PROS: Very affordable price points Great sound quality Charming, playful design Great battery life CONS: No interactive control dial Microphone picks up surrounding noise RATINGS: AESTHETICSERGONOMICSPERFORMANCESUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITYVALUE FOR MONEYEDITOR'S QUOTE:CMF by Nothing continues to impress with its ability to balance design, performance, and affordability, and the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus are perfect examples of that philosophy in action. CMF, the design-focused sub-brand of Nothing, has proven time and again that great sound and great design can coexist in harmony without breaking the bank. With their playful aesthetics, the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus are CMF’s latest audio offerings that pack a surprising number of features into an impressively affordable price point. The Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus, along with Phone Pro 2, the latest offerings from this innovative brand, showcase just how deeply CMF’s philosophy is embedded into their products. Designer: CMF by Nothing Aesthetics The CMF Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus follow a natural evolution of the design language introduced with the Buds Pro 2 last July. While both models share a nearly identical form, there are subtle differences that set them apart. One prominent feature is the rotating dial on the upper left corner of the charging case, which mirrors the design of the Buds Pro 2. However, unlike the customizable Smart Dial found on the CMF Buds Pro 2, which lets you twist to adjust volume, manage playback, and press for functions like noise cancellation and Voice Assistant, you can do none of these with the dials on the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus. They are intended for lanyard attachment or simply as a satisfying tactile feature for fidgeting, with no interactive controls. The CMF Buds 2 features a transparent rotating dial, providing a contrast against the sandblast-textured case that adds a playful touch. On the other hand, the CMF Buds 2 Plus sports a matte metallic finish on its dial, giving it a more sophisticated and refined look. This contributes to the cohesive, design-driven ethos of CMF by Nothing, which is echoed across products like the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Both models are housed in square-shaped cases with rounded edges, which creates a soft and approachable aesthetic that feels modern and tactile. The CMF Buds 2 Plus have a rubber-coated texture, offering a more premium, grippy feel. On the bottom left of the case, you’ll find the iconic CMF by Nothing branding in its signature Ndot font, giving the design a clean and minimalist finish. Opening the case reveals the earbuds arranged diagonally inside, securely held by magnets, with the Bluetooth pairing button located at the bottom right corner between two buds. The earbuds themselves feature a simple design, with shiny plastic housings and matte stems. A circular mark on the top of the stem indicates the touch-sensitive area, though there are no markings at the bottom of the stem, unlike the Buds Pro 2. The CMF Buds 2 come in Light Green, Black, and Orange, while the CMF Buds 2 Plus are available in Light Grey and Blue. We received the Orange Buds 2 and Blue Buds 2 Plus for review. The Blue variant, which has a deep navy hue with a hint of purple, is particularly striking. However, the Blue Buds 2 Plus do show oil smudges more easily, which is something to keep in mind. Ergonomics The charging case for the CMF Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus is not the smallest, measuring 53.3 x 53.3 x 23 mm, but the textured surface makes it feel pleasant and solid in hand. I found myself often fiddling with the rotating dial. It’s surprisingly enjoyable, even without the clicking tactile you get to enjoy on the Buds 2 Pro, adding a playful element to the experience. Taking the earbuds out of the case and putting them back in is simple and effortless. Weighing in at just 4.5 grams, the earbuds are lightweight and sit comfortably in my ears, with the medium silicone tips that come pre-installed. Of course, fit is different for each individual, and for those who need a different fit, smaller and larger silicone tips are also included in the box for a more customized fit. The fit of the CMF Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus is particularly impressive. I wore the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus continuously for over eight hours, and they remained comfortable the entire time. What’s even more surprising is that I usually struggle with getting other earbuds to stay securely in my left ear, but both pairs of these earbuds sat firmly in place, whether I was running, cycling, or doing light yoga. They felt stable and snug, providing a comfortable fit that didn’t shift or cause any irritation, even during more intense activities. Performance The CMF Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus both deliver impressive sound quality, especially considering their price points. The Buds 2 features an 11 millimeter PMI (Polymethacrylimide) diaphragm driver, while the Buds 2 Plus steps things up with a 12mm LCP driver (Liquid Crystal Polymer). Both support AAC and SBC codecs, while the Buds 2 Plus also includes LDAC support for high-resolution audio. Out of the box, both earbuds lean toward a bass-rich sound signature. The low end is prominent but does not overpower the mids and highs. If you want to enhance the bass even further, you can activate Ultra Bass Technology 2.0 in the Nothing X app. This feature lets you boost the bass on a scale from one to five, depending on your preference. The Buds 2 are tuned to emphasize bass more than the Buds 2 Plus. The CMF Buds 2 produce deep and punchy bass that enhances genres like hip-hop and EDM. On the other hand, the Buds 2 Plus offer a more balanced sound profile, with clearer mids and more detailed highs. Both options, however, are geared toward listeners who enjoy a bass-forward experience. The CMF Buds 2 features Dirac Opteo tuning, which helps improve clarity and spatial sound characteristics by optimizing how audio is delivered to your ears. This feature is not available on the Buds 2 Plus. Instead, the Buds 2 Plus offers Personal Sound powered by Audiodo. This function uses a short hearing test within the Nothing X app, where tones are played across various