Reallusion combines Vicon technology with industry-standard timecode support in iClone. Reallusion announces its official partnership with Vicon, enabling direct motion capture support for iClone. For the first time, Vicon systems can seamlessly connect with Motion LIVE, offering full integration of real-time, high-fidelity body capture, along with facial and hand mocap, all within one unified platform. Jeff Sheetz, founder of Monkey Chow Animation Studio, shares his experience with this powerful iClone-Vicon suite, which he believes delivers studio-quality results faster than ever before. Jeff Scheetz, Motion Capture Orlando Since leaving his role as co-founder of The Digital Animation & Visual Effect (DAVE) School, Jeff Scheetz, alongside his wife Anne, has been running Monkey Chow Animation Studio in Orlando, Florida. In 2021, they expanded into motion capture with the launch of Motion Capture Orlando, serving the theme park industry. Their work can be seen at Universal Studios and Walt Disney World, and they’ve also produced various motion capture packs for iClone and ActorCore, such as Run for Your Life, Bank Heist, and Avenging Warriors. Jeff’s team also collaborated with Actor Capture on the Netflix movie The Electric State. Key team members include senior mocap technicians Kaszmere Messbarger and Nelson Escobar. iClone and Vicon—The New Dynamic Duo One of the most exciting aspects of Jeff’s relationship with Reallusion is getting to test out cutting-edge technology before it’s officially released. When he was informed that iClone would soon support Vicon integration and timecode synchronization, it was a game-changer. Motion Capture Orlando has been using Vicon’s cameras and software since they started investing in mocap gear, but they were unable to integrate Vicon data directly into Motion LIVE until now. This breakthrough is especially significant for Jeff, as the previous workflow involved streaming Vicon data into Motion Builder for retargeting, and then moving that data into Unreal Engine. The integration of facial data, hand motion (via data gloves), and the inherent latency in this multi-step process presented challenges. Now, with iClone’s Motion LIVE, Vicon streams directly into iClone, allowing for seamless integration of face, body, and hand all within the platform. This streamlined approach reduces complexity, making it easier to execute live shows and set up production workflows. Record, Edit, and Render Previz in iClone When it comes to previz, speed and cost-effectiveness are essential. Traditional mocap workflows can be time-consuming due to the necessary exports and imports between different software tools. However, by recording directly into iClone, you can immediately start blocking shots, working out camera moves, and rendering previews. Jeff’s team recorded a few assassin chase scenes on their stage, using Motion LIVE to capture data, and the resulting iProject files served as the foundation for their productions. The quality of the capture was impressive due to starting with Vicon data. This allowed them to present high-quality previz to a director quickly. The renders included vital data on the edges, such as version info, lens used, and notes for feedback, helping the team stay organized throughout the process. From Previz to Polished Video: Cleaning and Syncing with Timecode After capturing mocap for the previz, the team performed proper data cleaning using Shogun Post (Vicon’s mocap cleaning software), and motion edits were carried out in iClone. They identified the best takes—approximately 20% of what was shot—and cleaned only those pieces. One major challenge was syncing the cleaned data, but the introduction of timecode has made this process much easier. Using the new Timecode Plugin, Jeff could instantly sync the cleaned motion data with the original timeline. By dropping the new motion (as an FBX) onto their character and selecting “Align Clip to Embedded Timecode”, iClone automatically aligned it with the original recording. This feature works not only for motion data but also for facial capture, hand data, audio, and video. Seamless Mocap Sync with Live Action This seamless integration was especially useful when creating a sitcom scene for Life with Bob! in which a live actress performed against a CGI character. Mocap actors, placed just out of frame, could improvise and interact with the CGI character. The use of a Tentacle Sync device transmitted timecode across all systems: Vicon, the Live Face app, the video camera, and sound recording devices. This made it incredibly easy to sync everything once the master shot was completed. Reshooting and Updating with Motion LIVE One of Jeff’s favorite features of this new workflow is the ability to quickly make adjustments, such as reshooting facial animation without the need for a full reshoot. Using his iPhone, he could capture just the parts that needed improvement, like the lips, while leaving other aspects of the face intact. The flexibility to isolate and reshoot specific elements is a major time-saver and enhances the overall efficiency of the production process. The New Workflow: Speed, Efficiency, and Creativity For creators using Reallusion products, the integration of Vicon with iClone opens up new possibilities for creating high-quality animated content in a fraction of the time previously required. For a more detailed insight into the workflow, please find the full article here. The new workflow allows for fast, professional results with minimal overhead. With the addition of the Timecode plugin, keeping everything aligned and organized is simple. Motion LIVE, combined with Vicon’s mocap system, empowers creators to focus on what matters most: creativity and storytelling. And after all, that’s why many of us got into animation in the first place. Brought to you by Reallusion: This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If you’d like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here. The post Pro-Level Mocap Sync: Stream Vicon in iClone for Real-Time Animation appeared first on befores & afters.

