Take the Speakers, Headphones, and Earphones SurveyTake other PCMag surveys. Each completed survey is a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card. OFFICIAL SWEEPSTAKES RULESNO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Readers' Choice Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes") is governed by these official rules (the "Sweepstakes Rules"). The Sweepstakes begins on May 9, 2025, at 12:00 AM ET and ends on July 27, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET (the "Sweepstakes Period").SPONSOR: Ziff Davis, LLC, with an address of 360 Park Ave South, Floor 17, New York, NY 10010 (the "Sponsor").ELIGIBILITY: This Sweepstakes is open to individuals who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States of America or the District of Columbia. 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html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" 19 shortlisted projects for the 2025 Award cycle were revealed by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA). A portion of the $1 million prize, one of the biggest in architecture, will be awarded to the winning proposals. Out of the 369 projects nominated for the 16th Award Cycle (2023-2025), an independent Master Jury chose the 19 shortlisted projects from 15 countries.The nine members of the Master Jury for the 16th Award cycle include Azra Akšamija, Noura Al-Sayeh Holtrop, Lucia Allais, David Basulto, Yvonne Farrell, Kabage Karanja, Yacouba Konaté, Hassan Radoine, and Mun Summ Wong.His Late Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV created the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1977 to recognize and promote architectural ideas that effectively meet the needs and goals of communities where Muslims are a major population. Nearly 10,000 construction projects have been documented since the award's inception 48 years ago, and 128 projects have been granted it. The AKAA's selection method places a strong emphasis on architecture that stimulates and responds to people's cultural ambitions in addition to meeting their physical, social, and economic demands.The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. The other members of the Steering Committee are Meisa Batayneh, Principal Architect, Founder, maisam architects and engineers, Amman, Jordan; Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor of Philosophy and Francophone Studies, Columbia University, New York, United States of America; Lesley Lokko, Founder & Director, African Futures Institute, Accra, Ghana; Gülru Necipoğlu, Director and Professor, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States of America; Hashim Sarkis, Founder & Principal, Hashim Sarkis Studios (HSS); Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States of America; and Sarah M. Whiting, Partner, WW Architecture; Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States of America. Farrokh Derakhshani is the Director of the Award.Examples of outstanding architecture in the areas of modern design, social housing, community development and enhancement, historic preservation, reuse and area conservation, landscape design, and environmental enhancement are recognized by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.Building plans that creatively utilize local resources and relevant technologies, as well as initiatives that could spur such initiatives abroad, are given special consideration. It should be mentioned that in addition to honoring architects, the Award also recognizes towns, builders, clients, master craftspeople, and engineers who have contributed significantly to the project.Projects had to be completed between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023, and they had to have been operational for a minimum of one year in order to be eligible for consideration in the 2025 Award cycle. The Award is not available for projects that His Highness the Aga Khan or any of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) institutions have commissioned.See the 19 shortlisted projects with their short project descriptions competing for the 2025 Award Cycle:Khudi Bari. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / City Syntax (F. M. Faruque Abdullah Shawon, H. M. Fozla Rabby Apurbo)BangladeshKhudi Bari, in various locations, by Marina Tabassum ArchitectsMarina Tabassum Architects' Khudi Bari, which can be readily disassembled and reassembled to suit the needs of the users, is a replicable solution for displaced communities impacted by geographic and climatic changes.West Wusutu Village Community Centre. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Dou Yujun (photographer)ChinaWest Wusutu Village Community Centre, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, by Zhang PengjuIn addition to meeting the religious demands of the local Hui Muslims, Zhang Pengju's West Wusutu Village Community Centre in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, offers social and cultural spaces for locals and artists. Constructed from recycled bricks, it features multipurpose indoor and outdoor areas that promote communal harmony.Revitalisation of Historic Esna. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Ahmed Salem (photographer)EgyptRevitalisation of Historic Esna, by Takween Integrated Community DevelopmentBy using physical interventions, socioeconomic projects, and creative urban planning techniques, Takween Integrated Community Development's Revitalization of Historic Esna tackles the issues of cultural tourism in Upper Egypt and turns the once-forgotten area around the Temple of Khnum into a thriving historic city.The Arc at Green School. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Andreas Perbowo Widityawan (photographer)IndonesiaThe Arc at Green School, in Bali, by IBUKU / Elora HardyAfter 15 years of bamboo experimenting at the Green School Bali, IBUKU/Elora Hardy created The Arc at Green School. The Arc is a brand-new community wellness facility built on the foundations of a temporary gym. High-precision engineering and regional handicraft are combined in this construction.Islamic Centre Nurul Yaqin Mosque. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Andreas Perbowo Widityawan (photographer)IndonesiaIslamic Centre Nurul Yaqin Mosque, in Palu, Central Sulawesi, by Dave Orlando and Fandy GunawanDave Orlando and Fandy Gunawan built the Islamic Center Nurul Yaqin Mosque in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on the location of a previous mosque that was damaged by a 2018 tsunami. There is a place for worship and assembly at the new Islamic Center. Surrounded by a shallow reflecting pool that may be drained to make room for more guests, it is open to the countryside.Microlibrary Warak Kayu. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Andreas Perbowo Widityawan (photographer)IndonesiaMicrolibraries in various cities, by SHAU / Daliana Suryawinata, Florian HeinzelmannFlorian Heinzelmann, the project's initiator, works with stakeholders at all levels to provide high-quality public spaces in a number of Indonesian parks and kampungs through microlibraries in different towns run by SHAU/Daliana Suryawinata. So far, six have been constructed, and by 2045, 100 are planned.Majara Residence. