TikTok and Instagram are flooded with reels of food influencers hyping already viral restaurants or bringing hundreds of thousands of eyes to hidden gems. With sauce-stained lips, exaggerated chewing, and thatsignature hooked fingerover their mouth, they urge viewers to run, dont walk to these must-try spots. But how trustworthy are these glowing reviews?Platforms like Yelp and Google Reviews long ago opened the door for anyone with an internet connection to play food critic. But the rise of short-form video has democratized the food-reviewing game to a whole new level. OnTikTok and Instagram, driving engagement is the name of the game, and posting hyperbolized reviews is one way to gain views and grow an audience.Its a formula that works, but its also drawn backlash. This month, the U.K.s Guild of Food Writers called out these influencers, urging them to offer more honest reviews.Vice president of the Guild of Food Writers, Chetna Makana London-basedfood creatorherselftoldBBC News NIthat she doesnt trust the majority of online food videos, largely because its become increasingly difficult to distinguish between genuine reviews and gushing collab posts.But judging by the size of some of their followings, plenty of others do seem to trust these influencers. Right now, perhaps the U.S.s most famous restaurant critic is a Las Vegas resident named Keith Lee, whohas 17 million TikTok followersbut no official food or cooking credentials. In the days when legacy media controlled the flow of news and opinions, editors acted as gatekeepers, ensuring content met certain standards. But as Pete Wells, recently retired restaurant critic for the New York Times, told theWashington Post, The everyman critic is more trusted than somebody who knows what theyre talking about.Makan said that much of todays influencer-driven food content is over the top, lacking the depth, context, and culinary knowledge traditional food critics bring to the table. More to the point, restaurants frequently invite influencers for free meals in exchange for Instagram posts and TikTok videos. Beyond free meals, creators also can land lucrative brand deals, in which companies pay them directly to feature and promote products. According to Makan, some influencers are supporting every brand under the sun.While the future of TikTok in the U.S. may still be in limbo, theres no doubt that influencers and the platforms they populate will continue to play a huge role in food media. And as Makan bemoaned, There are fewer food critics in print media because there is not much print media left.

Dek: The health supplement company counts investors like Lewis Hamilton and Alex Honnold.Kat Cole is no stranger to a career pivot. At Hooters, she went from waitress to vice president as she worked her way up the restaurant chains corporate ladder. Then, over the course of more than 10 years at Cinnabon parent Focus Brands, she built a career selling sweet treats to consumers. In 2024, Cole made the leap from selling fast food to health supplements by becoming CEO of AG1 (formerly known as Athletic Greens), which sells a green multivitamin and nutrient powder. Valued at $1.2 billion in 2022, AG1 has been endorsed by athletes like Olympic runner Allyson Felix and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, as well as an endless roster of wellness and fitness influencers. (Some doctors have questioned the need for supplements like multivitamins altogether). Cole spoke to Most Innovative Companies host Yasmin Gagne about growing AG1s business, the brands Ozempic opportunity, and whether she thinks it will ever end up in the grocery aisles.Listen to our conversation with Cole and a segment with Ankler Awards Editor and Prestige Junkie host Katey Rich, who explains how studios have conducted their Oscar campaigns this year.How does a former fast food executive come to run a health company?Theres a few ways to look at this. One is just the journey that Ive gone on as a woman, as a mom, and over time how nutrition and health has become more important to me personally. Were also so much more informed now. Even people who are in their thirties are thinking of healthspan and nutrition. There are things, like my mom getting breast cancer when my kids were very small and she was starting her business, or when I had my kids at 39 and 41 after a few miscarriages in between, that put nutrition and health more squarely in my focus as an individual. Health also became a bigger part of one where I believe consumers were going and therefore what the market opportunity and business would be. I am also a leader experienced running companies at scale, and 10 years ago there werent a lot of scaled healthful nutrition companies that made sense for someone like me to manage. Now AG1 is big enough for me to come in and lead this chapter.Do you have any guilty pleasures?I used to say everything in moderation. Now I think that phrase, in some cases, has been used to the extreme where in