frequencies for each ear. Based on your responses, the app creates a personalized audio profile that adjusts frequencies you may have difficulty hearing. This results in a more tailored and balanced listening experience. Both models work with the Nothing X app, which gives you access to adjustable EQ settings, ANC modes, and control customization. The EQ interface lets you fine-tune bass, mids, and treble across five intensity levels. Unlike Nothing’s flagship audio products, you do not get access to the advanced EQ with granular tweaking. However, the app does include several preloaded sound presets for quick selection. Touch controls are also customizable through the app. You can assign different commands to double taps, triple taps, tap and hold, and double tap and hold for both left and right earbuds. Changing the function assigned to a single tap is not supported. The touch-sensitive area is located near the top of the earbud stem, which may require some practice to hit accurately. A convenient addition would have been the option to mute the microphone during calls with a tap gesture. Both models feature active noise cancellation. ANC works well and introduces no noticeable white noise or hiss in quiet settings. You also get transparency modes to let in surrounding sound when needed. The Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus are equipped with six HD microphones. Call quality is clear in quiet environments. However, in noisy conditions, background sounds such as wind or nearby conversations are often picked up, which can affect clarity during calls. Dual connectivity is supported by both models, allowing you to stay connected to two devices at the same time. I tested them with two smartphones and also with a phone and a laptop, and switching between devices worked smoothly and without delays.  In-ear detection generally functions reliably, though it can be a little too sensitive at times. I’ve occasionally experienced playback pausing even when the earbuds remain securely in my ears. A small adjustment typically gets the audio going again. That said, this doesn’t appear to be a widespread issue based on user feedback from the Nothing Community, so it may just be an isolated case in my experience. Battery life is another strong point. The Buds 2 offer up to 14 hours of playback with ANC turned off, and up to 61.5 hours including the charging case. The CMF Buds 2 Plus, meanwhile, provide 13.5 hours of playback on a single charge, and up to 55 hours with the case, also with ANC off. With ANC turned on, I consistently got around 8 hours on the Buds 2 and about 8.5 hours on the Buds 2 Plus, primarily listening to streaming music and occasional videos in quiet environments. Battery performance will vary depending on volume and background noise. Fast charging is supported through USB-C. A 10-minute charge provides up to 7.5 hours of playback on the Buds 2 and 8.5 hours on the Buds 2 Plus. While there is no wireless charging support, this is understandable for earbuds in this price range. Sustainability CMF by Nothing has clearly put a lot of thought into making the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus durable enough to last well beyond your typical upgrade cycle. Both models go through extensive durability testing. From a 1-meter drop test, plug and unplug tests for the charging port (tested up to 5,000 cycles), to temperature stability under extreme conditions, ranging from -40°C to 75°C for 96 hours. The earbuds themselves are IP55 rated, so they’re protected against dust and splashes, making them a reliable pick for sweaty workouts or rainy commutes. The charging case, on the other hand, carries a more modest IPX2 rating. That means it can handle the occasional drip, but it’s definitely not made for water exposure. It’s also worth noting that CMF’s packaging is plastic-free, which is a great step in the right direction. Still, we’d love to see them go a bit further, incorporating recycled or biodegradable materials in the earbuds or case would push their sustainability story even further. Durability helps keep these earbuds in use longer, which is a win for the environment. But with just a bit more focus on materials, CMF could take its eco credentials to the next level. Value At $59 and $69, respectively, the CMF Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus deliver exceptional value for money. Both models offer well-tuned audio, thoughtful design, reliable performance, and a feature set that can easily compete with earbuds that cost significantly more. In terms of sound, they stand out in the budget segment with punchy bass and good clarity. The value becomes even more apparent when you consider the feature list. Both models include IP55-rated earbuds for water and dust resistance, a customizable EQ through the Nothing X app, and Ultra Bass Technology 2.0 for those who want to boost low-end performance. The rotating dial on the case, which serves both as a lanyard attachment point and a fun tactile element, adds a bit of personality and playfulness to the design. For those who prefer a more neutral sound signature and are not fans of bass-heavy tuning, the Realme Buds Air 7 are a strong alternative. Priced at around 299 Chinese yuan, which is approximately 41 US dollars, they come in a stylish transparent moss green version. However, the charging case is bulkier, and the earbuds are not officially available in the United States, which might be a drawback for some. Verdict CMF by Nothing continues to impress with its ability to balance design, performance, and affordability, and the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus are perfect examples of that philosophy in action. Both models deliver surprisingly rich audio for their price. Unique design choices like the tactile rotating dial, sturdy build, and IP55 water resistance make these earbuds feel far more premium than their modest price tags suggest. Battery life is excellent, and the Nothing X app adds a lot of flexibility. At these price points, the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus punch well above their weight. In fact, when it comes to affordable true wireless earbuds, these might just be the best in their class. If you want earbuds that look great, sound great, and won’t drain your wallet, these are hard to beat. The post CMF Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus Review: Playful, Talented, and Affordable first appeared on Yanko Design.