According to The Verge, Mozilla is officially shutting down Pocket, the web bookmarking service that was once known as Read It Later. The tool was integrated into Firefox back in 2015, then acquired by Mozilla in 2017 but continued to operate as an independent subsidiary. Pocket will stop working on July 8th, 2025. If you use Pocket, you’ll be able to export your data up until October 8th, 2025. After that point, Mozilla will permanently delete all user data. In July, Mozilla will also start cancelling paid Pocket subscription and issuing prorated refunds to anyone who prepaid for an annual plan. As of this writing, the Pocket extension and app have both been removed and made unavailable, but anyone who has previously installed either will be able to redownload until the October deadline. According to Mozilla, they’re discontinuing Pocket because “the way people save and consume content on the web has evolved” and they plan to focus their efforts more fully on Firefox. “This shift allows us to shape the next era of the internet—with tools like vertical tabs, smart search and more AI-powered features on the way. We’ll continue to build a browser that works harder for you: more personal, more powerful and still proudly independent.” In addition to Pocket, Mozilla is also shuttering its Fakespot fake reviews detector, which the company acquired in 2023. The Fakespot-powered Review Checker feature in Firefox will stop working on June 10th, 2025.

After fifteen years of semiconductor research, Xiaomi unveils its inaugural custom processor, the XRING O1. This proprietary chip now drives two flagship devices that showcase how engineering can follow aesthetic vision rather than dictate it. The 15S Pro smartphone and Pad 7 Ultra tablet demonstrate a maturation in hardware development where technical capabilities enhance design intentions instead of limiting them. Designer: Xiaomi The XRING O1 represents a significant departure from Xiaomi’s previous reliance on third-party processors. Built on advanced 3-nanometer fabrication technology, this chip architecture balances computational prowess with practical energy management. Its ten-core configuration includes dual high-performance cores operating at 3.7GHz alongside efficiency-focused cores that handle routine tasks without unnecessary power drain. Graphics processing receives substantial attention through the integrated 16-core Immortalis-G925 GPU. This component renders complex visual content with exceptional smoothness, particularly beneficial when working with creative applications or editing high-resolution video. The processor’s specialized imaging engine processes 8.7 billion pixels per second, enabling sophisticated computational photography features without compromising system responsiveness. 15S Pro: Hardware Design Enhancing Photographic Capability The 15S Pro demonstrates thoughtful material selection through its Dragon Scale Fiber and Far Sky Blue variants. These finishes transcend mere aesthetics, communicating product identity through both visual and tactile characteristics. The aluminum frame incorporates an innovative wing-shaped cooling system that maintains optimal thermal conditions without disrupting the device’s clean lines. Visual content benefits from the 6.73-inch OLED panel capable of 3200 nits peak brightness. This specification translates to practical benefits in outdoor environments where ambient light typically overwhelms conventional displays. The implementation of variable refresh rate technology, spanning from 1Hz to 120Hz, preserves battery reserves during static content viewing while ensuring fluid motion when required. The 2K resolution maintains clarity across all content types. Photographic capabilities receive particular emphasis through collaboration with Leica. The Summilux lens system pairs with three 50-megapixel sensors, each optimized for specific capture scenarios. The primary camera employs an f/1.62 aperture and 1/1.31″ sensor that gather substantial light even in challenging conditions. Complementary ultrawide and 5X telephoto modules expand creative possibilities without quality compromises. The XRING O1’s dedicated image signal processor enables sophisticated computational photography techniques. The system applies intelligent enhancement that respects photographic intent rather than applying excessive processing. Low-light photography, portrait effects, and high dynamic range scenarios benefit from this