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Deed Studio (photographer)IranMajara Complex and Community Redevelopment, in Hormuz Island by ZAV Architects / Mohamadreza GhodousiThe Majara Complex and Community Redevelopment on Hormuz Island, designed by ZAV Architects and Mohamadreza Ghodousi, is well-known for its vibrant domes that offer eco-friendly lodging for visitors visiting Hormuz's distinctive scenery. In addition to providing new amenities for the islanders who visit to socialize, pray, or utilize the library, it was constructed by highly trained local laborers.Jahad Metro Plaza. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Deed Studio (photographer)IranJahad Metro Plaza in Tehran, by KA Architecture StudioKA Architecture Studio's Jahad Metro Plaza in Tehran was constructed to replace the dilapidated old buildings. It turned the location into a beloved pedestrian-friendly landmark. The arched vaults, which are covered in locally manufactured brick, vary in height to let air and light into the area they are protecting.Khan Jaljulia Restoration. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mikaela Burstow (photographer)IsraelKhan Jaljulia Restoration in Jaljulia by Elias KhuriElias Khuri's Khan Jaljulia Restoration is a cost-effective intervention set amidst the remnants of a 14th-century Khan in Jaljulia. By converting the abandoned historical location into a bustling public area for social gatherings, it helps the locals rediscover their cultural history.Campus Startup Lions. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Christopher Wilton-Steer (photographer)KenyaCampus Startup Lions, in Turkana by Kéré ArchitectsKéré Architecture's Campus Startup Lions in Turkana is an educational and entrepreneurial center that offers a venue for community involvement, business incubation, and technology-driven education. The design incorporates solar energy, rainwater harvesting, and tall ventilation towers that resemble the nearby termite mounds, and it was constructed using local volcanic stone.Lalla Yeddouna Square. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Amine Houari (photographer)MoroccoRevitalisation of Lalla Yeddouna Square in the medina of Fez, by Mossessian Architecture and Yassir Khalil StudioMossessian Architecture and Yassir Khalil Studio's revitalization of Lalla Yeddouna Square in the Fez medina aims to improve pedestrian circulation and reestablish a connection to the waterfront. For the benefit of locals, craftspeople, and tourists from around the globe, existing buildings were maintained and new areas created.Vision Pakistan. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Usman Saqib Zuberi (photographer)PakistanVision Pakistan, in Islamabad by DB Studios / Mohammad Saifullah SiddiquiA tailoring training center run by Vision Pakistan, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering underprivileged adolescents, is located in Islamabad by DB Studios/Mohammad Saifullah Siddiqui. Situated in a crowded neighborhood, this multi-story building features flashy jaalis influenced by Arab and Pakistani crafts, echoing the city's 1960s design.Denso Hall Rahguzar Project. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Usman Saqib Zuberi (photographer)PakistanDenso Hall Rahguzar Project, in Karachi by Heritage Foundation Pakistan / Yasmeen LariThe Heritage Foundation of Pakistan/Yasmeen Lari's Denso Hall Rahguzar Project in Karachi is a heritage-led eco-urban enclave that was built with low-carbon materials in response to the city's severe climate, which is prone to heat waves and floods. The freshly planted "forests" are irrigated by the handcrafted terracotta cobbles, which absorb rainfall and cool and purify the air.Wonder Cabinet. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mikaela Burstow (photographer)PalestineWonder Cabinet, in Bethlehem by AAU AnastasThe architects at AAU Anastas established Wonder Cabinet, a multifunctional, nonprofit exhibition and production venue in Bethlehem. The three-story concrete building was constructed with the help of regional contractors and artisans, and it is quickly emerging as a major center for learning, design, craft, and innovation.The Ned. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)QatarThe Ned Hotel, in Doha by David Chipperfield ArchitectsThe Ministry of Interior was housed in the Ned Hotel in Doha, which was designed by David Chipperfield Architects. Its Middle Eastern brutalist building was meticulously transformed into a 90-room boutique hotel, thereby promoting architectural revitalization in the region.Shamalat Cultural Centre. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Hassan Al Shatti (photographer)Saudi ArabiaShamalat Cultural Centre, in Riyadh, by Syn Architects / Sara Alissa, Nojoud AlsudairiOn the outskirts of Diriyah, the Shamalat Cultural Centre in Riyadh was created by Syn Architects/Sara Alissa, Nojoud Alsudairi. It was created from an old mud home that artist Maha Malluh had renovated. The center, which aims to incorporate historic places into daily life, provides a sensitive viewpoint on heritage conservation in the area by contrasting the old and the contemporary.Rehabilitation and Extension of Dakar Railway Station. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Sylvain Cherkaoui (photographer)SenegalRehabilitation and Extension of Dakar Railway Station, in Dakar by Ga2DIn order to accommodate the passengers of a new express train line, Ga2D extended and renovated Dakar train Station, which purposefully contrasts the old and modern buildings. The forecourt was once again open to pedestrian traffic after vehicular traffic was limited to the rear of the property.Rami Library. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)TürkiyeRami Library, by Han Tümertekin Design & ConsultancyThe largest library in Istanbul is the Rami Library, designed by Han Tümertekin Design & Consultancy. It occupied the former Rami Barracks, a sizable, single-story building with enormous volumes that was constructed in the eighteenth century. In order to accommodate new library operations while maintaining the structure's original spatial features, a minimal intervention method was used.Morocco Pavilion Expo Dubai 2020. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Deed Studio (photographer)United Arab EmiratesMorocco Pavilion Expo Dubai 2020, by Oualalou + ChoiOualalou + Choi's Morocco Pavilion Expo Dubai 2020 is intended to last beyond Expo 2020 and be transformed into a cultural center. The pavilion is a trailblazer in the development of large-scale rammed earth building techniques. Its use of passive cooling techniques, which minimize the need for mechanical air conditioning, earned it the gold LEED accreditation.At each project location, independent professionals such as architects, conservation specialists, planners, and structural engineers have conducted thorough evaluations of the nominated projects. This summer, the Master Jury convenes once more to analyze the on-site evaluations and choose the ultimate Award winners.The top image in the article: The Arc at Green School. Image © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Andreas Perbowo Widityawan (photographer).> via Aga Khan Award for Architecture