Redesigning constantly doesn’t make your product better. It makes it harder to use and easier to forget.In many startups, there’s an unsettling ritual: every month brings a redesign, a new feature set, or a completely reinvented flow. It’s like product teams believe that if nothing changes, nothing is improving.But this constant churn isn’t innovation. More often, it’s anxiety disguised as iteration. And far from making your product better, it may be killing it slowly.Featuritis: the silent disease of modern product designOriginally coined by Alan Cooper, the term describes the compulsive addition of new features under the false belief that more equals better. Teams keep launching, tweaking, and adding. The roadmap turns into a crowded highway of ideas, none of which are allowed to mature.This behavior isn’t new. In HCI, it’s known as Featuritis (or creeping featurism), a pattern that leads to bloated systems disguised as progress.Visual example of a featuritis (source)You’re not building a stronger product. You’re building a bloated one.The result? A busy roadmap, stressed teams, and a product that’s harder to maintain, harder to use, and harder to love.There are some good case studies on how very basic functionality can end up broken because of this..The illusion of progress: why more doesn’t mean betterIn fast-paced environments, doing more feels like winning. Shipping fast becomes a badge of honor. But quantity ≠ impact.Great UX isn’t about how much you add. It’s about how little you need to add to make something useful, delightful, and memorable.When adding more features feels like progress, but leads nowhere.Ask yourself:How many features are used daily by your core users?When was the last time you removed something from your product?Do you measure usage, or just output?Too often, teams celebrate shipping without checking if anything actually lands.The hidden cost of unused functionalityEvery new feature comes with a hidden bill:Design timeDevelopment timeQA testingDocumentationSupport overheadMaintenance debtThese features don’t just consume resources; they also add sunk costs to your product, making it harder to remove them later, even if they fail.Low usage, high cost. A silent product tax.Worse, unused features clutter the interface and compete for the user’s attention. They dilute the core value of the product. They make everything feel heavier.Every unused feature is a lost resource. A tax on clarity. A distraction from what matters.The confused user: from intuitive to overwhelmingWhen your product changes every month, your users have to constantly relearn it. That’s not iteration, it’s erosion.Simplicity is what makes people feel confident. Familiarity builds trust. And trust drives retention.When too many features get in the way.If your product feels different every time they open it, don’t be surprised when they stop opening it altogether.So what should you do instead?Consistency isn’t stagnation. It’s a strategy.Here’s what teams with clarity do:Listen before you build ✅ Not all user requests are worth turning into features.Prioritize with data, not opinions ✅Well-formed decisions bring greater impact and fewer mistakes.Iterate with intent ✅Change with purpose, not pressure.Establish a product vision ✅ Without one, everything feels urgent (and nothing truly is).This is the hierarchy great teams follow:Start with the vision, end with the UI.Products like Linear, Notion, or Figma haven’t won because they change constantly. They’ve won because they improve with surgical precision, guided by purpose.Build less. Mean more.In the race to grow, many teams forget this:You’re not just building features. You’re shaping perception.Every decision you make (what you launch, remove, or keep consistent) shapes how users perceive your product.If you build with intention, they’ll trust it.If you change too often, they’ll leave it.So next time someone says “Let’s redesign this,” pause and ask:Is this better, or just newer?Have you ever felt pressure to change your product constantly just to look like you’re making progress?I’d love to hear how you or your team handle this kind of mindset → 💬Don’t change your app every month was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sponsored  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Last Chance to download Learn Computer Forensics -- 2nd edition (worth $159.99) for free Sponsored · May 14, 2025 11:00 EDT Claim your complimentary eBook worth $159.99 for free today, before the offer ends today, May 14! Computer Forensics, being a broad topic, involves a variety of skills which will involve seizing electronic evidence, acquiring data from electronic evidence, data analysis, and finally developing a forensic report. This book will help you to build up the skills you need to work in a highly technical environment. This book's ideal goal is to get you up and running with forensics tools and techniques to successfully investigate crime and corporate misconduct. You will discover ways to collect personal information about an individual from online sources. You will also learn how criminal investigations are performed online while preserving data such as e-mails, images, and videos that may be important to a case. You will further explore networking and understand Network Topologies, IP Addressing, and Network Devices. Finally, you will how to write a proper forensic report, the most exciting portion of the forensic exam process. By the end of this book, you will have developed a clear understanding of how to acquire, analyze, and present digital evidence, like a proficient computer forensics investigator. Free offer expires today May 14. How to get it Please ensure you read the terms and conditions to claim this offer. Complete and verifiable information is required in order to receive this free offer. If you have previously made use of these free offers, you will not need to re-register. While supplies last! Offered by Packt, view other free resources The below offers are also available for free in exchange for your (work) email: Data Quality: Empowering Businesses with Analytics and AI ($24 Value) FREE - Expires 5/6 AI and Business Rule Engines for Excel Power Users ($159.99 Value) FREE - Expires 5/7 Learn Computer Forensics -- 2nd edition ($159.99 Value) FREE – Expires 5/14 The Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide – Featured Free content Python Notes for Professionals – Featured Free content Learn Linux in 5 Days – Featured Free content Quick Reference Guide for Cybersecurity – Featured Free content We post these because we earn commission on each lead so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. Other ways to support Neowin The above deal not doing it for you, but still want to help? Check out the links below. Check out our partner software in the Neowin Store Buy a T-shirt at Neowin's Threadsquad Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: An account at Neowin Deals is required to participate in any deals powered by our affiliate, StackCommerce. For a full description of StackCommerce's privacy guidelines, go here. Neowin benefits from shared revenue of each sale made through the branded deals site. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

