, PC/Mac Download): $83 (save $32) TaxSlayer Classic Plan: $28 (save $10) Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.Ways to pay rent with a credit cardGenerally, if you're willing to jump through enough hoops, you can pay rent with a credit card, though that doesn't mean you should. It's safer and cheaper to pay rent with a check or an ACH transfer directly from your bank account.Financial experts warn that you should only put rent on your credit card if you're confident you can pay off the full balance before the due date. Otherwise you could easily rack up credit card debt and hefty interest charges.Like any decision, make sure the benefits outweigh the risks. Directly through your landlordSome landlords and rental companies let you pay rent with a credit card using an online portal or through a tool like Square. There are typically additional costs, and the landlord will likely pass those on to you during the transaction.For instance, Square charges processing fees between 2.6% (plus 10 cents) and 3.5% (plus 15 cents) depending on whether a transaction is completed in person, online or manually entered.If your landlord acceptsrent via PayPal and you want to pay with a credit card, you'll pay a few of at least 2.99%. You could also pay your rent through Venmo if your landlord lets you, but you'll fork over a 3% fee.Rent payments made directly to your landlord through an online payment portal generally count as "purchases" for the sake of credit card rewards and 0% introductoryAPR offers, though your credit card issuer may have different rules.While credit cards don't specifically list rent as an excluded purchase for the purposes of rewards, call your card issuer to make sure the payment counts for points. Even so, the processing fees often outweigh any rewards you earn on the transaction, unless you're able to reach a minimum spending requirement to receive a welcome bonus. With a third-party payment serviceYou can use a service called Plastiq to pay your rent with a credit card without requiring your landlord's cooperation. You enter your landlord's payment address and information before charging your card. From there, your landlord can be paid via ACH transfer or a paper check sent by mail.Plastiqcharges a 2.9% fee for card payments, which will be tacked on to your charge upfront. Plastiq filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, although it is still operating and servicing customers. The website remains up, but the company's future is uncertain.Plastiq payments typically earn credit card rewards and count toward the minimum spend requirement for a welcome bonus, although depending on your credit card type, you may have limitations on what kinds of bills you can pay through the service. On a landlord management platformSome apps and websites let you pay rent with a credit card, but they usually require upfront fees from renters for the privilege of using their services. You also have to get your landlord on board with using them.For instance, an app calledDoorLoop, which helps landlords collect rent payments and manage other aspects of their rental business, also allows tenants to pay with credit cards. However, this app charges renters a 3.25% fee to pay with a credit card.TurboTenantis another platform that offers similar services to landlords, but it charges a processing fee of around 3.49% to pay rent with a credit card. Most cash-back credit cards offer a maximum of 2% back on everyday purchases, so paying a fee of 3% to pay rent with a credit card won't offer a net benefit.Consider a specialty credit card to pay rentA unique rewards credit card called the Bilt Mastercard* lets you earn rewards on purchases, including rent payments. Cardholders can pay rent with theBilt Mastercard with no transaction fees, provided their landlord accepts ACH payments or checks.Since most landlords waive processing fees for electronic bank-to-bank payments, the Bilt card gives you a routing and account number to pay rent through a landlord's online payment portal, as if you were paying from a bank account.You can also opt to have Bilt mail a check directly to your landlord, or you can turn on the BiltProtect feature to have the rent charge paid off from a connected bank account so the "purchase" doesn't cut into your available credit.This credit card has no annual fee, and cardholders earn 1X Bilt Points on rent payments (up to 100,000 points per year), 2X points on eligible travel purchases and 3X points on dining. You have to make at least five purchases on the card each statement period to earn rewards. Rewards can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, payments toward rent or a future home down payment and more.Read more: Earn Rewards for Paying Rent or Mortgage on a Credit Card? Yes, PleaseWhat to know if you use a credit card for rentPaying rent with a credit card can be especially convenient in an emergency situation when you're a bit behind financially and want to avoid your landlord's late fees. Credit card companies typically give you a grace period before you have to pay the bill and interest starts to accrue.However, before you pay your rent with a credit card, make a plan to pay your balance in full by the statement balance due date. If you don't, any rewards you earn will be instantly erased by steep interest charges. Most credit cards offer around 2% cash back on purchases, but average credit card APRs are around 20%. Aside from this, consider the potential impacts on your overall finances.Credit score:Using a credit card to make regular purchases and paying your bill on time in full each month is a good way to build credit. However, putting large expenses like rent on your credit card could raise your credit utilization ratio or increase the likelihood of missing payments or carrying a balance, which could hurt your score. If you want to build credit, services like Experian Boost let you report your rent payments to the credit bureau Experian without putting your payment on your credit card.Credit limit:Your ability to charge rent to a credit card may depend onyour credit limit. Even if you have room in your credit limit to cover rent easily, charging a large rent payment will increase your credit utilization ratio, which is the percentage of credit you're currently using in relation to the total available. A high credit utilization ratio could hurt your credit score.Transaction fees:Even if your landlord allows direct rent payments with credit, you'll almost always be saddled with additional fees, making your rent more expensive. These fees can be more than you think: A 3% processing fee on a $2,000 rent payment adds up to $60 per month and $720 in fees per year.Rewards:If you're pursuing a generouswelcome bonus with a minimum spending requirement, paying rent with a credit card for a few months could make sense. However, when it comes to ongoing rewards on most run-of-the-mill rewards credit cards, the extra fees you'll pay to cover rent with a credit card almost always exceed the value of the rewards you'll earn. If you want to pay rent with a credit card without any fees, look into theBilt Mastercard.*All information about the Bilt Mastercard has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

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