We did it gang. We completed another week in the impossible survival sim that is real life. Give yourself a appreciative pat on the back and gaze wistfully towards whatever adventures or blissful respite the weekend might bring.This week I've mostly been recovering from my birthday celebrations, which entailed a bountiful Korean Barbecue that left me with a rampant case of the meat sweats and a pub crawl around one of Manchester's finest suburbs. There was no time for video games, but that's not always a bad thing. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all.I was welcomed back to the imaginary office with a news bludgeon to the face. The headlines this week have come thick and fast, bringing hardware announcements, more layoffs, and some notable sales milestones. As always, there's a lot to digest, so let's venture once more into the fray. The first Xbox handhelds have finally arrivedvia Game Developer // Microsoft finally stopped flirting with the idea of launching a handheld this week and unveiled not one, but two devices called the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. The former is pitched towards casual players, while the latter aims to entice hardcore video game aficionados. Both devices were designed in collaboration with Asus and will presumably retail at price points that reflect their respective innards. We don't actually know yet, mind, because Microsoft didn't actually state how much they'll cost. You have the feel that's where the company really needs to stick the landing here.Related:Switch 2 tops 3.5 million sales to deliver Nintendo's biggest console launchvia Game Developer // Four days. That's all it took for the Switch 2 to shift over 3.5 million units worldwide to deliver Nintendo's biggest console launch ever. The original Switch needed a month to reach 2.74 million sales by contrast, while the PS5 needed two months to sell 4.5 million units worldwide. Xbox sales remain a mystery because Microsoft just doesn't talk about that sort of thing anymore, which is decidedly frustrating for those oddballs (read: this writer) who actually enjoy sifting through financial documents in search of those juicy juicy numbers.Inside the ‘Dragon Age’ Debacle That Gutted EA’s BioWare Studiovia Bloomberg (paywalled) // How do you kill a franchise like Dragon Age and leave a studio with the pedigree of BioWare in turmoil? According to a new report from Bloomberg, the answer will likely resonate with developers across the industry: corporate meddling. Sources speaking to the publication explained how Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which failed to meet the expectations of parent company EA, was in constant disarray because the American publisher couldn't decide whether it should be a live-service or single player title. Indecision from leadership within EA and an eventual pivot away from the live-service model only caused more confusion, with BioWare being told to implement foundational changes within impossible timelines. It's a story that's all the more alarming because of how familiar it feels.Related:Sony is making layoffs at Days Gone developer Bend Studiovia Game Developer // Sony has continued its Tony Award-winning tun as the Grim Reaper by cutting even more jobs within PlayStation Studios. Days Gone developer Bend Studio was the latest casualty, with the first-party developer confirming a number of employees were laid off just months after the cancellation of a live-service project. Sony didn't confirm how many people lost their jobs, but Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier heard that around 40 people (roughly 30 percent of the studio's headcount) were let go. Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors to become executive chair and focus on M&Avia Game Developer // Somewhere, in a deep dark corner of the world, the monkey's paw has curled. Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors, who demonstrated his leadership nous by spending years embarking on a colossal merger and acquisition spree only to immediately start downsizing, has announced he'll be stepping down as CEO. The catch? Wingefors is currently proposed to be appointed executive chair of the board of Embracer. In his new role, he'll apparently focus on strategic initiatives, capital allocation, and mergers and acquisitions. And people wonder why satire is dead. Related:Hong Kong Outlaws a Video Game, Saying It Promotes 'Armed Revolution'via The New York Times (paywalled) // National security police in Hong Kong have banned a Taiwanese video game called Reversed Front: Bonfire for supposedly "advocating armed revolution." Authorities in the region warned that anybody who downloads or recommends the online strategy title will face serious legal charges. The game has been pulled from Apple's marketplace in Hong Kong but is still available for download elsewhere. It was never available in mainland China. Developer ESC Taiwan, part of an group of volunteers who are vocal detractors of China's Communist Party, thanked Hong Kong authorities for the free publicity in a social media post and said the ban shows how political censorship remains prominent in the territory. RuneScape developer accused of ‘catering to American conservatism’ by rolling back Pride Month eventsvia PinkNews // Runescape developers inside Jagex have reportedly been left reeling after the studio decided to pivot away from Pride Month content to focus more on "what players wanted." Jagex CEO broke the news to staff with a post on an internal message board, prompting a rush of complaints—with many workers explaining the content was either already complete or easy to implement. Though Jagex is based in the UK, it's parent company CVC Capital Partners operates multiple companies in the United States. It's a situation that left one employee who spoke to PinkNews questioning whether the studio has caved to "American conservatism." SAG-AFTRA suspends strike and instructs union members to return to workvia Game Developer // It has taken almost a year, but performer union SAG-AFTRA has finally suspended strike action and instructed members to return to work. The decision comes after protracted negotiations with major studios who employ performers under the Interactive Media Agreement. SAG-AFTRA had been striking to secure better working conditions and AI protections for its members, and feels it has now secured a deal that will install vital "AI guardrails."A Switch 2 exclusive Splatoon spinoff was just shadow-announced on Nintendo Todayvia Game Developer // Nintendo did something peculiar this week when it unveiled a Splatoon spinoff out of the blue. That in itself might not sound too strange, but for a short window the announcement was only accessible via the company's new Nintendo Today mobile app. It's a situation that left people without access to the app questioning whether the news was even real. Nintendo Today prevented users from capturing screenshots or footage, only adding to the sense of confusion. It led to this reporter branding the move a "shadow announcement," which in turn left some of our readers perplexed. Can you ever announce and announcement? What does that term even mean? Food for thought. A wonderful new Big Walk trailer melted this reporter's heartvia House House (YouTube) //  The mad lads behind Untitled Goose Game are back with a new jaunt called Big Walk. This one has been on my radar for a while, but the studio finally debuted a gameplay overview during Summer Game Fest and it looks extraordinary in its purity. It's about walking and talking—and therein lies the charm. Players are forced to cooperate to navigate a lush open world, solve puzzles, and embark upon hijinks. Proximity-based communication is the core mechanic in Big Walk—whether that takes the form of voice chat, written text, hand signals, blazing flares, or pictograms—and it looks like it'll lead to all sorts of weird and wonderful antics. It's a pitch that cuts through because it's so unashamedly different, and there's a lot to love about that. I'm looking forward to this one.