In February, as part of my role as a senior software development consultant for Unity Accelerate Solutions, I led a technical webinar about the Addressables Asset System. During the live session, I demonstrated various profiling tools that you can use to optimize a project’s runtime memory and build size. The webinar ended with a Q&A, and our team received more questions than we had time to answer.The following is an extension of that closing Q&A, so we can answer more of your questions.Q: Is the Addressables system needed for light games – like casual, arcade, or puzzle games – if I don’t have memory issues? A: Maybe not, but it’s good to keep in mind that the Addressables system doesn’t only improve memory performance. Having the ability to choose when you load content can improve loading times. Building content in Addressables enables you to have iterative builds that don’t take as long. For example, if you make a small script change, you may not have to rebuild all of your bundles.Q: Are loaded assets released when the scene switches? A: Potentially. Loaded assets from Addressables that are ready to be released because they have a ref count of zero might be unloaded from memory during a scene transition. When transitioning from scenes non-additively, call Resources.UnloadUnusedAssets(). This is expensive on the CPU, but allows you to partially unload AssetBundles.Q: Do object pooling and Addressables work well together? A: Yes. You can load your object once from Addressables and then instantiate multiple copies of it to create your pool. When you are done with the pool, destroy all the objects and release the AsyncOperationHandle that was used to load the asset.Q: Are groups and bundles loaded into memory all at once? A: Addressables groups are an Editor-only concept. At runtime, you only deal with bundles. Bundles are loaded into memory only when they are needed and only the desired content is loaded.Example: You have one bundle with 10 characters in it. You ask Addressables to load three characters. The bundle’s metadata and the three characters will be loaded.Q: If I want to release an asset, do I need to keep the AsyncOperationHandle or the AssetReference? A: We recommend keeping the handle and using it, since you’re responsible for releasing content when you are done using it.As an example, members of our team will often go the handle route in order to avoid calling Instantiate/Release directly on the AssetReference.Q: What are the disadvantages of many small bundles? A: This documentation lists several disadvantages of too many bundles.Q: When an asset in a bundle is needed, what overhead do the other assets in the same bundle have? If it’s a remote bundle it must be downloaded, but is there really no memory overhead from unused assets in the bundle? A: Correct, a remote bundle will be fully downloaded before you can use it.Unloaded assets in a loaded asset bundle have minimal overhead at runtime. Whenever you load assets from a bundle, you need to load the bundle’s metadata. Part of this metadata includes a table of contents that lists all the assets in the bundle. More assets in a bundle equates to larger metadata.You can view this memory overhead by taking a capture with the Unity Memory Profiler. In the “All Of Memory” tab, there’s a list of all the “SerializedFile” objects in memory, one for each bundle. These objects are your bundles’ metadata.Learn more about this metadata in our documentation.Q: When working in an open-world setting, what bundling strategies can I use to unload individual assets without half unloading a bundle and relying on Resources.UnloadUnusedAssets() to clean it up, without the overhead of having every asset in its own bundle? A: The key thing to remember is that content should be bundled together if you expect to unload it at the same time. If your game world has “static” content, like trees and rocks for a certain biome that will not be moved by the player, that content should be bundled together. Any “dynamic” content, like items the player can pick up, should be bundled separately.This blog post and linked GitHub repo covers splitting bundles for an open-world game. It also features a way to deduplicate bundles to reduce the memory overhead of each bundle. Stages 4 and 5 are particularly relevant to open worlds.Q: When should I leave “AssetBundle CRC” enabled? A: The recommended practice is to have this enabled, excluding cached AssetBundles for Remote groups, and disabled for Local groups. The check is only meant to make sure the data wasn’t corrupted on download. There’s almost no reason to do the check for local AssetBundles.Q: When is it not worth it to use Addressables due to CPU performance concerns when loading and unloading assets? A: The Addressables system has a positive impact on CPU loading performance due to not needing to load all content up front.If you don’t use Addressables when loading a scene, you’d have to load all content and references. If you move the content to Addressables, you can choose when to load which content.For example, say you have an Inventory Manager in a scene that has a reference to 1,000 inventory items. If you don’t use Addressables, you’ll have to load every mesh, texture, audio clip, etc., for all these inventory items. If you wait to load this content, loading the scene will be faster.Q: Do all dependencies of an addressable asset also need to be Addressables, or is that only necessary if they are shared? A: Dependencies do not need to be marked addressable. Dependencies will be pulled into Addressables during the build process if necessary.As an example, if you make a player prefab an addressable, you don’t have to manually mark the player’s mesh, textures, or audio as addressable, too. When the bundle is built, all the dependencies that don’t yet exist in Addressables will be automatically included in the player prefab bundle.Q: If I forgot to release an asset and change scenes, what happens to this asset? A: Changing scenes does not inherently interact poorly with handles. But if you load an asset and forget to release its handle, the asset will persist in memory.Addressables has an internal reference-counting system. Handles are how we interact with this system. Loading an asset increments the reference count, and releasing decrements the reference count.Creators are responsible for keeping this reference count up to date. The asset will be in memory as long as the reference count is greater than one.Q: Related to the webinar example, suppose I’m making an open-world game. The boss is present somewhere in the open world. When the player heads to the boss, how do I use Addressables here? Do I send the command to load the sword async, via a trigger, at a certain distance from the enemy, or something else? A: It can be a fine line to choose when to load and unload content. You want to be sure the boss is ready when the player needs to see it, but might not want to load it too early when the player is still able to turn around and avoid the boss.The good thing is that you can iterate on when to load and unload content – you don’t have to get it perfectly optimized on the first try.To get started, we suggest loading all content for a particular “zone” when the player gets near (e.g., the player approaches a dungeon entrance which causes everything inside the dungeon to load). If this causes unnecessary memory pressure, you can add more fine-grained loading and unloading.If the sword is not loading soon enough, consider moving the loading trigger to start earlier, improving