Apple Adds Brain-to-Computer Protocol to Its Accessibility Repertoire By John P. Mello Jr. May 14, 2025 5:00 AM PT ADVERTISEMENT Rubrik Foward 2025: The Future of Cyber Resilience is here When an attacker comes for your business, will you be ready? Chart your path to cyber resilience and keep your business running. June 4 | Virtual Event | Register Now Among a raft of upcoming accessibility tools revealed Tuesday, Apple announced a new protocol for brain-to-computer interfaces (BCIs) within its Switch Control feature. The protocol allows iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS devices to support an emerging technology that enables users to control their digital hardware without physical movement. One of the first companies to take advantage of the new protocol will be New York-based Synchron. “This marks a major milestone in accessibility and neurotechnology, where users implanted with Synchron’s BCI can control iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro directly with their thoughts without the need for physical movement or voice commands,” the company said in a statement. It added that Synchron’s BCI system will seamlessly integrate with Apple’s built-in accessibility features, including Switch Control, giving users an intuitive way to use their devices and laying the foundation for a new generation of cognitive input technologies. “This marks a defining moment for human-device interaction,” Synchron CEO and Co-Founder Tom Oxley said in a statement. “BCI is more than an accessibility tool, it’s a next-generation interface layer.” “Apple is helping to pioneer a new interface paradigm, where brain signals are formally recognized alongside touch, voice, and typing,” he continued. “With BCI recognized as a native input for Apple devices, there are new possibilities for people living with paralysis and beyond.” BCI Validation Tetiana Aleksandrova, CEO of Subsense, a biotechnology company in Covina, Calif., specializing in non-surgical bidirectional brain-computer interfaces, maintained Apple’s announcement marks a powerful signal showing the evolution of BCI. “I see it as Apple throwing open the gates — a single-stroke move that invites clinically-validated BCIs like Synchron’s Stentrode to plug straight into a billion-device ecosystem,” she told TechNewsWorld. “For patients, it means ‘mind-to-message’ control without middleware,” she said. “For the BCI industry, it’s a public stamp that neural input is ready for prime time — and yes, that’s a thrilling milestone for all of us building the next generation of non-surgical systems. It’s a shift, moving BCI from a nascent technology to more mainstream applications.” Aleksandrova maintained that BCI fits nicely into Apple’s overall accessibility strategy. “Apple’s playbook is to solve an extreme edge case, polish the UX until it’s invisible, then let the rest of the world adopt it,” she explained. “VoiceOver paved the way for Siri. Switch Control turned into Face Gestures. BCI support is the natural next rung on that ladder. Accessibility isn’t a side quest for Apple — it’s the R and D lab that future-proofs their core UI.” “Apple devices put unlimited information at users’ fingertips,” she added, “but for people with disabilities from TBI or ALS, full access can be out of reach. BCI technology helps bridge that gap, giving them a way to control and interact with their devices using only their brain activity.” Analysts See BCI as Long-Term Technology Apple’s embrace of BCI is significant, but its impact still lies in the future, noted Will Kerwin, technology equity analyst with Morningstar Research Services in Chicago. “While a particularly cool announcement, we think this type of feature is a long way away from full commercialization and not material to investors in Apple at this point,” he told TechNewsWorld. Kerwin pointed out that Synchron’s Stentrode BCI currently only has a sample size of 10 people. “Long-term, yes, this technology could have huge implications for how humans interact with technology, and we see it as an adjacency to AI, where generative AI could help improve the interface and ability for humans to communicate via the implant,” he said. “But again, we see this as an extremely long-term journey in its nascent days.” According to the Wall Street Journal, FDA approval of Synchron’s Stenrode technology is years away. The procedure involves implanting a stent-mounted electrode array into a blood vessel in the brain, so there’s no need for open brain surgery. “Some companies in the BCI space are focused on cortical control of prosthetics, others on cognitive enhancement or memory restoration,” Synchron spokesperson Kimberly Ha told TechNewsWorld. “What sets us apart is our focus on scalability and safety. By implanting via the blood vessels, we avoid open brain surgery, making our approach more feasible for potentially broader medical use.” Solving the BCI Scalability Problem Ha acknowledged that there are significant challenges to the broad adoption of BCI. “Scalability is one of the biggest,” she said. “Historically, many BCI systems have required open brain surgery, which presents serious risks and limits to who can access the technology,” she explained. “It’s simply not scalable for widespread clinical or consumer use.” “Synchron takes a fundamentally different approach,” she continued. “Our Stentrode device is implanted via the blood vessels, similar to a heart stent, avoiding the need to open the skull or directly penetrate brain tissue. This makes the procedure far less invasive, more accessible to patients, and better suited to real-world clinical deployment.” There are also challenges to