The option to generate an Audio Overview appears beneath the “People also ask” module. Google is rolling out a test that puts its AI-powered Audio Overviews on the first page of search results on mobile. The experiment, which you can enable in Labs, will let you generate an AI podcast-style discussion for certain queries. If you search for something like, “How do noise cancellation headphones work?”, Google will display a button beneath the “People also ask” module that says, “Generate Audio Overview.” Once you click the button, it will take up to 40 seconds to generate an Audio Overview, according to Google. The completed Audio Overview will appear in a small player embedded within your search results, where you can play, pause, mute, and adjust the playback speed of the clip. Similar to Audio Overviews on NotebookLM and Gemini, this one also features two AI-generated “hosts” who enthusiastically discuss the topic you want to learn more about. You’ll also find links to some of the sources used by Audio Overview directly below the playback bar in Search. Right now, Audio Overviews in Search is only available in English in the US. Google has started putting Audio Overviews in more places since the tool launched last year, allowing users to generate audio discussions based on notes, Gemini’s deep research, files in Google Docs, and more.

ChatGPT is rapidly changing the world. The process is already happening, and it’s only going to accelerate as the technology improves, as more people gain access to it, and as more learn how to use it. What’s shocking is just how many tasks ChatGPT is already capable of managing for you. While the naysayers may still look down their noses at the potential of AI assistants, I’ve been using it to handle all kinds of menial tasks for me. Here are my favorite examples. Further reading: This tiny ChatGPT feature helps me tackle my days more productively Write your emails for you Dave Parrack / Foundry We’ve all been faced with the tricky task of writing an email—whether personal or professional—but not knowing quite how to word it. ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you, penning the (hopefully) perfect email based on whatever information you feed it. Let’s assume the email you need to write is of a professional nature, and wording it poorly could negatively affect your career. By directing ChatGPT to write the email with a particular structure, content, and tone of voice, you can give yourself a huge head start. A winning tip for this is to never accept ChatGPT’s first attempt. Always read through it and look for areas of improvement, then request tweaks to ensure you get the best possible email. You can (and should) also rewrite the email in your own voice. Learn more about how ChatGPT coached my colleague to write better emails. Generate itineraries and schedules Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’re going on a trip but you’re the type of person who hates planning trips, then you should utilize ChatGPT’s ability to generate trip itineraries. The results can be customized to the nth degree depending on how much detail and instruction you’re willing to provide. As someone who likes to get away at least once a year but also wants to make the most of every trip, leaning on ChatGPT for an itinerary is essential for me. I’ll provide the location and the kinds of things I want to see and do, then let it handle the rest. Instead of spending days researching everything myself, ChatGPT does 80 percent of it for me. As with all of these tasks, you don’t need to accept ChatGPT’s first effort. Use different prompts to force the AI chatbot to shape the itinerary closer to what you want. You’d be surprised at how many cool ideas you’ll encounter this way—simply nix the ones you don’t like. Break down difficult concepts Dave Parrack / Foundry One of the best tasks to assign to ChatGPT is the explanation of difficult concepts. Ask ChatGPT to explain any concept you can think of and it will deliver more often than not. You can tailor the level of explanation you need, and even have it include visual elements. Let’s say, for example, that a higher-up at work regularly lectures everyone about the importance of networking. But maybe they never go into detail about what they mean, just constantly pushing the why without explaining the what. Well, just ask ChatGPT to explain networking! Okay, most of us know what “networking” is and the concept isn’t very hard to grasp. But you can do this with anything. Ask ChatGPT to explain augmented reality, multi-threaded processing, blockchain, large language models, what have you. It will provide you with a clear and simple breakdown, maybe even with analogies and images. Analyze and make tough decisions Dave Parrack / Foundry We all face tough decisions every so often. The next time you find yourself wrestling with a particularly tough one—and you just can’t decide one way or the other—try asking ChatGPT for guidance and advice. It may sound strange to trust any kind of decision to artificial intelligence, let alone an important one that has you stumped, but doing so actually makes a lot of sense. While human judgment can be clouded by emotions, AI can set that aside and prioritize logic. It should go without saying: you don’t have to accept ChatGPT’s answers. Use the AI to weigh the pros and cons, to help you understand what’s most important to you, and to suggest a direction. Who knows? If you find yourself not liking the answer given, that in itself might clarify what you actually want—and the right answer for you. This is the kind of stuff ChatGPT can do to improve your life. Plan complex projects and strategies Dave Parrack / Foundry Most jobs come with some level of project planning and management. Even I, as a freelance writer, need to plan tasks to get projects completed on time. And that’s where ChatGPT can prove invaluable, breaking projects up into smaller, more manageable parts. ChatGPT needs to know the nature of the project, the end goal, any constraints you may have, and what you have done so far. With that information, it can then break the project up with a step-by-step plan, and break it down further into phases (if required). If ChatGPT doesn’t initially split your project up in a way that suits you, try again. Change up the prompts and make the AI chatbot tune in to exactly what you’re looking for. It takes a bit of back and forth, but it can shorten your planning time from hours to mere minutes. Compile research notes Dave Parrack / Foundry If you need to research a given topic