approach, producing results that rival dedicated cameras in many situations. Power management demonstrates similar attention to practical user needs. The 6100mAh silicon-carbon battery achieves 850Wh/L energy density, providing substantial capacity within reasonable physical dimensions. When recharging becomes necessary, 90W wired and 50W wireless options minimize downtime. The XRING O1’s efficiency optimizations extend operational duration during active use. Pad 7 Ultra: Rethinking Tablet Proportions The Pad 7 Ultra challenges conventional tablet design through its remarkably thin 5.1mm profile. This svelte form houses a 14-inch OLED display that transforms content consumption and creation through both size and quality. The 3.2K resolution ensures exceptional clarity across all applications, while the 120Hz refresh rate creates immediate responsiveness during interaction. The 3:2 aspect ratio represents a particularly thoughtful design decision that enhances productivity applications. This format provides additional vertical space compared to widescreen alternatives, benefiting document editing, web browsing, and creative software. The choice demonstrates how subtle proportion adjustments can significantly impact practical usability. Construction employs an all-metal unibody approach that achieves 609g weight despite the generous display dimensions. The high-strength aluminum alloy increases structural integrity by 18% compared to previous generations, creating a device that feels substantial without unnecessary mass. This balance ensures comfortable handling during extended creative sessions. The optional nano-soft light screen variant addresses the needs of digital artists and note-takers. Surface treatment reduces reflectivity by 70% and glare by 99%, creating a more paper-like experience for stylus input. When paired with the Focus Touch Pen offering 8192 pressure sensitivity levels and minimal latency, the tablet provides professional-grade creative capabilities in an exceptionally portable format. Performance improvements enabled by the XRING O1 translate to measurable productivity benefits. Video exports complete 27.5% faster than previous generations, while image processing finishes 51.3% quicker. Multitasking demonstrates 49% improved responsiveness, allowing users to maintain creative momentum without technical interruptions. Audio reproduction receives similar attention through an eight-speaker system with Dolby Atmos support. This configuration creates immersive soundscapes that complement the visual experience, enhancing both entertainment content and creative audio work. The approach demonstrates consideration for the complete user experience rather than focusing exclusively on visual elements. Custom Silicon Enabling Design Freedom The XRING O1 represents more than technical achievement. It enables design approaches previously constrained by processing or efficiency limitations. By controlling both hardware and silicon development, Xiaomi creates devices where form and function achieve greater harmony than typically possible when adapting designs around third-party components. This integration allows both the 15S Pro and Pad 7 Ultra to challenge conventional expectations while delivering substantive performance improvements. The processor’s efficiency enables the Pad 7 Ultra’s remarkably thin profile without thermal or battery compromises. Similarly, the 15S Pro maintains consistent performance during demanding photographic tasks without requiring design concessions for cooling. Xiaomi’s approach demonstrates how custom silicon development can advance product design beyond incremental refinements. The XRING O1 provides capabilities specifically tailored to hardware priorities rather than forcing design compromises to accommodate standardized processors. This strategy allows greater creative freedom while maintaining competitive performance metrics. The 15S Pro enters the market at 5,499 yuan (approximately $763) for configurations with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. This positioning balances premium capabilities with accessibility, making advanced technology available to more users. The Pad 7 Ultra similarly offers distinctive design and performance characteristics at competitive price points, challenging established premium tablet offerings.The post Xiaomi Debuts Custom Silicon: XRING O1 Transforms 15S Pro and Pad 7 Ultra first appeared on Yanko Design.