developing the BCI apps themselves. “The biggest challenge in developing BCI applications is the trade-off between signal quality and accessibility,” Aleksandrova explained. “While a directly implanted BCI offers strong brain signals, surgery is risky. With non-invasive systems, the resolution is poor.” Her company, Subsense, is trying to offer the best of both worlds through the use of nanoparticles, which can provide bidirectional communication by crossing the blood-brain barrier to interact with neurons and transmit signals. Thought-Driven Interfaces for New Use Cases Ha noted that in addition to medical applications, BCI could be used for hands-free device control across all types of digital platforms, neuroadaptive gaming, or immersive XR experiences. “BCI opens doors to applications in mental wellness, communication tools, and cognitive enhancement,” Aleksandrova added. “You’ll fire off texts, browse AR screens, or write code just by thinking,” she said. “You’ll slip seamlessly into a drone or handle a surgical robot as though it were your own hand, and nudge your smart home with a silent impulse that dims the lights when focus peaks.” “Entertainment will read the room inside your head — dialing a game’s difficulty or a film’s plot to match your mood — while always-on neural metrics warn of fatigue, migraines, or anxiety hours before you notice and even surface names or ideas when your memory stalls,” she predicted. “Your unique brainwave ‘fingerprint’ will replace passwords, and researchers are already sketching ways to preserve those patterns so our minds can outlast failing bodies.” “I’m genuinely proud of Synchron and Apple for opening this door,” she said. John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John. Leave a Comment Click here to cancel reply. Please sign in to post or reply to a comment. New users create a free account. More by John P. Mello Jr. view all More in Science

With 700 lumens and HD live view, this product has everything you might be looking for in an outdoor camera at only half its original price. The setup is simple and wire-free. You can install it in minutes and experience up to two years of powerful battery life. Control the brightness of the lights and activate them conveniently from the Blink app. It is built to withstand rain, snow, or extreme temperatures. This reliability means you can depend on the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera to keep your home secure without constant maintenance. Once installed, it is ready to go. It is a proactive security camera, perfectly suitable for someone who doesn’t want to periodically check whether it is working or what it is capturing. The best news? You can get it on Amazon for only $64.99, which is the lowest price it has ever reached. See at Amazon Light Your Way Home As the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera also works with Alexa, it allows you to control the device using just your voice with any compatible device. It enables live-streaming functionalities, easy arming and disarming, activating the lights, setting helpful Alexa Routines, and much more. Experience the enhanced motion detection and all the convenience and added benefits of Blink. The lights are bright enough to light up large surfaces like the immediate backyard area of your house or a back patio. You can control the brightness and activate them conveniently from the Blink app. With enhanced two-way audio and weather resistance added to the list of amazing features, the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera has a resolution of 1080p HD video and sets a new standard in home security. It can save and share your clips and even activate smart notifications to let you know whenever a person is detected with embedded computer vision. It can tell the difference between people, objects, and animals for added peace of mind. You can customize motion detection zones and sensitivity levels to reduce false alarms and ensure you are notified of genuine security concerns. CV is processed securely on your device. With a battery life of up to two years based on default settings, a high-speed internet connection, and a field of view of 143° diagonal, its customers find the security camera easy to install, use, and appreciate the amazing features it offers at such a low price. This deal is a great opportunity to own one of the most advanced and beautifully made cameras available on the market, at a price that is hard to pass up. At just $64.99, this Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera from Amazon is an unbeatable deal. See at Amazon

If the year 2025 has had a message for developing countries, it’s this: “You’re on your own.”Most notably, the Trump administration began with an unprecedented and ongoing assault on foreign aid, including global health programs. But there have been further ill omens. Other rich countries, including the UK and France, followed the US example by cutting their own aid programs as well. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign has hit poor countries that had been achieving export-driven growth, like Bangladesh, especially hard.RelatedThe worst thing Trump has done so farIf there’s a silver lining for the Global South, it’s that being on their own in 2025 means something very different than what it meant in, say, 1990. Countries where poverty was once near-universal, like India or Indonesia, are now considered middle-income. Some populous countries in sub-Saharan Africa, like Kenya or Nigeria, are, if not completely politically stable, now possessed of enough real state capacity to try ambitious projects like universal health coverage.The resources available to these nations are still highly limited by rich-world standards. But they’re still enough to achieve very impressive feats, and I recently heard of an intriguing project that could serve as a perfect test case. If it works, it could show that major international health projects, saving hundreds of thousands of lives, can be funded largely by the countries they’re meant to help, rather than by forces of philanthropy and foreign aid that have suddenly become unreliable.Neonatal sepsis: When babies’ infections go very, very badlyIt’s called NeoTest.The program targets an extremely common and preventable cause of death in young infants: neonatal sepsis. Sepsis is a catch-all term for infections that provoke an overwhelming immune response, damaging internal organs, and in the worst cases, leading to death. Sepsis can in principle be caused by anything — a virus, a fungus, a protozoa — but in practice, most infants who get it get it from a bacterial infection.In one way, that’s good: We have antibiotics! In another way, it’s bad: The risk of antibiotic resistance means you don’t want to overuse them. The challenge, then, is to match antibiotics to the babies who need them the most.The tests we have now for bacterial sepsis in infants are slow and expensive. The main technique is “blood culturing,” which involves taking blood from the patient, putting it in a liquid “culture” that reacts if bacteria are present, and waiting to see the reaction show up. This is expensive and often takes two to three days, potentially delaying life-saving treatment. It also has very high “false negative” rates, with studies showing that a large share of neonatal sepsis cases occur in babies who test negative.This story was first featured in the Future Perfect newsletter.Sign up here to explore the big, complicated problems the world faces and the most efficient ways to solve them. Sent twice a week.So our targeting of antibiotics to babies is currently bad, with the result that hundreds of thousands of babies die every year from sepsis. The estimates we have on the toll of neonatal sepsis aren’t precise, but the best figure I’ve seen, from the World Health Organization (WHO), is a range of 400,000 to 700,000 deaths a year. That’s in the same ballpark as malaria (600 to 700,000 a year) and HIV/AIDS (630,000 deaths in 2023).Other studies go lower (more like 200,000) but, because they exclude infant deaths from pneumonia-caused sepsis, underestimate the number of deaths that could be saved by better targeting antibiotics to babies.The team behind NeoTest — which includes physician and global health research Akhil Bansal, Center for Global Development head Rachel Glennerster, economist and House of Lords member Jim O’Neill, and Nobel-winning economist Michael Kremer — aims to improve that targeting by getting a better test, one that gives results within minutes and is cheap to produce.If you fund it, they will comeThe NeoTest team does not, itself, consist of medical test manufacturers. But in Glennerster and Kremer, it includes two of the inventors of a tool called an “advance market commitment” (AMC).AMCs are a way to communicate to companies that there’s a big market for a product which doesn’t yet exist. The participants, which can include governments or other businesses or philanthropists, commit to buying a set amount of the new product, at a set price, from any manufacturers who meet the deal’s specifications. The hope is that this provides an incentive for manufacturers to develop the product, because they know for a fact there will be demand for it.It’s worked before. The first AMC, for better vaccines against pneumococcal bacteria at a time when that disease was killing as many as 1 million children a year, resulted in three new vaccines being developed, and in the number of vaccine doses growing from just 3 million in 2010 to around 150 million in 2016. By one estimate from Kremer and co-authors, the new vaccines enabled by the AMC saved some 700,000 lives between 2010 and 2020.NeoTest is an attempt to put together funds — about $120 million in total — for an advance market commitment for a better neonatal sepsis test.More famously, Operation Warp Speed, the US effort that got effective vaccines against Covid-19 on the market less than a year after the pandemic began, used a purchasing mechanism that worked quite a bit like an AMC. The government purchased hundreds of millions of doses from vaccine manufacturers months before the vaccines were in fact approved — giving the pharma firms confidence to start producing doses in large numbers, and encouraging them to keep up their R&D work.NeoTest is an attempt to put together funds — about $120 million in total — for an advance market commitment for a better neonatal sepsis test. Test manufacturers who are willing to sell for $8 per test ($5 funded by the AMC, $3 by the government of the country receiving the tests) would be guaranteed at least 24 million subsidized orders. Ideally, the test will settle at around $3 as a final price, with the initial subsidy helping fund initial costs associated with developing the tests and setting up manufacturing.A rapid test is not some outlandish dream. Neonatal sepsis experts have been saying we need better diagnostics for years; there’s a whole Neonatal Sepsis Diagnosis Working Group that puts out papers explaining the problem. The WHO has put together a detailed description of what a useful rapid test for sepsis might look like, including elements like the size of the blood draw required and the ideal wait for results.Rapid, point-of-care tests that can give answers in minutes are common at this point for viruses like Covid and the flu, and already exist for some bacterial infections like syphilis. But in part because neonatal sepsis is so concentrated in poor countries, developing a test for it hasn’t been a priority for profit-driven firms to date. Dangling $120 million in front of them might change that.This is a problem developing countries could solve as a groupOne of the most intriguing aspects of NeoTest to me is that Akhil Bansal, the physician who first devised the idea, is pitching it first to governments of middle- income countries (India, Kenya, South Africa, etc.) that might actually use the test in large numbers.