of interest, ChatGPT can save you the hassle of compiling that research. For example, ahead of a trip to Croatia, I wanted to know more about the Croatian War of Independence, so I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a brief summary of the conflict with bullet points to help me understand how it happened. After absorbing all that information, I asked ChatGPT to add a timeline of the major events, further helping me to understand how the conflict played out. ChatGPT then offered to provide me with battle maps and/or summaries, plus profiles of the main players. You can go even deeper with ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, which is now available to free users, up to 5 Deep Research tasks per month. With Deep Research, ChatGPT conducts multi-step research to generate comprehensive reports (with citations!) based on large amounts of information across the internet. A Deep Research task can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but it’ll save you hours or even days. Summarize articles, meetings, and more Dave Parrack / Foundry There are only so many hours in the day, yet so many new articles published on the web day in and day out. When you come across extra-long reads, it can be helpful to run them through ChatGPT for a quick summary. Then, if the summary is lacking in any way, you can go back and plow through the article proper. As an example, I ran one of my own PCWorld articles (where I compared Bluesky and Threads as alternatives to X) through ChatGPT, which provided a brief summary of my points and broke down the best X alternative based on my reasons given. Interestingly, it also pulled elements from other articles. (Hmph.) If you don’t want that, you can tell ChatGPT to limit its summary to the contents of the link. This is a great trick to use for other long-form, text-heavy content that you just don’t have the time to crunch through. Think transcripts for interviews, lectures, videos, and Zoom meetings. The only caveat is to never share private details with ChatGPT, like company-specific data that’s protected by NDAs and the like. Create Q&A flashcards for learning Dave Parrack / Foundry Flashcards can be extremely useful for drilling a lot of information into your brain, such as when studying for an exam, onboarding in a new role, prepping for an interview, etc. And with ChatGPT, you no longer have to painstakingly create those flashcards yourself. All you have to do is tell the AI the details of what you’re studying. You can specify the format (such as Q&A or multiple choice), as well as various other elements. You can also choose to keep things broad or target specific sub-topics or concepts you want to focus on. You can even upload your own notes for ChatGPT to reference. You can also use Google’s NotebookLM app in a similar way. Provide interview practice Dave Parrack / Foundry Whether you’re a first-time jobseeker or have plenty of experience under your belt, it’s always a good idea to practice for your interviews when making career moves. Years ago, you might’ve had to ask a friend or family member to act as your mock interviewer. These days, ChatGPT can do it for you—and do it more effectively. Inform ChatGPT of the job title, industry, and level of position you’re interviewing for, what kind of interview it’ll be (e.g., screener, technical assessment, group/panel, one-on-one with CEO), and anything else you want it to take into consideration. ChatGPT will then conduct a mock interview with you, providing feedback along the way. When I tried this out myself, I was shocked by how capable ChatGPT can be at pretending to be a human in this context. And the feedback it provides for each answer you give is invaluable for knocking off your rough edges and improving your chances of success when you’re interviewed by a real hiring manager. Further reading: Non-gimmicky AI apps I actually use every day

432 Park Avenue | © Halkin Mason Photography, Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects Located in Midtown Manhattan, 432 Park Avenue is a prominent figure in the evolution of supertall residential towers. Completed in 2015, this 1,396-foot-high building by Rafael Viñoly Architects asserts a commanding presence over the city’s skyline. Its minimalist form and rigorous geometry have sparked considerable debate within the architectural community, marking it as a significant and controversial addition to New York City’s built environment. 432 Park Avenue Technical Information Architects1-8: Rafael Viñoly Architects Location: Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA Gross Area: 38,344 m2 | 412,637 Sq. Ft. Project Years: 2011 – 2015 Photographs: © Halkin Mason Photography, Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects It’s a building designed for the enjoyment of its occupants, not for the delight of its creator. – Rafael Viñoly 432 Park Avenue Photographs © Halkin Mason Photography, Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects Courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects Design Intent and Conceptual Framework At the heart of 432 Park Avenue’s design lies a commitment to pure geometry. The square, an elemental form, defines every aspect of the building, from its floor plate to its overall silhouette. This strict adherence to geometry speaks to Viñoly’s rationalist sensibilities and interest in stripping architecture to its fundamental components. The tower’s proportions, with its height-to-width ratio of roughly 1:15, transform this simple geometry into a monumental presence. This conceptual rigor positions the building as an object of formal clarity and a deliberate statement within the city’s varied skyline. The design’s minimalism extends beyond the building’s shape, reflecting Viñoly’s pursuit of a refined and disciplined expression. Eschewing decorative flourishes, the tower’s form directly responds to programmatic needs and structural imperatives. This disciplined approach underpins the project’s ambition to redefine the experience of vertical living, asserting that luxury in residential design can emerge from formal simplicity and a mastery of proportion. Spatial Organization and Interior Volumes The interior organization of 432 Park Avenue reveals an equally uncompromising commitment to clarity and openness. Each residential floor is free of interior columns, a testament to the structural ingenuity of the concrete exoskeleton. This column-free arrangement grants unobstructed floor plans and expansive panoramic views of the city, the rivers, and