Game Dev Digest Issue #283 - Retro, Graphics Tricks, Multiplayer, and more posted in GameDevDigest Newsletter Published May 23, 2025 Advertisement This article was originally published on GameDevDigest.comEnjoy!“ZLinq”, a Zero-Allocation LINQ Library for .NET - I’ve released ZLinq v1 last month! By building on structs and generics, it achieves zero allocations. It includes extensions like LINQ to Span, LINQ to SIMD, LINQ to Tree (FileSystem, JSON, GameObject, etc.), a drop-in replacement Source Generator for arbitrary types, and support for multiple platforms including .NET Standard 2.0, Unity, and Godot.neuecc.medium.comPathfinding - I've recently been working on the pathfinding for NPCs in my game, which is something I've been looking forward to for a while now since it's a nice chunky problem to solve. I thought I'd write up this post about how I went about it all.juhrjuhr.itch.ioMy Work at Unity - I worked as a developer at Unity Technologies from 2009 to 2020. When I started, there were around 20 employees worldwide and Unity was still largely unknown. When I left, there were over 3000 employees and Unity had become the most widely used game engine in the industry.runevision.comIndie Game Marketing Examples: Campaigns We Loved - From Crabs to Chess: Creative marketing lessons from indie game campaigns that really worked!impress.gamesMaking Video Games in 2025 (without an engine) - I genuinely believe making games without a big "do everything" engine can be easier, more fun, and often less overhead. I am not making a "do everything" game and I do not need 90% of the features these engines provide. I am very particular about how my games feel and look, and how I interact with my tools.noelberry.caWelcome to Unity Design Patterns - Examples of programming design patterns in Unity C#NaphierPalette lighting tricks on the Nintendo 64 - Below I have some notes on the directional ambient and normal mapping techniques I developed. They are both pretty simple in the end but I haven’t seen them used elsewhere.30fps.netCan Itch.io Success Translate To Steam Success? - In my previous blog I looked at the stats for an itch.io game and what an over performing game looked like. Today I want to deep dive on a couple games that took their early itch.io success and parlayed it onto Steam with varied results.howtomarketagame.comWork with strings efficiently, keep the GC alive - This tip is not meant for everyone. If your code is simple, and not CPU-heavy, this tip might be overkill for your code, as it's about extremely heavy operations, where performance is crucial.old.reddit.comIndie Survival Guide - ProductsThe Indie Survival Guide is your ongoing archive of real talk and hard-won insights from the devs and industry experts making games happen—often against the odds. Whatever tools you’re using, this growing library of Q&As, livestreams, and VODs is here to help. There’s no magic formula, but we believe shared experience—across design, business, and survival—can give you the best shot.Unity VideosMultiplayer Systems in 10 Minutes/1 Hour/1 Day | Clocked and Loaded - Unity Developer Advocate Esteban Maldonado shows us how he scales multiplayer systems based on time constraints and how his approach differs depending on the circumstances.UnityFrom States to Trees: How Behavior Trees Revolutionized Game AI - In this final video of our NPC evolution series, we explore how Behavior Trees transformed game AI. Moving beyond the limitations of Finite State Machines, Behavior Trees introduced hierarchical decision-making that allowed NPCs to evaluate complex situations, prioritize actions, and respond intelligently to player choices.Mindplay with AaronInside Doom: The Dark Ages - Creating id Tech 8 - Interview With id Software - Want to know more about Doom: The Dark Ages and the technical make-up of the new id Tech 8? John Linneman has this extensive interview with id Software's Director of Engine Technology, Billy Khan. Every key aspect of the new technology is discussed here, along with answers to key questions like why The Dark Ages simply isn't possible without hardware accelerated ray tracing.Digital FoundryLet's Fix Unity's Animator - Let's fix the missing animation preview in Unity's Animator!Warped ImaginationWhy Did Older Games Feel So Much Bigger? - The evolution of game design has taken an interesting turn, where modern level design often feels more constrained despite technological advances. While retro games created vast worlds with limited resources, today's AAA games sometimes sacrifice that sense of wonder for visual fidelity.Devin ChaseMind-blowing graphical tricks in classic games - Your questions answered! | White_Pointer Gaming - It's time to answer even more viewer questions about how classic games achieved their graphical tricks! This video includes not just Mega Drive/Genesis and Super Nintendo games, but Neo Geo as well. Plus the big one that you might have been waiting for - Final Fantasy VI / Final Fantasy III! What mindblowing tricks will be unveiled this time?White_Pointer GamingJetBrains AI Assistant Just Got a Lot More Useful (and FREE) - JetBrains AI Assistant, improved in version 2025.1 with enhanced context awareness and deeper IDE integration, brings intelligent code generation, inline prompts, and web-enhanced context directly into our workflow. Together, we’ll explore how it uses these upgrades to incorporate external knowledge into its suggestions as we refactor a simple C# class into a clean and reusable programming pattern—then save that refactoring as a custom prompt for future use.git-amend AssetsLevel Up: 5K World Building Assets Bundle - Build the game of your dreams in any setting or scenario with our Level Up: 5K World Building Assets Bundle.