$120 million is a decent sum, but not enormous for a global health project. The pneumococcal AMC, by contrast, was for $1.5 billion. And it’s totally within the budgets of some middle-income countries to contribute a portion of that $120 million, especially when the result is a product that will save the lives of thousands of babies every year in their country.Of course, money is money, and if any foreign aid professionals in upper-income countries or philanthropists reading this piece want to support NeoTest, they should — they’re still actively fundraising and are in need of support. The most important thing is that the problem gets solved.But I found the approach of going first to countries directly benefiting for funding intriguing, and surprisingly heartening at what is otherwise a dark time for global healthFor one thing, it’s remarkable and encouraging that enough middle-income countries have gotten to the point where funding an initiative like this is within their budgets. That wasn’t true 20 years ago.More importantly, though, it serves as a reminder that the work of development will continue with or without Western governments’ support. That support is invaluable, and I hope it returns. But the Global South is resilient, and increasingly shows an ability to solve big problems for itself.A version of this story originally appeared in the Future Perfect newsletter. Sign up here!You’ve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you — join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

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

Table of Contents Table of Contents How to craft a saddle How to trade for a saddle How to find saddles in chests How to get a saddle from fishing How to use a saddle You tamed a horse in Minecraft, but the beast still has a mind of its own -- it absolutely will not follow your lead. You can corral it inside a fence, but trying to ride it isn't working like you hoped. Aside from flying, horses are one of the fastest ways to travel, but to take control of your mount, you need a saddle. Previously, you weren't able to craft a saddle and would have to get one in other ways, including trades at villages, exploration, and fishing. However, after many years, we are finally able to make a saddle for ourselves and we will show you exactly how to do it. Recommended Videos Difficulty Easy Duration 10 minutes Mojang As of May 2025, crafting a saddle in Minecraft is only an option in the snapshot test version of the game. However, it is expected to be included into the full game this summer. Either way, this is how making a saddle will work. Step 1: Collect three leather. Step 2: Collect one iron ingot. Related Step 3: At a crafting table, place the iron ingot in the bottom middle square and the three leather pieces above and beside it as shown in the picture above. Step 4: Take the saddle from the output. Step 5: You can now put your saddle on any compatible animal you wish, but there's also a new feature where you can remove it from a pig without resorting to killing it. If you have some sheers, you can safely remove it from a pig by using them on the pig to collect the saddle and use it on another mount. Mojang While crafting a saddle is still the easiest way to get them, you can still obtain one via trading. Step 1: Find a village and look for the leatherworker. Step 2: You’ll need to level up the villager, however, as it won’t offer a saddle until it reaches Level 3. This is accomplished by trading emeralds, leather, rabbit hide, flint, and whatever else the villager wants. Mojang Step 3: Once you get the leatherworker to Level 5 (Master), your chance of acquiring a saddle jumps up to 50%. Mojang If you don’t want to craft or spend the time to level up a Leatherworker, your next best bet is to head out and find a saddle packed into a chest. Luckily for you, there are plenty of places to look. Unfortunately, you’re not guaranteed a saddle each time you crack open a chest. Below we provide the locations and your chances of finding a saddle in percentages. Abandoned mineshafts (percentage unknown) Desert temples (23.5%) Dungeons (27.9%) End City (13.3%) Jungle temples (12.9%) Nether Fortress (35.3%) Strongholds (2.5%) Mojang This is the least likely method to produce a saddle, with a 0.8% chance. Simply fish like you would for a normal fish and just hope that you end up pulling a saddle out of the water. Mojang You didn’t go through all this trouble just for a conversation piece. Slap that saddle on a horse and giddy-up! Step 1: Make sure you are empty-handed and interact with the horse. Step 2: The horse may or may not try to buck you off. If it does, repeat step 1 until the horse gives up. Step 3: While still sitting on the horse, open your inventory. You should see the horse’s inventory combined with yours. Drag the saddle from your inventory up into the top square with a gray saddle icon. Once it’s applied, the horse icon will change. Now that you have a saddle on the horse, you can steer it wherever you like.