the load time of the sword assets by using Unity Profiler’s CPU module to see what is being loaded, or using Addressables synchronously to ensure the load is finished.This documentation includes more details and a code snippet for synchronous Addressables.Q: If I load an addressable when a scene starts, do I need to have a loading screen for it? A: Loading from Addressables is typically done in an asynchronous way, like with Addressables.LoadAssetAsync().There may be some content you don’t want to load before leaving a loading screen. You can collect these AsyncOperationHandles and wait for the necessary ones to complete before leaving.Q: What is the memory footprint of the addressables metadata at runtime (before loading any of its data)? A: During Addressables initialization, the catalog file is loaded so that Addressables knows how to map labels and addresses to assets on disk or in remote locations. A larger catalog equates to a larger memory overhead at runtime.Catalog size can be reduced by stripping unnecessary data, like not including labels or GUIDs in groups that don’t need them, or by reducing the size of existing data. For example, by setting a group’s Internal Asset Naming Mode to GUID instead of filename or full path (which can be longer). You can view the runtime memory size of the catalog in Unity Memory Profiler.Q: What is the Unity Editor doing in the time it spends building Addressables? A: A build report log is output in the /Library folder. This log shows each step of the build process. To add additional details to the log, follow this path to select “Use Detailed Build Log”: Enabling Edit > Preferences > Scriptable Build Pipeline > Use Detailed Build Log.Check out visuals and documentation on how to view the log.Q: Does Resources.Load() also have a duplication problem? A: Yes. It can be useful to think of Addressables content and Resources content as different “worlds.” If you have a texture in /Resources, one copy of that texture is included in the Resources file. If bundles in Addressables depend on that texture, each bundle includes an implicit copy of it. You end up with multiple copies of the texture on disk and potentially multiple copies in memory.To avoid this duplication, move the texture out of /Resources and add it to an Addressables group.Q: Do you get similar size on disk issues that are resolved by removing duplicate bundles when you don’t use Addressables? A: Yes. In the webinar and slides we show how deduplicating the two water racing scenes significantly reduced build size.Q: How can I prevent shader variant duplicates? A: Shaders can be deduplicated in the same process as any other asset – explicitly declare them in a group.If an asset is explicitly declared in an Addressables group that is going into your build, that asset will not be duplicated across multiple bundles.For shaders specifically, it is common practice for projects to use a “Shared shaders” group to contain shaders that you expect to need in memory for the lifespan of your app, and that are shared across many assets.Q: Do two Unity scenes sharing the same prefab duplicate build size? A: This depends on if the prefab the scenes depend on has been explicitly included in Addressables, and if the scenes are in the same or different bundles.See the visual explanation of how duplication occurs in the webinar slides and in this blog post under Stage 4.The key to remember is that all content going into a bundle needs to be able to access all of its dependencies. If you put a scene into a bundle, all of its dependencies need to either be:Explicitly included somewhere in AddressablesImplicitly included in the same bundleQ: Is it possible to compare duplicates in given groups to prevent having all the game assets packed together into an isolated group? A: Yes. You can run the built-in deduplication rule and then sort the assets in the Addressables Groups window into better groupings.Or, a more scalable approach is to write your own Addressables AnalyzeRules, which will appear in the Analyze window. The built-in rules are delivered as C# in the Addressables package and can serve as a baseline.For example, you may want to find every duplicate across all of your groups that start with “Character-”. Any implicit duplicates can be placed in a “Shared-Character” group.Q: Are you going to cover remote builds and local paths? A: We did not cover remote and local paths, which are called “Addressables Profiles” in the webinar. However, we do describe what Addressables Profiles are and how to use them in this documentation.Q: How does Addressables work with Cloud Content Delivery (CCD)? A: CCD integration is discussed in this documentation.Q: Can you please give pointers on best practices to implement low- and high-resolution Addressables variations? A: You can find an example in the Addressables Sample on GitHub.Q: What if bundle content is encrypted? Does the UnityDataTool also decrypt the content? A: No. The data will need to be decrypted before UnityDataTool can analyze the content.Q: Is it a supported use case to build bundles from one Unity project and load the bundles at runtime from an app built from a different project? A: Yes. This is covered by using multiple catalogs at the same time.Q: Are there drawbacks to using InstantiateAsync, or situations where it is better to use LoadAsync + manual Instantiate? A: It is recommended to use Addressables.LoadAssetAsync() and call Object.Instantiate(). Addressables.InstantiateAsync() has a larger performance cost.Q: I have a lot of ScriptableObjects with at least 1–2 sprites referenced as variables. If I want to change the sprites to Addressables, do I have to change the references to Addressables one by one, or is there any trick to do this? A: An Editor script is probably the way to go to convert these references.You can add the AssetReference fields to your ScriptableObject (and temporarily keep the Sprite fields). Then, you can write an Editor script that iterates through your ScriptableObjects, looks up the Sprite asset in Addressables to find the associated AddressableAssetEntry, and stores the address or creates an AssetReference to be stored on the ScriptableObject.Lastly, you can remove the direct Sprite references and swap any related code to use the AssetReference.Q: Can I use addressables for WebGL games? If yes, are there any specific things to look for? A: Yes, and yes. Two things to note: First, WebGL does not support threading, so don’t use Tasks. Second, caching works differently on WebGL – we’ve seen issues with caching remote AssetBundles before.Q: If I use Shader.Find(“ShaderName”), is this coming from the build or Addressables? A: These are coming from the build of the Unity Player, not Addressables. Shader.Find() does not return results from AssetBundles.Q: How can I organize the Addressables Groups window when I have many similarly-named groups? A: For organizing the Addressables Groups UI, you can enable Group Hierarchy with Dashes. This will group similarly-named groups together. For example, “Character-person” and “Character-person2” will appear in the UI under the “Character” grouping.This does not affect how bundles are created. This is only a UI organizational change.Share your feedback with us in the Addressables forum. Be sure to watch for new technical blogs from other Unity developers as part of the ongoing Tech from the Trenches series.