__The Supreme Unreal & Unity Game Dev Bundle - Dive into an asset collection that offers the widest range of stylized towns, buildings, and more with The Supreme Unreal & Unity Game Dev Bundle! Save time and money by accessing this library of 50+ asset sets, ranging from medieval Viking villages to deserted military outposts—specific standouts include Whispering Grove Environment and Asian Dynasty Environment. Get the assets you need to help bring your game to life, and help support the charity of your choice with your purchase!Humble Bundle AffiliatePoiyomiToonShader - A feature rich toon shader for unity and VR Chatpoiyomi Open SourceAPFrameworkUI - A Text Mesh Pro based text only UI system for Unitydklassic Open SourceUnityProcgen - Library of procedural generation code for use in Unitycoryleach Open SourceGeneLit - GeneLit is an alternative to standard shader for Unity built-in pipeline.momoma-null Open Sourcebarelymusician - a real-time music engine.anokta Open SourceColliderMeshTool - Generate custom mesh colliders in Unity with hulls or hand-drawn outlines.SinlessDevil Open SourceGraphlit - Custom node shader editor for Unityz3y Open SourceEasy Peasy First Person Controller (FREE) - Easy Peasy First Person Controller is a user-friendly, ready-to-use first-person controller for Unity. It provides a wide range of customizable features for seamless integration into your game.assetstore.unity.com AffiliateUnityInGameConsole - A powerful Command Line Processor and log viewer for Unity. It can be run in the editor or in a built out player for any platform, allowing you to see your log and callstacks in you final product, without having to search for unity log files.ArtOfSettling Open SourceDescant - An enhanced and user-friendly Unity dialogue system pluginOwmacohe Open Sourceposition-visualizer - Unity editor tool to visualize positions in the scene.mminer Open SourceLua-CSharp - High performance Lua interpreter implemented in C# for .NET and Unitynuskey8 Open SourceUnityNativeFilePicker - A native Unity plugin to import/export files from/to various document providers on Android & iOSyasirkula Open Sourceusyrup - A runtime dependency injection framework for the Unity Game Engine!Jeffan207 Open SourceUnityIngameDebugConsole - A uGUI based console to see debug messages and execute commands during gameplay in Unityyasirkula Open SourceContentManagementSystem - CMS based on XK's realization for unitymegurte Open SourceIsoMesh - IsoMesh is a group of related tools for Unity for converting meshes into signed distance field data, raymarching signed distance fields, and extracting signed distance field data back to meshes via surface nets or dual contouring.EmmetOT Open SourceNavigathena - Scene management framework for Unity. Provides a new generation of scene management.mackysoft Open SourceUI Cursors - UI for Mouse Cursors is a great start for the development journey you are looking for either testing or a finished game it offers a great variety. Animatable and make the game look alive!verzatiledev.itch.io25% Off Unity Asset Store - Get 25% off your next purchase—even on discounted assets! Use code TWXJ982ND at checkout and keep building something amazing. Limited to 5 redemptions.Unity AffiliateShop up to 50% off Kyeoms - Publisher Sale - I'm an individual game VFX artist. I'm interested in Cartoon style and Stylized VFX. PLUS, get New Stylized Explosion Package for FREE with code KYEOMS2025Unity AffiliateUltimate World Building Asset Bundle - Imagine it—build it—love it Elevate your next project with elite 3D assets, textures, references, and more from the Ultimate World Building Asset Bundle by ScansMatter—featuring 300 free commercial credits on ScansMatter.com, Rooftop Asset Kit, Office Environment Kit, and much more. This limited-time partnership with ScansMatter gives Humble Bundle members a unique opportunity to access countless professional-quality assets at a fraction of the price. Get the assets you need to bring your next visual project to life—and help support the World Wildlife Fund with your purchase!Humble Bundle AffiliateUnlock Pro 3D Modeling Skills With Blender - Software Bundle - Unlock awesome 3D tools for Blender__ SpotlightBrine - An upcoming boomer shooter from Studio Whalefall, a 3rd year university team from Falmouth's Games Academy.Slippery fishy enemies are attacking your quaint Cornish town, and it's up to one disgruntled fisherman to save the day. Fight your way through waves of local seafood and paint the town with red.[Get the demo on Itch.io]Studio WhalefalMy game, Call Of Dookie. Demo available on SteamYou can subscribe to the free weekly newsletter on GameDevDigest.comThis post includes affiliate links; I may receive compensation if you purchase products or services from the different links provided in this article. Comments Nobody has left a comment. You can be the first! You must log in to join the conversation. 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Saudi Arabia’s (KSA’s) attempt to turn from one of the least to most developed data markets in the world has advanced with measures it and the US have taken to encourage investors to build artificial intelligence (AI) datacentres in the country. KSA came closer to finalising plans to treat foreign computer systems as “data embassies”, reassuring firms their customer data would be safely stored in the authoritarian Gulf monarchy. Meanwhile, the US scrapped export controls on its most advanced AI chips, which had threatened to stop KSA from ever realising its plan to become a global leader in AI. Those legal preparations bore fruit this week before either was actually enacted, when Nvidia, whose advanced AI chips are the subject of US export controls, said it had done a deal to ship 18,000 of them to the Saudi state-owned Public Investment Fund. The chips were the first stage in a plan to install “several hundred thousand” Nvidia Grace Blackwell AI chips in five years, consuming 500MW of energy. Political analysts and industry insiders said, before KSA’s plans unfurled this week, that its proposed Global AI Hub Law would allow KSA to get banned AI chips that both it and foreign firms would need to build AI systems in the country. The