Few decorative pieces possess the power to elevate a yardscape quite like the best outdoor rugs. In fact, more often than not, they tend to effortlessly tie the whole space together by grounding your furniture and lending the area a sense of scale.Outdoor rugs are designed specifically for high-traffic areas like outdoor spaces, mudrooms, and kitchens, so you can expect some serious durability. We’ve selected a list of handwoven, low-maintenance, and design-forward picks for giving your patio, porch, or poolside oasis a facelift. Ahead, discover the best outdoor rugs that will ground your space in style.Our top picks for the best outdoor rugsBest jute rug: The Citizenry Sabina Area Rug, $699 $560Best pattern: Lulu and Georgia Crawford Indoor/Outdoor Rug, $498Best indoor/outdoor rug: Ruggable Outdoor Halo Diamond Rug, $349Best moroccan design: Jonathan Y Textured Weave Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug, $72Best Southwestern design: Article Kristoff Indoor/Outdoor Rug, $349Editor’s Note: For the sake of consistency, we listed the 5x7' or 6x9' prices throughout. If you’re looking for something smaller or larger, though, most of these rugs are available in a variety of sizes and/or shapes.Browse by CategoryThe best outdoor rugs, overallThe Citizenry Sabina Area RugSpecsSizes: 5x8', 6x9', 8x10', 9x12', 10x14'Materials: 75% jute, 25% cottonJute is one of the most budget-friendly natural fibers out there. It also makes a great indoor-outdoor area rug option, since it offers some fun texture inside the house. This handwoven design is stain-, water-, and fade-resistant, plus made from eco-friendly materials like jute and cotton. Looking for a styling recommendation? If you have a multicolor scenario happening—brightly hued chairs or a funky bistro set—use this rug as an anchor of sorts.Lulu and Georgia Crawford Indoor/Outdoor RugSpecsSizes: 3x5', 4x6', 5x8', 6x9', 8x10', 9x12', 10x14'Materials: 75% jute, 25% cottonImitating Mediterranean villa tiles, this piece from Lulu & Georgia makes a charming statement in your outdoor space, but paired with some more minimal outdoor furniture pieces can form a mellow, European-inspired backdrop. Or go full Italian palatial with travertine details, pedestal planters, and a Cupid fountain.Ruggable Outdoor Halo Diamond RugSpecsSizes: 3x5', 4x6', 5x8', 6x9', 8x10', 9x12', 10x14'Materials: Recycled polyesterThis rug is contemporary but still grounding, and it delivers a certain upscale resort look worthy of a well-designed outdoor space. It merges bohemian style with modern design and we especially like that it’s—as Ruggable always is—machine-washable. It’s also made to be extra durable, and it works just as well indoors.Jonathan Y Textured Weave Indoor/Outdoor Area RugSpecsSizes: Refer to chartMaterial: PolypropyleneAmazon has achieved the antique Moroccan rug look for under $130, as well as made it suitable for high-traffic areas and outdoor spaces. The pattern and weave on this piece looks about as authentic as it gets for under $200, and it will look all the more legitimate underneath a few gorgeous pieces of teak furniture. This outdoor rug comes in quite literally every size, so you’re sure to find just the right dimensions, whether you’re looking for an outdoor dining pad or an entryway design lift.Article Kristoff Indoor/Outdoor RugSpecsSizes: 5x8', 8x10'Materials: PolyesterWith a traditional Southwestern design, this rug is flatweave and made from 100% polyester, making it perfect for high-traffic areas. It’s fade-resistant and offers a subtle pattern that would pair well with lots of different decor styles. It also comes in two other colorways, including gray and cream, but this one strikes the perfect balance of light and dark.Joss & Main Sesena Indoor/Outdoor Area RugSpecsSizes: 3'3"x4'11", 4'10"x7'6", 6'6”x9'4", 7'10"x9'10", 1'11"x7'6"Materials: PolypropyleneThis rug is made of synthetic materials and features a super interesting color combination of olive green and black, which makes it the perfect option if you’re looking to add an earthy feel to your porch. At 12-inches in height, the low-pile design won’t get in the way. It’s also completely stain-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about it wearing over time.West Elm Ombre Pop Outdoor RugSpecsSizes: 2.5x7' 2.5x9', 3x5', 5x8', 6x9', 8x10', 9x12', 10x14'Materials: Recycled polyesterSomething about the color combo in this reversible rug reminds us of a beach sunset, and we’re into it. It’s made of recycled polyester and designed to stand up to anything, including spills and heavy foot traffic. Seen here in cobalt, it’s also available in a black, yellow, and terra-cotta combo.Sundays Seawall RugSpecsSizes: 5x8', 8x10', 9x12'Materials: Recycled polyesterSuitable for both indoor and outdoor, this unique rug from Sundays plays with an unexpected color palette—a dusty, pastel teal against jute—and pattern, dueling stripes. This feels Scandinavian and minimalist without leaning so stark—it still maintains a sense of personality and playfulness for making your poolside setup feel more fun than strictly professional.What are outdoor rugs made of?There are some obvious differences between an indoor rug and one used for outdoor living—you won’t see the same type of rug you’d pick for your dining room or living space on your outdoor patio too often. Indoor rugs can be more plush, allowing your feet to sink in a bit. But that’s not always the case—after all, an outdoor rug can easily make the transition indoors (once cleaned, of course; more on that below).Common materials for outdoor rugs include polyester, jute, olefin, nylon, sisal, and polypropylene. All of these are sturdier fibers that are mildew-resistant and can withstand many different climates—wool is beautiful, but it wouldn’t last two minutes in an unexpected rainstorm. Most also have a latex backing or rug pad built into the back to keep things from sliding around.How to care for an outdoor rugIt’s easy to drop a patio rug off in its new home and then completely forget about it. But weather is wild, weather is unpredictable, and direct sunlight can do a number on your new textile. There are ways to ward off mildew and keep your rug soft for bare feet.And no matter where you buy your outdoor rug from, it will come with care instructions. The first and easiest way to lengthen the life and vibrancy of your new rug is to follow those guidelines. Your rug care plan will depend on what it’s made of—sturdier jute rugs will require less spot cleaning. There are designs out there that can be tossed in the washing machine (a great perk!). Anything that even leans toward “plush” will need a more involved cleaning regime. For most designs, plan to shake it out every couple of weeks followed by a good vacuum.