beyond. Floor-to-ceiling windows, measuring nearly 10 feet in height, accentuate the sense of openness and lightness within each residence. The tower’s slender core houses the vertical circulation and mechanical systems, ensuring the perimeter remains uninterrupted. This core placement allows for generous living spaces that maximize privacy and connection to the urban landscape. The interplay between structural precision and panoramic transparency shapes the experience of inhabiting these spaces. The result is a sequence of interiors that privilege intimacy and vastness, anchoring domestic life within an architectural expression of purity. Materiality, Structural Clarity, and Detailing Material choices in 432 Park Avenue reinforce the project’s disciplined approach. The building’s exposed concrete frame, treated as structure and façade, lends the tower a stark yet refined character. The grid of square windows, systematically repeated across the height of the building, becomes a defining feature of its visual identity. This modular repetition establishes a rhythmic order and speaks to the building’s underlying structural logic. High-strength concrete enables the tower’s slender profile and exceptional height while imparting a tactile materiality that resists the glassy anonymity typical of many contemporary towers. The restrained palette and attention to detail emphasize the tectonic clarity of the building’s assembly. By treating the structure itself as an architectural finish, Viñoly’s design elevates the material expression of concrete into a fundamental element of the building’s identity. Urban and Cultural Significance As one of the tallest residential buildings in the Western Hemisphere, 432 Park Avenue has significantly altered the Manhattan skyline. Its unwavering verticality and minimal ornamentation create a dialogue with the city’s diverse architectural heritage, juxtaposing a severe abstraction against a backdrop of historic and contemporary towers. 432 Park Avenue occupies a distinctive place in the ongoing narrative of New York City’s architectural evolution. Its reductive form, structural clarity, and spatial generosity offer a compelling study of the power of minimalism at an urban scale. 432 Park Avenue Plans Floor Plans | © Rafael Viñoly Architects Floor Plans | © Rafael Viñoly Architects Floor Plans | © Rafael Viñoly Architects Floor Plans | © Rafael Viñoly Architects 432 Park Avenue Image Gallery © Rafael Viñoly Architects About Rafael Viñoly Architects Rafael Viñoly, a Uruguayan-born architect (1944–2023), founded Rafael Viñoly Architects in New York City in 1983. After studies in Buenos Aires and early practice in Argentina, he relocated to the U.S.. He established a global firm with offices in cities including London, Palo Alto, and Abu Dhabi. Renowned for large-scale, function-driven projects such as the Tokyo International Forum, Cleveland Museum of Art expansions, and 432 Park Avenue, the firm is praised for combining structural clarity, context-sensitive design, and institutional rigor across six continents. Credits and Additional Notes Client: Macklowe Properties and CIM Group Design Team: Rafael Viñoly (Architect), Deborah Berke Partners (Interior Design of residential units), Bentel & Bentel (Amenity Spaces Design) Structural Engineer: WSP Cantor Seinuk Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineers: Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) Construction Manager: Lendlease Height: 1,396 feet (425.5 meters) Number of Floors: 96 stories Construction Years: 2011–2015

In 2024, Egypt completed its 1,155km stretch of the Cairo–Cape Town Highway, a 10,228km‑long road connecting 10 African countries – Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.   The imaginary of ‘Cape to Cairo’ is not new. In 1874, editor of the Daily Telegraph Edwin Arnold proposed a plan to connect the African continent by rail, a project that came to be known as the Cape to Cairo Railway project. Cecil Rhodes expressed his support for the project, seeing it as a means to connect the various ‘possessions’ of the British Empire across Africa, facilitating the movement of troops and natural resources. This railway project was never completed, and in 1970 was overlaid by a very different attempt at connecting the Cape to Cairo, as part of the Trans‑African Highway network. This 56,683km‑long system of highways – some dating from the colonial era, some built as part of the 1970s project, and some only recently built – aimed to create lines of connection across the African continent, from north to south as well as east to west.  Here, postcolonial state power invested in ‘moving the continent’s people and economies from past to future’, as architectural historians Kenny Cupers and Prita Meier write in their 2020 essay ‘Infrastructure between Statehood and Selfhood: The Trans‑African Highway’. The highways were to be built with the support of Kenya’s president Jomo Kenyatta, Ghana’s president Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana’s director of social welfare Robert Gardiner, as well as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). This project was part of a particular historical moment during which anticolonial ideas animated most of the African continent; alongside trade, this iteration of Cape to Cairo centred social and cultural connection between African peoples. But though largely socialist in ambition, the project nevertheless engaged modernist developmentalist logics that cemented capitalism.  Lead image: Over a century in the making, the final stretches of the Cairo–Cape Town Highway are being finished. Egypt completed the section within its borders last year and a section over the dry Merille River in Kenya was constructed in 2019. Credit: Allan Muturi / SOPA / ZUMA / Alamy. Above: The route from Cairo to Cape Town, outlined in red, belongs to the Trans‑African Highway network, which comprises nine routes, here in black The project failed to fully materialise at the time, but efforts to complete the Trans‑African Highway network have been revived in the last 20 years; large parts are now complete though some links remain unbuilt and many roads are unpaved or hazardous. The most recent attempts to realise this project coincide with a new continental free trade agreement, the agreement on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), established in 2019, to increase trade within the continent. The contemporary manifestation of the Cairo–Cape Town Highway – also known as Trans‑African Highway (TAH) 4 – is marked by deepening neoliberal politics. Represented as an opportunity to boost trade and exports, connecting Egypt to African markets that the Egyptian government view as ‘untapped’, the project invokes notions of trade steeped in extraction, reflecting the neoliberal logic underpinning contemporary Egyptian governance; today, the country’s political project, led by Abdel Fattah El Sisi, is oriented towards Egyptian dominance and extraction in relation to the rest of the continent.  