aggregate, a few things in moderation are no longer moderation. I think very seriously about what my kids see me eat and how we make decisions when I treat myself. But I am a human, not a robot. I treat myself once in a while with an ice cream or a cookieI have a 5 and a 7-year-oldDuring COVID, sales of multivitamins and supplements in general increased by 50% between 2018 and 2022. AG1 is 15 years oldhow do you compete with the explosion of newer brands in the sector?In any market, the presence of growth and competition is an indicator of consumer demand. So as it relates to health and wellness, if there are more consumers demanding more options, then that means those consumers are going on a health awareness journey. As a businessperson, that means Im in the right space. That said, consumers have more options. It can get tougher to appreciate the distinction between those options.So when I think about the things that are required to stand out today that may not have been on customers minds as much 10 years ago. Thats things like human clinical trials and research for supplements that is not required of the industry, but is what we have invested in for years. I think about third-party certificationsweve been NSF[-certified] for sport for eight or nine years, which is a third-party certification that not only verifies that whats on the label is in the product, it also ensures there are no contaminants or doping agents. We pay a third party to keep our product all the way through the supply chain in check. Those are things weve always done, but years ago we actually didnt brag about it. We didnt market it because there was so much demand. Now we are showing proof of the third party studies we do. Its a different approach to education information and go to market.I was surprised to find out theres an even gender split among AG1 customers. I was surprised because I assumed that most would be men into biohacking.I assumed that as well when I was an early customer. I thought I was this outlier lady. Once I got into the business and saw the demographic split, I wanted to accelerate that shift to a more female customer base. When I joined, it was like 40% or trending that way, and now its 50-50. One reason [for your misconception] might be that some of our more popular creator partners thought leaders, academics, people with big podcasts, or platforms were male. The reality is womenand this has been accelerated by COVIDwant to live long and strong. Its not about being frail or delicate, its about fuel, its about strength, its about power and nutrition.What I see in our customers is the fastest growing customer group by age is 45-plus. As we get older, we age into new reasons to need to supplement and want to supplement an already healthy lifestyle, and there are new ways to afford a premium product.Our younger consumers tend to be athletes and fitness enthusiasts who really value their nutrition and take it more seriously. That has evolved over time. Then I started interviewing our customers, our female customers in particular, in the early years when I joined. What I found is they had heard about it from a partner, a trainer, a physician. Their recommender tended to be male in those earlier years. But then they didnt have as many options being marketed to them as we have now. Now were in an interesting space where our split is 50-50 both for existing customers and new ones joining us, but women in particular are so marketed to in this space. Its confusing. Its difficult to know what to trust, and we have so many distinct life stages, from pre and postnatal, perimenopausal, menopausal, postmenopausal. Theres a lot of support that can come from nutraceuticals or nutrients to help with those life stages. So now the job we need to do for our female customers is being really clear where we fit into their stack and explain why they should trust AG1 in the confusing landscape of supplements.At Focus Brands, you brought brands like Cinnabon to different sections of the grocery aisle, with products stocked in the snacks section, and the frozen food section, for instance. Are you going to bring the same playbook to AG1?The core AG1 is this daily health drink in a powder form that people mix on their own in water or put in their smoothies. Retailers love this idea. Its a very straightforward supply chain. Its shelf-stable in its packaging, and there is built-in demand that is not necessarily being fully realized by the e-commerce platform. So retailers love the idea of a brand people know but havent yet tried. Theres brand awareness, product fit, and the format makes sense. You can imagine some retailers that have a heavy inclination toward sampling and education and letting people try and learn about a product before they buy. Thats the opposite of our current model. If you hear about it and you go online, the best value is to subscribe. So youre actually subscribing before you try retail. Some of the retailers can help us reach a customer