Author Hello, I am looking for a project to work on, I have been doing C++ for a while and have been making some projects in Unreal engine such as implementing a cops and crooks multiplayer mode into the Matrix tech demo, a multiplayer shooter with destructible environments like the Hard Boiled teahouse scene, I used blueprints a lot but in a new project I have been implementing some features with C++Also have done some Open GL, creating camera, manipulating objects, importing a 3d modelSo if you have a project and would like me to join your team to assisst with implementing features using an engine with C++ send me a message

Still running Windows 10 on your gaming PC? You’re not just behind, you’re soon to be unsupported. Microsoft is officially ending security updates for Windows 10 on Oct. 14, 2025, which means now’s the time to upgrade your operating system. If you’re gaming, working, or doing anything important on that machine, Windows 11 Pro offers the security, performance, and features you actually need in 2025. Right now, you can get a Windows 11 Pro license for just $14.97 through June 1 at 11:59 PM, no subscription required. It’s not just about patching up old software. Windows 11 Pro brings a major performance boost, especially for gamers. With DirectX 12 Ultimate, your graphics hardware gets optimized to load faster and look better. That means more immersive gameplay, whether you’re wandering through Starfield or dodging shots in Warzone. Even outside of gaming, you’re getting a serious internal refresh. Snap layouts, virtual desktops, AI-enhanced voice typing, and smoother multitasking make your whole system feel newer and more intuitive. And with Copilot, the GPT-4 Turbo-powered AI assistant, you’ll get help with writing, coding, summarizing reviews, and more, right from your desktop. Worried about security? You should be. Windows 11 Pro has built-in defenses like TPM 2.0, Smart App Control, and biometric login to help keep your data locked down. Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro now for just $14.97 until June 1 at 11:59 PM. StackSocial prices subject to change. _ Microsoft Windows 11 Pro See Deal

The author wants her son to feel safe with her to always tell her the truth. Courtesy of the author 2025-05-14T13:40:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? As a former teacher, I've been lied to by kids before, but it bothers me so much when my son does it. I rather have him admit he did something wrong than lie to me. I want him to feel safe with me, to tell me the truth. As a teacher, I've heard a lot of lies from my students. I can tell when they are clearly lying, such as telling me they're not listening to music when I can hear the music coming from their headphones. While I really didn't like it when my students put me in that position, it bothers me so much more when my son does it. I want him to feel safe with me and tell me the truth, so this is how I approach him when I catch him doing it. I'd rather my son admit wrongdoing than try to lieI've caught my son taking his football gloves to school when they fall out of his book bag while he's taking something else out. He knows he can't take things to school from home for recess, as this is both a mom rule and a school rule. He had asked me if he could take them, and I had said no. He told me something likely untrue — that the gloves had been in his book bag before he asked me if he could take them to school. Instead of getting upset about him blatantly breaking a rule, it bothered me more that he lied about having broken a rule.Whenever he lies, I tell him I would much rather him own up to whatever he did. That's because dishonesty feels disrespectful. If he had just admitted to me right away that he brought the gloves to school after being told not to, for instance, then I wouldn't have been as upset when I caught him doing so. I try to find the humor in my son's lies as a way to lighten the moodRecently, I chose to read the same book my son was reading for school to discuss it at home. He had told me he was caught up on his reading, so I asked him what happened to the main character's leg. Without missing a beat, he told me that the boy got ringworm. The boy actually got hedgehog quills in his leg, but what shocked me the most about my son's response was how fast he lied.Clearly, he hadn't read the last chapter, and instead of telling me that from the beginning, he fabricated his answer on the spot. I decided to have a laugh with him over it, explaining that the odds of him guessing what happened without actually having read the book were so low. I'm his mother, not a pop quiz, in which it might be better to guess than to leave no response. In finding a way to laugh about his remark together, he could see how silly and unnecessary it was to have lied about reading.I acknowledge when he's being truthfulThe most important part of reprimanding his lying in situations like these is to also thank him down the road for being honest when I know he didn't want to be. I can usually tell when he thinks about telling me the truth or not, whether it's because he pauses before responding or the tone in his voice changes.Besides bothering me, lying can harm his other relationships, such as with his teachers and friends. Since I've experienced having students lie to me, I know exactly how it feels as a teacher and how it affects my attitude toward my students. I'm offended, and it doesn't put me in a very forgiving mood.Besides lying to the adults in his life, I really don't want lying to harm his friendships. I ask him how it feels when he figures out his friends have lied to him or to imagine that. He can't deny that it doesn't feel good when someone lies to him and makes him trust them less overall.I want him to feel safe enough with me to always tell the truthHalf of expecting him to learn to be truthful is to model the same behavior and not lie to him, such as when he asked me whether I was really Santa. I knew it was important for our relationship to tell him the truth.As he gets older, the issues he may choose to lie about will become more serious, and I want to make sure that he feels safe telling me anything. If he meets every broken rule or misstep with anger, he'll never learn how to come clean. I tell him that he's going to make mistakes, and that's normal, but if he can be brave and explain why he did something that he shouldn't have, then I can help him work through it.In order for me to be the person he can run to for advice or just consolation, we each have to always be honest with each other, even when it might not be easy to tell the truth. Recommended video