draft law offers to give foreign computer systems embassy status, so their operators answered only to the laws of their home nations. It would forbid the Saudi state from intruding. KSA concluded a public consultation on the law the day after an Investment Summit, at which US president Donald Trump and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud signed a broad economic partnership and presided over $600bn of trade deals, the White House said in a statement. They had done $300bn of deals when the conference opened, and aspired to $1tn, the prince told the conference on Tuesday. The deals encompassed defence, energy, tech and health. The audacity of KSA’s ambition was made apparent by data that in February, according to Computer Weekly analysis, showed how among 20 of the most notable data markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Saudi capital Riyadh had the second-least of all operational, planned and unfinished datacentres, above only Athens. With 125MW of computing capacity then planned in Riyadh, it was barely 5% of the forecast size of EMEA market leader London, and not 15% of the size of its rival and neighbour, the United Arab Emirates, according to numbers published by commercial estate agent Cushman & Wakefield. The largest datacentre investment deal apparent, among those announced at the Forum, was Saudi firm DataVolt, investing $20bn in the US. Read more about US and Saudi agreements On Monday, the US scrapped the AI Diffusion Rule, by which former president Joe Biden had blocked exports of powerful AI chips to all but a handful of countries because, US AI tzar David Sacks told the conference, it stopped US technology proliferating around the world and stifled strategic partners such as KSA, when it was supposed to hinder AI development in only a few countries. The US had decided instead to model AI policy on Silicon Valley’s software ecosystems, where firms became dominant by publishing application programming interfaces (APIs) that others could use to build on their technology. “They’re able to build these ecosystems without even having any lawyers involved,” said Sacks. “There’s no need for a contract. You just publish an API. In a similar way, the US needs to encourage the world to build on our tech stack. “President Trump said ‘the US has to win the AI race’. How do we win the AI race? We have to build the biggest partner ecosystem. We need our friends like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other strategic partners and allies, to build on our tech. “We want our technology to spread,” he said. “We want people to use it. We want to become the standard.” KSA’s attempt, meanwhile, to encourage foreign firms to build AI datacentres in the country by allowing their home nations to retain sovereignty over their data was widely commended as a strategic masterstroke. “It’s still an immature market, but the opportunity is huge,” said Stephen Beard, a real estate deal-maker for Knight Frank in Dubai. KSA could be a top-seven datacentre market in a decade. His firm estimated US cloud computing firms had recently committed to $9bn of investment there by 2027. Knight Frank alone was handling $7bn of datacentre deals for firms attracted by the local market opportunity, in a country with 20% lower power costs than the UK, a large, growing population and a non-democratic government able to digitise rapidly without the inconvenience of parliamentary process. President Trump commended KSA’s ruling family for that in a speech in Riyadh this week. “The AI Hub law is optically a fantastic move,” said Beard. “It should go some way to appeasing investors’ concerns. But we are talking about Saudi Arabia. Who decides the law in Saudi Arabia? Any developer looks for a higher return because of the macro risks.” But computer firms would invest there to serve KSA. The idea of KSA becoming a “super-hub” was flawed. Munir Suboh, a lawyer at Taylor Wessing in Riyadh, said the law would give KSA an “unprecedented advantage” over other countries which hesitate to cede sovereignty over foreign facilities. Contrast Saudi Arabia's attempt to make life easier for foreign investors with Europe’s regulatory preoccupation with imposing safety standards. “Traditionally, cross-border data transfers require compliance with multiple data localisation regulations, especially in data-heavy industries,” said Oliver Subhedar, a commercial dispute lawyer with Burlingtons. KSA is seeking a comparative advantage over other states by regulating datacentres themselves.” KSA would slash the cost of risk and compliance for multinationals that ordinarily had to accommodate a host of different regulations around the world, said Jade Masri, managing director of investment advisory R Consultancy in Dubai. That would cut capital costs for investors. “Hyperscalers need this law to import data into KSA to run large language models and generate meaningful AI,” said Amrik Sangha, a consultant with Gateley in Dubai. But KSA needed to address the question of “grey” fibre optic cables that would carry foreign data transfers “without monitoring”, he said. Grey, or “dark”, cables are private, point-to-point communications lines not reliant on local connections. Notwithstanding the unexpected US U-turn, Juliana Rordorf, Middle East director for political consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group, said the law might influence the global debate about data localisation, as well as AI export controls. Neighbouring Bahrain has had a data embassy law since 2018, while UAE, whose datacentre market and planned construction dwarfs that of KSA, recently made bilateral data embassy agreements with France and Italy. Such a law has even been mooted as a way to encourage investors deterred by Europe’s onerous data protection rules, having been pioneered in Estonia, and aped in Monaco, as a means of securing government backup datacentres in Luxembourg, because they otherwise had nowhere to put them safely.