that we havent been able to reach.AG1s valuation$1.2 billionis a huge number for a CPG company. And I think weve seen a lot of CPG companies struggle to live up to that kind of valuation. You have investors, including Lewis Hamilton and Alex Honnold, who are probably curious when theyre going to see a return. Is the company ever going public?I wont speak to what the particular outcome is. That valuation was on $160 million in revenue we did that year. January 2022 was peak market fervor, there was a lot of froth. However larger marquee investors who came to the table are supersmart. They saw the fundamentals of the business. We were $160 million in revenue that year, growing at hundreds of percent with an incredible body of opportunity in front of the business. So if you look at whats happened since then,we were at $160 million at the end of 2021, were projecting $600 million in revenue now. Weve well over 3X the business. So even if valuations have come down to earth a bit, the business has grown unbelievably. And so our investors are very happy.Do you plan on launching more AG1 products?Our customers have asked us to launch so many things, but if we did it, it would create confusion. AG1 is foundational nutrition. Its this idea that first and foremost, the best driver of health from a nutrition perspective is whole foods. Then this idea of something called a foundational nutrition layer, which essentially is nutrients and gut health support. Foundational nutrition is an idea that there is such a thing as a group of supplements that help most people cover many [health] gaps. Its like the future of what the multivitamin was supposed to be, except no one takes a multivitamin and says, my digestions better. No one takes a multivitamin and says, I feel more energy. But they do with AG1 because its more comprehensive. This idea of having a foundational routine is the base of the business. As we innovate products, the question is: what do our customers need from us? And Ill just give you a few examples. Might they be at different life stages? You can imagine what some of those might be that emulate some of the journey multivitamins.

After having seen so many crazy bike concepts thatll in all likelihood remain a pipedream, Honda has something exciting for motorheads and Pokmon fans alike. Just in time for Pokmon Day, the Japanese automaker has revealed a wild concept bike thats poised to make headlines at Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama in Tokyo from March 7th to March 9th, 2025. The dragon-themed ride created in collaboration with the Pokemon Company is poised to capture attention worldwide.They call it the Koraidon motorcycle, and for a Pokmon fan, itll instantly evoke curiosity as to what this dragon-shaped bike will be like in real life. This is not the first time a flashy dragon from the 2022 game Pokmon Scarlet has had an automotive rendition. Last year too around the same time Toyota Engineering Society showed off the Miraidon, a Legendary Pokmon from the Violet game series. Both the iconic Pokmon characters have their fan base, but for us, the prehistoric dragon Koraidon has a slight edge.Designer: HondaThe unique bike will employ the in-house Honda Riding Assist technology for the ASIMO humanoid robot, introduced first at CES 2017. This will allow the Koraidon-themed bike to balance on its own even if the rider takes the hands off. To keep the Gen 9 Pokmon characters element going, the ride will have granular details and unique facial features. These include animated hands, feet, neck, face, eyes, and even eyelids that move depending on the speed of the bike. In particular, the movement of the eyes will match with the eyelids for a sense of freaky realism. If thats not all, it can walk on all four legs and stand on two wheels in the Sprinting Build mode.Honda claims they have developed this motorcycle to the true dimensions and weight as portrayed in the video game. It is going to be 8 feet 2 inches high and weighs 668 lb. That means users will get to experience the real side of the Pokmon Scarlet game with the Koraidon in full bloom. Turning an animated character into a real-life version comes with its challenges and Honda didnt shy away from bringing out the best. More than 40 engineers were involved in this offbeat project who come from the strong circles of their Innovative Research Excellence and Motorcycle and Power Products divisions. The tagline, Hondas Devotion Makes Childrens Dreams Come True tells a lot about their design philosophy.Wishing this thing shows up on the roads in the United States or Europe would be a far cry. For now, the maximum stretch would be to maybe spot it on the Japanese streets for a prototype run post the event. If the Honda Koraidon motorcycle does roll on its own powered wheels thatll be the coolest thing in 2025.The post Hondas lifelike Pokmon bike with self balancing tech stands on two wheels, walks on all four legs first appeared on Yanko Design.