Minutes into my mission, I'm having second thoughts. Gunning down a dozen zombie-like enemies is a lot for a lowly office worker in the Federal Bureau of Control. At first, it's hard to have faith in my gear -- a backpack water jug with a cannon for drenching enemies. But then my fellow FBC squad mate (a secretary or middle manager, I forget which) uses his kit to zap all the soaked foes at once. With our third coworker slamming their wrench into anything that moves, we barely manage to fix up some broken fans before sprinting for the elevator as the doors close on the enemy horde.Welcome to FBC Firebreak. Media got a chance to play the game for a few hours in an online preview ahead of its release on June 17. Six in-game years after the events of Remedy Entertainment's seminal 2019 game Control, the FBC headquarters is still partially occupied by the otherworldly Hiss invaders. But the brave workforce of the FBC has stepped up, and as one of the agency's rangers or secretaries or middle managers, it's up to players to drive them out of the offices. FBC Firebeak is a departure for Remedy as its first game built to be multiplayer rather than its decades of single-player adventures. But the studio's newest title is a smaller-scope "AA" game, unlike the flagship AAA releases like Alan Wake II, Control and its other prior hits. However, Firebreak's $40 price tag (or $50 for the deluxe edition) that matches its more modest scope will be welcome to players reeling from the sticker shock of $80 games coming from Nintendo and Microsoft.In my preview, I could see how Remedy is attempting to blend its signature style of weird, funky gunplay into a multiplayer setting, and mostly succeeds. There's a lot of character to the world it's built, and players will likely enjoy taking on the role of supernatural emergency responders as a change of pace from the gunplay-heavy squad shooters they know. But diehard fans of the studio's storytelling-heavy approach will have to adjust to the new game's fast co-op pace.And they'll have to get used to its difficulty, because FBC Firebreak is hard.I'll give you an example: My two squad mates -- one of whom was CNET video editor Sean Booker --  and I dropped into one of the three missions available to us. We each picked a gun and one of three equipment backpacks, each offering unique tools that work best when combined -- a key way the game encourages teamwork. We set the mission to normal difficulty, and out we went. Remedy EntertainmentThe mission (or "job" in Firebreak talk) we chose was Paper Chase, wherein our squad is tasked with cleaning up a plague of supernatural Post-it notes. Like other areas of FBC headquarters, the offices we explored -- faithfully recreated with '60s shag rugs and retro decor from 2019's Control -- had been warped by the invading Hiss, making things even stranger. That meant we weren't just fighting Hiss-possessed FBC workers clawing and shooting at us -- we also had to gun down humanoid golems made of Post-its.Our third squad mate dropped out due to GPU compatibility issues, so our CNET twosome cleared out gobs of Post-its haunting the office floor, all while getting slammed with unending hordes of enemies. We ran out of bullets pretty quickly. My colleague Booker had a mechanic's kit with a mean wrench he could swing around -- it also let him repair gadgets scattered around the level faster. Meanwhile, my backpack water blaster did little more than stagger enemies, relying on a one-two combo with the shock kit carried by our now-dropped-out squad mate.With my weak melee and frequent deaths, Booker and I barely made it back to the elevator to finish the job. For the rest of our preview, we stuck to the easiest difficulty. The equipment kits, called Crisis Kits, come in three varieties (left to right): Jump Kit with shock area attacks, Fix Kit with a wrench and deployable turret and Splash Kit with a water cannon and healing humidifier. Remedy EntertainmentSquad up or die tryingTechnically, you can drop into a "job" all by your lonesome, but I wouldn't recommend it. They're built to be challenging for three people, and I can attest how it's a difficult enough experience with two, even on an easier setting. Four-person squads just weren't balanced, as Remedy developers previously told me, which made sense as I fought tooth-and-nail through narrow hallways, roomy offices and spacious mines that would've felt crowded with more than two other teammates.There are other tools at your disposal to take into jobs, like grenades, deployable equipment to use with your backpack kit and a rechargeable super ability (which we didn't get far enough along to tinker with) -- all gradually unlocked as you level up. Decked out in more gear, we stood a better chance of withstanding hordes of enemies. When I slammed down a jug filled by my water backpack that sprayed healing in a radius around it, we withstood waves of foes that had previously wiped us out.But we still weren't eager to tip the difficulty back up to normal, and how much players struggle may be a make-or-break point for Firebreak's player experience. It's a balance that could be tweaked in many ways before the game comes out in June, from enemy health and behavior to kit effectiveness and ammo availability. Remedy reinforced that the preview we saw was a work in progress, so I'd expect some tinkering to come, but the game walks a tricky line in encouraging (and borderline requiring) cooperation