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Latin America at the 2025 Venice Biennale: Exploring Territory, Memory, and Ancestral Knowledge to Build the PresentSave this picture!Andamio Vivo - Perú. Image © Gonzalo Vera Tudela De MontreuilThe 19th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale officially opened to the public on May 10, becoming a significant international platform for exploring the current state of global architecture and sparking conversations about the challenges the discipline faces today—both shared and specific to each territory. This year’s theme, "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective," proposed by general curator and Italian architect Carlo Ratti, invites reflection on architecture’s interconnection with other fields—such as art, artificial intelligence, and technology—while also emphasizing the importance of territories, landscapes, and, above all, the people who collectively shape our built environment.In this context, the national participations of Latin American countries have enriched the international exhibition with contributions deeply rooted in their local cultures and identities. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay represented Central and South America in Venice. Across their proposals, several shared themes emerged—most notably, the idea that contemporary architecture must consciously reconnect with its territory and draw from its history in order to build more thoughtfully today. Along these lines, the installations explored the re-signification of local elements and ancestral knowledge, adapting them to contemporary challenges and contexts.Brazil and Mexico centered their exhibitions on an in-depth investigation of land recording and mapping, addressing the use of ancestral construction technologies in relation to agriculture and the natural landscape. Both explored how these traditional techniques can be adapted to contemporary contexts. Uruguay, recognizing that over half of its territory is composed of water, emphasized the importance of considering this resource as an integral part of the country’s history, culture, and development. Peru and Argentina, meanwhile, focused on the re-signification of unique local elements—the silobag, emblematic of the Argentine countryside, and totora, a plant traditionally used in various forms of construction in Peru. In both pavilions, these materials were prominently featured, evoking the cultural and symbolic significance they carry. Finally, Chile’s participation presented a reflective and thought-provoking working table that examined recent debates around artificial intelligence policies established in the country. Related Article Between Algorithms and Ancestral Knowledge: Expanding the Concept of Architectural Intelligence Siestario - Argentina Save this picture!Save this picture!Upon entering Siestario, the Argentine Pavilion located in the Arsenale of Venice, visitors are immersed in a space of soft light and evocative soundscapes. At the center, serving as the undisputed focal point, is a large pink inflatable bag that instinctively invites repose. This is a silobag—a storage element commonly used in the Argentine countryside for preserving grain, especially soy, and emblematic of the country’s export-driven economy. In this context, the silobag functions not only as a spatial gesture but also as a temporal one: an invitation to pause and reflect amid the pace of the Biennale.In this way, architects Marco Zampieron and Juan Manuel Pachué succeed in decontextualizing this characteristic element—deeply rooted in national identity—by re-signifying its function and placing it within a space of critique and questioning. The result is effective: visitors are drawn to the installation, climb onto it, rest, and surrender to the experience, surrounded by images and sounds that induce a dreamlike drowsiness.(re) invenção - BrazilSave this picture!Save this picture!Brazil’s exhibition, curated by Luciana Saboia, Eder Alencar, and Matheus Seco—members of Plano Coletivo—is divided into two rooms, presenting research on the knowledge drawn from the lands of the Amazon. The installation establishes a dialogue between ancestral wisdom and contemporary urban infrastructure through exhibition elements that also serve as the structural system of the display.In the first room, lined with biodegradable wooden panels, maps and documents are spread across the floor, evoking the direct relationship that Indigenous peoples of the Amazon have with their land. In the second, a curated selection of architectural and urban infrastructure projects illustrates how these traditional forms of knowledge—deeply connected to Brazilian territory—are transformed into collective knowledge, capable of adapting to