Despite its modest length of 5.2 meters (17 feet), the Beau River Tiny House is expertly designed to maximize sleeping accommodations. This compact model features an upside-down layout, allowing it to sleep up to six people, albeit snugly. Designed by Havenwood Tiny Homes in Australia, who also developed the Joely, the Beau River Tiny House is built on a double-axle trailer. It boasts a metal exterior with wooden accents and receives power via a standard RV-style hookup. Although smaller than European models like the Cardabelle, it is certainly not the smallest tiny house weve encountered.Designer: Havenwood Tiny HomesAs anticipated, the homes interior is quite compact and efficiently designed. Entry is through sliding glass doors, and to the right is the living room. This area is elevated and accessible via a few steps. It provides room for a sofa and features a large window that beautifully frames the outside view. Adjacent to the living room is the kitchen, which is simple yet functional. It includes a sink, a two-burner propane-powered stove, and cabinetry for storage. The bathroom is located at the opposite end of the home from the living room. It consists of a toilet and a shower; however, its unclear if a sink is included in the bathroom setup.How does the Beau River Tiny House accommodate six people? The clever design provides multiple sleeping arrangements to maximize space. In the living room, substituting the usual sofa with a sofa bed introduces additional sleeping capacity. Directly beneath the living room is a cleverly concealed bedroom featuring a low ceiling and a double bed. This space-efficient design element adds to the sleeping possibilities. The house includes a more conventional loft bedroom, accessible by a ladder, which comfortably sleeps two more people.Although fitting six people would make for a snug environment, its unlikely that the designer intended for a family of six to reside in the house full-time. Instead, the space is probably best suited for use as a vacation getaway or a weekend retreat, offering a cozy and intimate setting for short stays. The designs emphasis on multifunctionality and efficient use of space makes it ideal for temporary accommodations, allowing occupants to enjoy the charm of tiny house living without the long-term commitment. The home is tiny but quite mighty, accommodating six people comfortably for some time, if not full-time. The house is currently priced at roughly US$63,000, making it a viable option for small families that are seeking holiday homes. The upside-down interior layout gives the home a unique element, allowing it to stand out from other tiny homes on the market.The post This Tiny But Mighty House Offers Cozy Accommodation For Six first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Palace of Truth is a three-act blank verse "Fairy Comedy" by the English dramatist W.S. Gilbert. First produced at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 19November 1870, the plot was adapted in significant part from Madame de Genlis's fairy story Le Palais de Vrite. It was the first of several such plays that Gilbert wrote founded upon the idea of self-revelation by characters under the influence of some magic or supernatural interference. The play ran for approximately 140 performances, then toured the British provinces and enjoyed various revivals even well into the 20th century. There was also a New York production in 1910. This photograph shows the real-life married couple William Hunter Kendal and Madge Robertson Kendal as the lovers Prince Philamir and Princess Zeolide in the original 1870 production of The Palace of Truth.Photograph credit: London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company; restored by Adam CuerdenRecently featured: Continental XI-1430Ctenosaura similisWangath temple complexArchiveMore featured pictures

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Zapier informed customers on Friday that an unauthorized user accessed certain Zapier code repositories and may have gained access to customer information as a result. The customer data had been inadvertently copied to the repositories for debugging purposes, according to an email obtained by The Verge.The company says it became aware of the unauthorized access on Thursday. When it did, the company immediately secured access to the repositories and invalidated the unauthorized users access, the email says. Zapier says that the incident did not affect any Zapier database, infrastructure or production, authentication, or payment systems.The code repos shouldnt have included customer data. But after auditing them, Zapier discovered that some information had been inadvertently copied over. Zapiers platform allows users to create automations that work across other companies apps and services, potentially putting it in the middle of a lot of sensitive information.The hacker was able to access the repositories because of a two-factor authentication (2FA) misconfiguration on an employees account. The company says it is now conducting a review of its processes to ensure this does not occur again.Zapier didnt immediately reply to requests for comment.Here is the full email obtained by The Verge, signed by Zapier head of security Zeeshan Khadim:Hello,We are writing to inform you of a security incident. Due to a two-factor authentication (2FA) misconfiguration on an employees