through its unique mechanics and tasks while allowing player flexibility -- after all, the strangers filling your online co-op squad will come in a variety of skill levels and attitudes.In its current state, getting swamped by wave after wave of Hiss while feeling my kit's inadequacy is a bit worrisome. The game shows promise with its unique setting, gameplay and niche in the multiplayer shooter space -- one that favors weirdness and intriguing mechanics over sweaty gunplay. Remedy EntertainmentCo-op in the Alan Wake universeAs the FBC Firebreak developers explained in our briefing before the preview, the game was designed with three core pillars. The most obvious of those was on display when we booted up the game: there should be as little standing between players booting up the game and getting to the action. No cutscenes, plot diversions or dense dialogue to get in the way of jumping into a job.That leads to the game's second pillar: every player gets the same content -- no progression roadblocks or paid DLC to split up a squad. For the $40 entry fee, players will get whatever the Firebreak developers introduce to the game -- which at the moment are two additional jobs coming sometime after the game's launch. This ties into one of my main annoyances during the preview: progression felt too slow to unlock enough items that made me feel effective in the field. It makes sense if Remedy wants a longer progression runway to keep players coming back -- for new equipment, better weapons and more cosmetics to outfit their Firebreak workers.The last pillar was the one I saw the least of -- mainly because we didn't see much of the game: that FBC Firebreak delivers action and moments found "only in Control." From the preview, this bore out in the reliance on kit equipment over guns -- even without my third squad mate following up with an electricity blast, I discovered my water gun could stagger enemies when charged up, leaving my other squad mate to batter them with his wrench. This mixes in a dose of absurdity with the frenetic terror of Hiss hordes. Remedy EntertainmentIn practice, FBC Firebreak feels like a mixture of Left 4 Dead and Ghostbusters, which is a fun and funky blend that shakes up the tired squad shooter genre. But its focus on quickly moving players in and out of jobs leaves little room for the kind of secret-hunting and lore-digging that defined past Remedy games. To that end, it's tough to imagine whether the studio's diehard fans will embrace Firebreak's loops running the same missions without heavy storytelling, let alone standout moments like Control's Ashtray Maze or Alan Wake II's We Sing musical sequence. Firebreak's developers previously told me they don't believe those memorable moments really fit in a multiplayer game, especially if it means forcing players to relive them repeatedly. They're probably right, but it means the new game will need to rely on emergent moments born from unpredictable, often ridiculous situations -- the kind of had-to-be-there memories that help a game stand out.With no more of FBC director Jesse Faden's story until Control 2, and no required story content in Firebreak, the new game seems poised to truly stand on its own. And without any detail on how Firebreak ties into the greater Remedyverse storyline shared across the studio's games, or how much lore it has tucked away waiting for players to discover, Firebreak will sink or swim based on how fun it is to run around as an office drone saving your workplace with wild gadgets and guns. A lot of that remains to be seen.  Watch this: I Attended the Public Nintendo Switch 2 Experience

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

The Star Wars franchise has always been about rising up against fascism. We’re supposed to root for the Rebel Alliance to destroy the Death Star in A New Hope and for the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. The prequels show us how easily fascism can infiltrate a government and take over from the inside. And now Andor shows us the power of rising up and fighting for freedom on a more grounded level.  Andor isn’t a happy story, nor is there going to be a happy ending for Cassian – his fate has already been written in Rogue One. But without the people in this series willing to fight for a sunrise they’ll never see, the events of A New Hope and the Rebels’ ultimate victory may have never come to pass.  Andor reminds us how powerful we can be when we work together toward a common goal. There’s power in community and fighting for what you believe in. If this show lights a fire within you to make your world a better place, here are some other shows about rebellion and resistance that encourage us to leave this world better than we found it. The Handmaid’s Tale The Handmaid’s Tale may be a fictional dystopia, but as a show that began and is now ending during Trump presidencies, it is also a terrifying look at what can happen if a Christofascist regime is allowed to fully take control of the United States. As bleak as this series can get at times, it’s also about how June (Elisabeth Moss) and other women in this world do what they can to support each other and resist their oppressors. It’s never a good thing to underestimate women, but underestimating an angry woman with nothing left to lose might as well be like digging your own grave. The Owl House The Owl House may technically be considered a children’s show, but I say you’re never too young to