John Edwards, Technology Journalist & AuthorMay 14, 20255 Min ReadNicoElNino via Alamy Stock PhotoWhen it comes to AI, yesterday's comprehensive skillset may already be obsolete. Considering AI's ultra-rapid evolution, it's now important to help team members understand and utilize the latest skills without disrupting their already heavy workloads. A mix of hands-on experience and guided learning is the best way to build AI skills, advises Justice Erolin, CTO at software outsourcing company BairesDev. "Traditional education isn't keeping up with the rapid evolution of AI, so microlearning and peer learning programs can be more effective than a university course on AI," he says in an email interview. You no longer need AI experts; you need people who know their way around AI, says Mike Loukides, a vice president at technology and business training firm O'Reilly Media. "With appropriate training, the types of people you need can be developed from the staff you already have," he explains in an online interview. "Look for data engineers -- people who know how to build data pipelines, who know how to analyze data." Keeping Pace The AI landscape changes monthly, observes David Brauchler, technical director and head of AI and ML at cybersecurity consultancy NCC Group. To stay up to date on the latest advances, engineering teams should establish a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration, he advises in an email interview. "AI improvement is a continual process, not one that occurs piecewise." Related:It's a continual process, Loukides says. "Even if you manage to hire the perfect team of outsiders, their skills will start to go out of date immediately," he observes. "Continuous learning was never more important than it is now." Dive into hands-on projects using pre-built examples with data and evaluation techniques that are readily accessible, recommends Vamsi Duvvuri, technology, media, and telecommunications leader at business advisory firm at EY Americas. "Collaborating with diverse teams across the organization during this stage is critical, especially folks from teams that typically do not work with each other," he explains in an online discussion. A mix of perspectives can reveal blind spots and spark ideas. Consider bringing in challenger hires or even exploring acquihires, Duvvuri suggests. "Bringing in new talent who aren’t entrenched in the status quo can disrupt traditional thinking and introduce fresh, unexpected approaches." Essential Skills New team members often challenge existing processes and help spark innovation, Duvvuri says. "In some cases, if you spot an innovative startup or a talented team, acquiring them -- or even doing an acquihire -- can rapidly inject cutting-edge expertise into your organization," he notes. "This isn't just about filling a gap, it's about shaking up the norm and accelerating learning." Related:Learning how to collaborate with AI is becoming a skill in itself, Erolin observes. "Beyond technical expertise, soft-skill development will help hone the ability to collaborate with AI." Critical thinking, problem-solving, and business knowledge are key to understanding when it makes sense to use AI. A handful of universal skills stand out, Erolin says. These include: Prompt engineering for working with generative AI models. AI model evaluation and fine-tuning to ensure that models align with business goals. AI governance and ethics, especially around bias, privacy, and explainability. MLOps skills to integrate AI into production reliably and at scale. Frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or LangChain. Avoiding Mistakes A trap many IT leaders fall into is treating AI training as a one-off event, such as holding a single course or workshop. "If you skip the continuous cycle of learning, reflection, and even disruptive talent acquisition, you risk becoming stagnant and falling behind," Duvvuri warns. "In contrast, a culture that embraces ongoing education, diverse team dynamics, and bold moves, like challenger hires, fosters innovation and resilience." Related:Application architects and developers should consider the intricacies AI introduces to application threat models and skill-up in low-sensitivity environments, Brauchler suggests. "For example, AI presents new concerns related to data risk, including its inability to reliably distinguish between trusted and untrusted content," he says. "Consequently, application designers need to consider new risks that they might not be used to addressing in traditional software stacks." A Final Thought The companies that thrive in the AI era won't be the ones with the fanciest models, but the ones with the most adaptable teams, Erolin says. "The real differentiator is your people's ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn fast." At BairesDev, we've built our success around that belief, Erolin states. "We scale AI talent globally, but we also help our partners build internal cultures that keep pace with innovation. In this space, the only real risk is standing still."About the AuthorJohn EdwardsTechnology Journalist & AuthorJohn Edwards is a veteran business technology journalist. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and numerous business and technology publications, including Computerworld, CFO Magazine, IBM Data Management Magazine, RFID Journal, and Electronic Design. He has also written columns for The Economist's Business Intelligence Unit and PricewaterhouseCoopers' Communications Direct. John has authored several books on business technology topics. His work began appearing online as early as 1983. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, he wrote daily news and feature articles for both the CompuServe and Prodigy online services. His "Behind the Screens" commentaries made him the world's first known professional blogger.See more from John EdwardsWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Remedy hopes FBC: Firebreak can defeat the "predatory" live-service trap - with help from small budgets, Game Pass, and PS Plus "It's very much about spreading the risk." Image credit: Remedy News by Chris Tapsell Deputy Editor Published on May 14, 2025 I am quietly optimistic about FBC: Firebreak, Remedy's upcoming co-op, PvE Control spin-off. Having played a couple of hours of it, particularly towards the end of my time, as the systemic complexity began to compound, its coming together at the last minute almost feels like a strength, as I wrote in our big FBC: Firebreak preview. But naturally at a time when live-service, multiplayer-only games - particularly ones from studios known for the purely single-player output - are hardly the most popular pitches in the world, there is plenty of scepticism out there. Speaking to game director Mike Kayatta, lead designer Anssi Hyytiäinen, and PR director Thomas Puha, however, the sense was - maybe predictably - that the studio remained bullish. They gave a few reasons. "For me, at least one element there in that conversation is always the predatory practices in player retention," Hyytiäinen explains. Instead of battle passes, daily objectives and the like, for instance, Firebreak has a somewhat old-school approach of a set of upgrades to your weapons and kits, and a set of unlockable perks, both earned through the main loop of playing rounds of the game, collecting resources and spending them on said unlocks. FBC: Firebreak gameplay trailer.Watch on YouTube As Hyytiäinen puts it, Remedy has intentionally aimed to make it something you can dip in and out of, "the session lengths are short - we're almost thinking: we don't have time to play games ourselves, what kind of game would we like to play that doesn't need to be sucking us in? You know when you lock in, you have 12 phases of stuff that has happened, that just reading through that is already your time gone for the night?" Kayatta makes similar noises, describing the studio's inspiration in Left 4 Dead (along with many others), as a case of looking back and saying, "Wow, wasn't that game great - but also from the perspective of nostalgia, like: wasn't it great when you could kind of buy a game, and it might be supported over time, but ultimately, I can pick it up and put it down? And I can enjoy that game on my own terms, and not on the game's terms. Because it feels like so many things that tried to come for Left 4 Dead went in the opposite