account, an unauthorized user gained access to certain Zapier code repositories. Normally, this would not impact our customers. Out of an abundance of caution, we audited the contents of the repositories, and we found that in isolated instances, certain customer information had been inadvertently copied to the repositories for debugging purposes.We became aware of unauthorized access to the affected repositories on Thursday, February 27, 2025 (2025-02-27 09:38:48 UTC). Once we became aware of the issue, we immediately secured access to the repositories and invalidated the unauthorized users access. This incident did not affect any Zapier database, infrastructure or production, authentication, or payment systems.In our audit, we found that a subset of your data was included in a repository and may have been accessed by the unauthorized user. Here is a secure link for you to access a copy of your impacted data.Please review this data, and take appropriate actions, which may include rotating any valid plain text authentication tokens that may have been used in places such as code, or webhook step configuration which were found in the impacted data. Note that your Zap/App authentication tokens were not impacted by this incident. We also recommend that you review security settings on your Zapier account and your other online apps, including activating 2FA where available.We are conducting a thorough audit and remediation of our internal processes to ensure this does not occur again for you or other customers.If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out by using our contact form at https://zapier.com/app/get-help or by responding to this email. We are standing by for any extra assistance you might need.Sincerely,Zeeshan KhadimHead of SecuritySee More:

A Paris-based creative studio has announced a minimalist turntable with controls streamlined to just a play button and a volume knob. Waiting For Ideas PP-1 short for Plug and Play doesnt even have a visible tonearm, and its made from a solid block of anodized aluminum requiring about 12 weeks of production time to manufacture. That makes it easier to understand why the PP-1 has a 5,800 (around $6,012) price tag.Although companies like ELP of Japan sell turntables that swap needles and tonearms for laser pickups, the PP-1 does feature more traditional record player hardware. The studio worked with a company called Miniot that created a similarly minimal turntable lacking a visible tonearm. Waiting for Ideas adapted Miniots technology so that the PP-1s inverted cartridge and stylus are hidden behind a closing door system and kept out of sight when theres no record sitting on its platter.Even without a record, the PP-1s stylus and cartridge are hidden behind a pair of metal doors that open and close. Image: Waiting For IdeasTheres also no speed control dial on the PP-1. Miniots technology can automatically detect if a record needs to be played at 33 or 45 RPM, and constantly recalculates the speed of the motor to ensure optimal playback at all times.Its not only a striking piece of design, its also a high-quality turntable. But if youre a vinyl enthusiast, youll need to remember to place your records upside down on the PP-1 to hear the tracks you want.Looking for a (nearly) complete sound system? The PP-1 can be paired with a matching set of passive speakers, but youll need to bring your own amplifier. Image: Waiting For IdeasPower is supplied by a single 5V USB-C port, and the PP-1 features just a single 3.5-millimeter audio jack for connecting it to either active or passive speakers that require an additional amplifier.If youre looking for a complete sound system, Waiting For Ideas has also created a set of passive 85-decibel 80W speakers matching the dimensions of the PP-1. Theyre now available for preorder for 3,200 (around $3,320) and will take 12 weeks to make. Youll just need to budget for a separate amplifier because the studio unfortunately doesnt make a matching one of those.See More:

The advancement of artificial intelligence has ushered in an era where data volumes and computational requirements are growing at an impressive pace. AI training and inference workloads demand not only significant compute power but also a storage solution that can manage large-scale, concurrent data access. Traditional file systems often fall short when faced with high-throughput data access, which can lead to performance bottlenecks that slow down training cycles and increase latency during inference. In distributed environments, where thousands of compute nodes may need to access data simultaneously, it becomes crucial to have a storage system that offers both low-latency access and reliable scalability. This is especially important for modern AI pipelines that handle vast datasets and real-time data operations.DeepSeek AI has introduced the Fire-Flyer File System (3FS), a distributed file system crafted specifically to meet the demands of AI training and inference workloads. Designed with modern SSDs and RDMA networks in mind, 3FS offers a shared storage layer that is well-suited for the development of distributed applications. The file systems architecture moves away from conventional designs by combining the throughput of thousands of SSDs with the network capacity provided by numerous storage nodes. This disaggregated approach enables applications to access storage