Through an allusion to markets ripe for extraction, this language brings to the fore historical forms of domination that have shaped the connections between Egypt and the rest of the continent; previous iterations of connection across the continent often reproduced forms of domination stretching from the north of the African continent to the south, including the Trans‑Saharan slave trade routes across Africa that ended in various North African and Middle Eastern territories. These networks, beginning in the 8th century and lasting until the 20th, produced racialised hierarchies across the continent, shaping North Africa into a comparably privileged space proximate to ‘Arabness’. This was a racialised division based on a civilisational narrative that saw Arabs as superior, but more importantly a political economic division resulting from the slave trade routes that produced huge profits for North Africa and the Middle East. In the contemporary moment, these racialised hierarchies are bound up in political economic dependency on the Arab Gulf states, who are themselves dependent on resource extraction, land grabbing and privatisation across the entire African continent.  ‘The Cairo–Cape Town Highway connects Egypt to African markets viewed as “untapped”, invoking notions steeped in extraction’ However, this imaginary conjured by the Cairo–Cape Town Highway is countered by a network of streets scattered across Africa that traces the web of Egyptian Pan‑African solidarity across the continent. In Lusaka in Zambia, you might find yourself on Nasser Road, as you might in Mwanza in Tanzania or Luanda in Angola. In Mombasa in Kenya, you might be driving down Abdel Nasser Road; in Kampala in Uganda, you might find yourself at Nasser Road University; and in Tunis in Tunisia, you might end up on Gamal Abdel Nasser Street. These street names are a reference to Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s first postcolonial leader and president between 1956 and 1970.  Read against the contemporary Cairo–Cape Town Highway, these place names signal a different form of connection that brings to life Egyptian Pan‑Africanism, when solidarity was the hegemonic force connecting the continent, coming up against the notion of a natural or timeless ‘great divide’ within Africa. From the memoirs of Egyptian officials who were posted around Africa as conduits of solidarity, to the broadcasts of Radio Cairo that were heard across the continent, to the various conferences attended by anticolonial movements and postcolonial states, Egypt’s orientation towards Pan‑Africanism, beginning in the early 20th century and lasting until the 1970s, was both material and ideological. Figures and movements forged webs of solidarity with their African comrades, imagining an Africa that was united through shared commitments to ending colonialism and capitalist extraction.  The route between Cape Town in South Africa and Cairo in Egypt has long occupied the colonial imaginary. In 1930, Margaret Belcher and Ellen Budgell made the journey, sponsored by car brand Morris and oil company Shell Credit: Fox Photos / Getty The pair made use of the road built by British colonisers in the 19th century, and which forms the basis for the current Cairo–Cape Town Highway. The road was preceded by the 1874 Cape to Cairo Railway project, which connected the colonies of the British Empire Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division This network of eponymous streets represents attempts to inscribe anticolonial power into the materiality of the city. Street‑naming practices are one way in which the past comes into the present, ‘weaving history into the geographic fabric of everyday life’, as geographer Derek Alderman wrote in his 2002 essay ‘Street Names as Memorial Arenas’. In this vein, the renaming of streets during decolonisation marked a practice of contesting the production of colonial space. In the newly postcolonial city, renaming was a way of ‘claiming the city back’, Alderman continues. While these changes may appear discursive, it is their embedding in material spaces, through signs and maps, that make the names come to life; place names become a part of the everyday through sharing addresses or giving directions. This quality makes them powerful; consciously or unconsciously, they form part of how the spaces of the city are navigated.  These are traces that were once part of a dominant historical narrative; yet when they are encountered in the present, during a different historical moment, they no longer act as expressions of power but instead conjure up a moment that has long passed. A street in Lusaka named after an Egyptian general made more sense 60 years ago than it does today, yet contextualising it recovers a marginalised history of Egyptian Pan‑Africanism.  Markers such as street names or monuments are simultaneously markers of anticolonial struggle as well as expressions of state power – part of an attempt, by political projects such as Nasser’s, to exert their own dominance over cities, towns and villages. That such traces are expressions of both anticolonial hopes and postcolonial state power produces a sense of tension within them. For instance, Nasser’s postcolonial project in Egypt was a contradictory one; it gave life to anticolonial hopes – for instance by breaking away from European capitalism and embracing anticolonial geopolitics – while crushing many parts of the left through repression, censorship and imprisonment. Traces of Nasser found today inscribe both anticolonial promises – those that came to life and those that did not – while reproducing postcolonial power that in most instances ended in dictatorship.  