direction, where they're like, "Oh here's the fun gameplay - oh yeah but: battle passes and seasons!"" "I'm not saying all those things are always evil..." "I'm not saying all those things are always evil," he adds, "it's not true. But ultimately, it is something that starts to try to tell you how to engage, and not just like, when you're in the game, but actually when you're out of the game, when do you come back to the game? How often do you need to play the game? Check in, do this, do that." The inspiration instead, he says, "is more of a meta inspiration to say: what if we came back and we said, let's just focus on making a game that people like, and if they only play it for an hour a week and then they need to step away for six months, what if that was okay? What if it's okay that they go play other stuff? What if we built a game and a mandate - and a product, even, on the business level - around this idea that that's actually okay for a multiplayer game, and just get it in people's hands?" The natural follow-on there is Remedy's decision to put Firebreak immediately onto Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. I asked Kayatta whether that helped take the pressure off a little, amongst the wider, tougher context of similar multiplayer games - most notably the high-profile failure and ultimately pulling from sale of Sony's Concord - having some difficult launches. "From a wider industry perspective, obviously, there's always the question of: is it cannibalising sales? But of course, it's not like people put things on Game Pass for free either," Kayatta says. "I wouldn't call it a safety net for us," he adds, in that "games can't just survive exclusively by trying to be available in one service or another service." Still, he notes that Game Pass and PS Plus were both "a very welcome partnership". "We never used 'games-as-a-service', 'live-service' with this game, very consciously," adds PR director Thomas Puha, during a separate conversation. "The connotation of those games is, you know, it's gonna be 'battle pass' this, Call of Duty, Destiny, all these things that were so far from that." "[It's] a very contested market - but then everything is contested..." Puha adds, too, that the studio is aware it's "a very contested market - but then everything is contested. There's tons of games. It's not like there isn't a contest with single-player games, I mean we're up against, you know, Sony heavy-hitters... there's no point in trying to build something where you've got to be playing every day, because then the machinery we've got to build here is not something we could even afford - so what's the point?" According to Puha, the studio's other backstop here, meanwhile, is its shift in approach towards making multiple games at once, which Remedy's been doing since 2016. "It's very much about spreading the risk," he says, "you can see it's near impossible to survive with making a single game and then hoping that it, against all odds, does phenomenally well, and you get some money out of it. Part of our business model is that we work on multiple things, and we've said we try to ship something every year." The last point the team is keen to make is that FBC: Firebreak has been made with a significantly tighter budget than what you might consider some of its multiplayer competitors. "Of course, not just taking crazy risks by doing massive budgets and so on" is also a factor, as Puha puts it. "Of course we need this game to do well, but then we have realistic expectations." The team is still only around 50 developers strong, for instance - Control's team, by comparison, was in the low hundreds. "It's not like a 200-person, five-year dev cycle." To Kayatta, FBC: Firebreak's director, it also just comes back to the reasons why it exists in the first place. "I think there's a lot of cynicism around multiplayer games," he says. "And I think there's double cynicism about multiplayer games that come from, traditionally, single-player studios. And obviously I feel that - I mean I'm also a gamer. "But at the end of the day, one thing that is quite nice about working on this project here is that I know - because I live it every day - that this did not come from any amount of cynicism. It has just come from passion and creative people have been given a license to say, you know, what is fun? What do we just want to do? What's interesting?" This article is based on a press event at Remedy's headquarters, for which it assisted with travel and accommodation.

Five-tower Goods Station scheme signed off after developer Vita Group changes one tower to private sale Simpson Haugh will be required to stay on the project as a ‘guardian of quality’ following changes to the scheme’s section 106 agreement Birmingham council has approved Simpson Haugh’s plans for 1,200-home Goods Station scheme a month after councillors deferred a decision over fears about an excess of tall buildings in the city. A recommendation to approve Vita Group’s five-tower redevelopment of a former office building occupied by Atkins was carried with seven votes in favour and one abstention. The scheme, located next to the Mailbox, will consist of three blocks of 49, 39 and 10 storeys containing a combined 868 homes, a 29-storey student accommodation tower containing 720 bedpsaces and a 19-storey hotel building containing 229 serviced apartments. The height, scale and housing mix of the scheme had come under attack in the council’s last planning committee in April, with one councillor warning approval would represent “another incremental twist towards a city of tall towers”. Councillors also criticised the design of the proposals, which councillor Gareth Moore described as “just a collection of boxes”.  However, concerns over the scheme’s housing mix, which had consisted entirely of build-to-rent, were alleviated by Vita’s decision to change one of the residential towers to private sale following the vote for deferral in last month’s committee meeting. Councillors had criticised the build-to-rent plans for contributing to an oversupply of housing targeted at single professionals rather than families.  A clause has also been added to the scheme’s section 106 requiring Simpson Haugh to be retained throughout the delivery of the scheme to act as a “guardian of quality”. Councillor David Barker said: “I believe we have a much better scheme now than the one previously there… I do think this is probably a lesson and a reason to defer more things when we are unhappy with it, to actually be a bit braver in the committee in saying we are able to determine what is good enough for the city and clearly we’ve had success by doing it. Planning committee chair Lee Marsham added: “I think it’s great to see a brownfield site brought into use. I think it’s good that they listened to our previous committee’s comments. I think as a committee we have to be mindful when we do show a bit of rigour and be careful when we do and this is an example where clearly that has made a difference.”  Commenting on the requirement for Simpson Haugh to stay on the project as delivery architect, he said: “Having that reassurance and that oversight is to be welcomed and i think we should be pushing for more of that, particularly on large schemes that have a huge impact on our city.” The project team for the Goods Station scheme includes landscape architect LDA Design, planning consultant Turley, structural and civil engineer Ramboll, cost consultant Arcadis, commercial agent CBRE and daylight consultant GIA.