learn how to fight for the rights of others. On the surface, The Owl House looks like another fun take on the fantasy genre, with protagonist Luz, a human, finding her way to the mystical Demon Realm full of witches, wizards, monsters, and more. But as the series goes on, Luz discovers that she’s not the only human that’s made their way to this realm. It turns out that The Boiling Isles’ emperor is really a Witch Hunter who came through a portal centuries before. He has been playing the long game, slowly subjugating witches and controlling how they use their magic over time, all as a ploy to eventually gain even more power for himself and wipe out all other uses of magic entirely. The Expanse The Expanse is another grounded look at what a space rebellion can look like, and this one is set a lot closer to home. In this world, humanity has expanded its reach beyond Earth to Mars and the Asteroid Belt, colonizing much of the solar system and taking capitalism into the stars. With this increase in opportunity for enterprise also, of course, comes an increase in opportunity for oppression. Despite the wealth of resources in the Belt, the people who actually live there are among the poorest in the solar system. When a mysterious new substance is discovered, Belters race to be the ones to claim it so that Earth and Mars will finally take them seriously as their own sovereign power, setting off a chain of events that changes humanity forever. Station Eleven Station Eleven may not seem like an obvious choice for this list. It’s not so much a show about rebellion as it is about survival. But there’s still a lot to learn from this beautiful post-apocalyptic drama. In Station Eleven, a deadly virus has wiped out so much of the population that society as we know it has collapsed. And yet, there’s a group of people known as the Traveling Symphony who have taken it upon themselves to keep art and drama alive through their performances of Shakespeare plays. For 20 years they have crafted costumes, composed scores, and poured their hearts and souls into their performances just so they can bring these pieces of the old world back to life for the settlements around Lake Michigan. The Traveling Symphony is proof that art has the power to bring us together, even in the most tragic times. The Symphony’s motto is “survival is insufficient,” meaning that simply surviving in this world isn’t enough, we need the arts and community to truly thrive. The Good Place Throughout its four seasons, The Good Place has shown us how hard it is to be a good person in this world. Our afterlife may or may not have the points-based system depicted in the show, but that doesn’t mean that all of our choices and actions don’t still have unintended consequences. It may feel impossible to truly do good in this world when the odds are stacked against us, but The Good Place also reminds us that small acts of good can go a long way. We may not see any outright rebellions in The Good Place, but what we do see is a group of people fed up with an unfair system doing what they can to change it from the inside. They all learn a lot about each other and the world they live in, and instead of just accepting their fate, they risk their own afterlife to try and make the process fair for everyone. Along the way, they learn that most people, if given the opportunity, will eventually want to help others and do good. Arcane Set in both the opulent city of Piltover and its run-down undercity of Zaun, Arcane shows what happens when both try to grow in power unchecked. Piltover has a long history of subjugating the people of Zaun, forcing them through mandatory checkpoints just to visit the city while at the same time dumping their waste on them and making the community ill. Zaun has tried their best to keep the peace, most resorting to violence only when necessary to survive, but escalating tensions between more radical parties on both sides nearly launches the two cities into war. Arcane is a heartbreaking story about two sisters trying to make the most of the cards they were dealt. They both end up on different sides of this fight, for a time, making it hard to choose which side to root for. Arcane is all about what can happen to people who spend generations oppressed by a wealthier party and the cycle of violence that often ensues. Silo While Silo is inherently much more grounded than Andor, quite literally, they both have a similar retro-futuristic style that makes it easy to get sucked into their worlds. Silo is set on Earth in the future after a cataclysmic event has made the surface uninhabitable and deadly. Humanity has been sent underground, living out generation after generation in a massive silo. However, the silo that we’re first introduced to has essentially outlawed artifacts from the outside world and punishes those who dig too deeply into the silo’s origins. The people of the silo believe that a rebellion from long ago destroyed the majority of the silo’s history up until that point, leaving them to rebuild as a society and forge their own path forward. However, as a conspiracy rooted in the mysterious IT department becomes uncovered, as does information about the silo’s past, more and more people start to wonder how much of their history is a lie meant to keep them complacent. Rebellion starts to brew once again with the silo’s future, and the future of humanity, hanging in the balance. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!