without being restricted by traditional data locality considerations, allowing for a more flexible and efficient handling of data.Technical Details and BenefitsAt the heart of 3FS lies a thoughtful integration of several innovative features. One notable aspect is its disaggregated architecture. By uniting the capabilities of thousands of SSDs with the bandwidth of hundreds of storage nodes, 3FS facilitates large-scale data access while bypassing many limitations seen in more traditional, locality-dependent file systems.Another key feature is the use of Chain Replication with Apportioned Queries (CRAQ) to maintain strong consistency across the system. While many distributed file systems rely on eventual consistencywhich can complicate application logicCRAQ ensures that data remains consistent even under high concurrency or in the event of node failures. This design choice simplifies the development process and helps maintain system reliability.In addition, 3FS incorporates stateless metadata services that are supported by a transactional key-value store, such as FoundationDB. By decoupling metadata management from the storage layer, the system not only becomes more scalable but also reduces potential bottlenecks related to metadata operations. This separation of concerns means that as the volume of data grows, the system can manage metadata more efficiently without impacting overall performance.For inference workloads, 3FS offers an innovative caching mechanism known as KVCache. Traditional DRAM-based caching can be both expensive and limited in capacity, but KVCache provides a cost-effective alternative that delivers high throughput and a larger cache capacity. This feature is particularly valuable in AI applications where repeated access to previously computed data, such as key and value vectors in language models, is essential to maintain performance.Performance Benchmarks and InsightsThe performance of 3FS has been assessed through several comprehensive benchmarking tests. In one test conducted on a cluster of 180 nodes, the system achieved a read throughput of approximately 6.6 TiB/s, even while handling background traffic from training operations. This benchmark illustrates the systems capacity to manage large volumes of data in a demanding, real-world environment.Another benchmark focused on sorting performance, using the GraySort test to evaluate how well 3FS handles large-scale data processing. On a cluster of 25 storage nodes and 50 compute nodes, the system sorted 110.5 TiB of data spread over 8,192 partitions in just over 30 minutes, resulting in an average throughput of 3.66 TiB/min. These figures are a strong indicator of 3FSs ability to handle intensive data tasks efficiently.The KVCache feature also demonstrated noteworthy performance improvements. During inference tests, KVCache reached a peak read throughput of 40 GiB/s. This level of performance is significant for AI systems where reducing latency is critical. Additionally, the system managed cache memory dynamically, maintaining robust performance even as it handled the intricacies of garbage collection for cache data.ConclusionDeepSeek AIs introduction of the Fire-Flyer File System (3FS) represents a thoughtful response to the challenges inherent in modern AI workflows. By focusing on scalability, consistency, and efficient data access, 3FS provides a robust platform for both training and inference workloads. Its disaggregated architecture allows for a flexible use of thousands of SSDs and hundreds of storage nodes, while the use of CRAQ ensures that data remains consistently reliablea feature that simplifies system design and improves overall stability.The separation of metadata services from the storage layer, coupled with the innovative KVCache system for inference tasks, positions 3FS as a forward-thinking solution for distributed AI storage challenges. Performance benchmarks further confirm that the system is capable of managing large data volumes with impressive throughput and efficiency. Ultimately, the Fire-Flyer File System is a carefully engineered tool designed to meet the needs of todays data-intensive AI applications, providing a dependable foundation for continued innovation in the field.Check outthe GitHub Repo.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our80k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqWebsite| + postsBioAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences.Asif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Cohere AI Releases Command R7B Arabic: A Compact Open-Weights AI Model Optimized to Deliver State-of-the-Art Arabic Language Capabilities to Enterprises in the MENA RegionAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/DeepSeek AI Releases DualPipe: A Bidirectional Pipeline Parallelism Algorithm for Computation-Communication Overlap in V3/R1 TrainingAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Meta AI Introduces SWE-RL: An AI Approach to Scale Reinforcement Learning based LLM Reasoning for Real-World Software EngineeringAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Allen Institute for AI Released olmOCR: A High-Performance Open Source Toolkit Designed to Convert PDFs and Document Images into Clean and Structured Plain Text Recommended Open-Source AI Platform: IntellAgent is a An Open-Source Multi-Agent Framework to Evaluate Complex Conversational AI System' (Promoted)