Recent efforts to complete the route build on those of the post‑independence era – work on a section north of Nairobi started in 1968 Credit: Associated Press / Alamy The Trans‑African Highway network was conceived in 1970 in the spirit of Pan‑Africanism At that time, the routes did not extend into South Africa, which was in the grip of apartheid. The Trans‑African Highway initiative was motivated by a desire to improve trade and centre cultural links across the continent – an ambition that was even celebrated on postage stamps There have been long‑standing debates about the erasure of the radical anticolonial spirit from the more conservative postcolonial states that emerged; the promises and hopes of anticolonialism, not least among them socialism and a world free of white supremacy, remain largely unrealised. Instead, by the 1970s neoliberalism emerged as a new hegemonic project. The contemporary instantiation of Cape to Cairo highlights just how pervasive neoliberal logics continue to be, despite multiple global financial crises and the 2011 Egyptian revolution demanding ‘bread, freedom, social justice’.  But the network of streets named after anticolonial figures and events across the world is testament to the immense power and promise of anticolonial revolution. Most of the 20th century was characterised by anticolonial struggle, decolonisation and postcolonial nation‑building, as nations across the global south gained independence from European empire and founded their own political projects. Anticolonial traces, present in street and place names, point to the possibility of solidarity as a means of reorienting colonial geographies. They are a reminder that there have been other imaginings of Cape to Cairo, and that things can be – and have been – otherwise. 2025-06-13 Kristina Rapacki Share

Casa Morena | © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG In the coastal enclave of Lagos, Portugal, Mário Martins Atelier has crafted Casa Morena. This residence quietly asserts itself as an ode to the dialogue between architecture and its natural setting. Completed in 2024, this project demonstrates a considered response to its environment, where the interplay of light, material, and landscape defines a sense of place rather than architectural imposition. Casa Morena Technical Information Architects1-5: Mário Martins Atelier Location: Lagos, Portugal Project Years: 2024 Photographs: © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG A simple house, one that wishes to be discreet and to be influenced by its location, to become a house that is pleasant with thoughtful landscaping. – Mário Martins Atelier Casa Morena Photographs © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG A Contextual Response to Landscape and Light The design of Casa Morena finds its genesis in the site itself, a pine-scented plot overlooking the expanse of a bay. The pine trees, longstanding witnesses to the landscape’s evolution, provide the project’s visual anchor and spatial logic. In a move that both respects and celebrates these natural elements, Mário Martins Atelier structured the house’s reticulated plan to echo the presence of the trees, creating a composition that unfolds as a series of volumes harmonizing with the vertical rhythm of the trunks. The solid base of the house, built from locally sourced schist, emerges directly from the terrain. These robust walls establish a tactile continuity with the ground, their rough textures anchoring the architecture within the landscape. In contrast, the upper volumes of the house adopt a distinctly lighter expression: horizontal planes rendered in white plaster, their smooth surfaces catching and refracting the region’s luminous sun. This duality, earthbound solidity, and aerial lightness establish an architectural narrative rooted in the elemental. Casa Morena Experiential Flow Casa Morena’s spatial arrangement articulates a clear hierarchy of public and private domains. On the ground floor, the house embraces openness and transparency. An expansive entrance hall blurs the threshold inside and out, guiding inhabitants and visitors into a luminous social heart. The lounge, kitchen, and office flow seamlessly into the garden, unified by a continuous glazed façade that invites the outside in. This deliberate porosity extends to a covered terrace, an intermediary space that dissolves the boundary between shelter and exposure. The terrace, framed by the garden’s green canopy and the swimming pool’s long line, becomes a place of repose and contemplation. The pool itself demarcates the transition from a cultivated garden to the looser, more rugged landscape beyond, its linear form echoing the horizon’s expanse. Ascending to the upper floor, the architectural language shifts towards intimacy. The bedrooms, each with direct access to terraces and patios, create secluded zones that still maintain a fluid relationship with the outdoors. A discreet rooftop terrace, accessible from these private quarters, offers a hidden sanctuary where the interplay of views and light remains uninterrupted. Material Tectonics and Environmental Strategy Casa Morena’s material palette is rooted in regional specificity and tactile sensibility. Schist, extracted from the site, is not merely a structural element but a narrative thread linking the building to its geological past. Its earthy warmth and rugged surface provide a counterpoint to the luminous white of the upper volumes, an articulation of contrast that enlivens the building’s silhouette. White, the chromatic signature of the Algarve region, is employed with restraint and nuance. Its reflective qualities intensify the play of shadow and light, a dynamic that shifts with the passing of the day. In this interplay, architecture becomes an instrument for registering the ephemeral, and the environment itself becomes a participant in the spatial drama. Environmental stewardship is also woven into the project’s DNA. Discreetly integrated systems on the roof harness solar energy and manage water resources, extending the house’s commitment to a sustainable coexistence with its setting. Casa Morena Plans Basement | © Mario Martins Atelier Ground Level | © Mario Martins Atelier Upper Level | © Mario Martins Atelier Roof Plan | © Mario Martins Atelier Elevations | © Mario Martins Atelier Casa Morena Image Gallery About Mário Martins Atelier Mário Martins Atelier is an architectural studio based in Lagos and Lisbon, Portugal, led by Mário Martins. The practice is known for its context-sensitive approach, crafting contemporary projects seamlessly integrating with their surroundings while prioritizing regional materials and environmental considerations. Credits and Additional Notes Lead Architect: Mário Martins, arq. Project Team: Nuno Colaço, Sónia Fialho, Susana Jóia, Mariana Franco, Ana Graça Engineering: Nuno Grave Engenharia Landscape: HB-Hipolito Bettencourt – Arquitectura Paisagista, Lda. Building Contractor: Marques Antunes Engenharia Lda.