contemporary projects while preserving this cultural heritage.This balance between local culture, territory, and contemporary challenges is expressed almost literally through a minimalist and precise installation, composed of vertical panels and a suspended table made of reforested wood, both connected by tensioned steel cables. The balance is achieved through stone counterweights and a central metal tube that distributes the forces, turning the table into a structural element that redefines the spatial experience of the room.Reflective Intelligences - ChileSave this picture!Save this picture!The Chilean Pavilion presents a powerful proposal: upon entering the room, a central table—the main exhibition element—reflects a series of videos, essays, and images on its water surface. These works focus on archival research exploring the country’s growing role in the development of artificial intelligence, data center buildings, and the impact this has on the territory and, above all, its inhabitants.Serena Dambrosio, Nicolás Díaz Bejarano, and Linda Schilling Cuellar, the architects behind the pavilion, conceive the table not only as a physical support but also as a reference to the political tool of the "roundtable" used by the Chilean government to introduce policies and regulations around AI. In this case, the use of the water’s reflection invites visitors to reflect on what this technological development truly entails, questioning the exclusion of communities and environmental factors in these decision-making spaces. In this way, the table within the pavilion becomes a fertile ground for fostering collective dialogue among all key stakeholders: architects, researchers, communities, and policymakers.Chinampa Veneta - MéxicoSave this picture!Save this picture!The experience of entering the Mexican Pavilion, located in the Arsenale at the Biennale, is completely immersive. Visitors are welcomed by a recreation of a chinampa—an ancient cultivation system that involves creating platforms of earth over water to form small agricultural islands—which immediately captures attention through its lush vegetation, the scent of damp soil, and the sounds of water. The rest of the room, where vegetables, flowers, and medicinal herbs planted in the central chinampa are also expected to grow, is arranged to mimic the canals of Xochimilco, drawing a parallel with Venice itself, famously built over water.With this installation, the curatorial team—comprising Estudio Ignacio Urquiza and Ana Paula de Alba, Estudio María Marín de Buen, ILWT, Locus, Lucio Usobiaga Hegewisch & Nathalia Muguet, and Pedro&Juana—proposes revisiting these traditional chinampa agricultural systems to reflect on their adaptation in the present as a sustainable response, thanks to their self-irrigation system, within the context of droughts and global climate crisis. It also stands as evidence of a collective system bridging the natural and the built environment, as well as sustained care over time.Living Scaffolding - PerúSave this picture!Save this picture!The Peruvian Pavilion, with Alex Hudtwalcker as chief curator and Sebastián Cillóniz, José Ignacio Beteta, and Gianfranco Morales as associate curators, is presented at the Biennale’s Arsenale with Living Scaffolding, a proposal centered around a monumental structure built from totora reed wood. This installation brings to Venice the ancestral knowledge of the Uros and Aymara peoples of Lake Titicaca, who for centuries have used totora to construct floating habitable islands, homes, boats, and other essential elements for life on the lake.Over time, the refinement of this ancient technique incorporated other essential components—such as ropes and logs—that contribute to the stability and buoyancy of the structures. All this knowledge is materialized in an installation that can be fully experienced: visitors enter and walk through the scaffolding, exploring its construction system from within.Living Scaffolding highlights the technical precision and enduring relevance of this tradition, which in the contemporary context takes on a new meaning connected to collectivity, material memory, and the possibility of reactivating ancestral techniques as a response to today’s challenges. 53,86% Uruguay Land of Water - Uruguay Save this picture!Save this picture!Curated by architects Ken Sei Fong and Katia Sei Fong, alongside visual artist Luis Sei Fong, the Uruguayan Pavilion explores the country’s relationship with its maritime territory, which accounts for just over half of its total surface area. Located in its own building within the Biennale’s Giardini, the pavilion features a poetic and musical installation: a wavy ceiling from which amethyst stones hang, dripping water that strikes metal containers on the floor. This sensory and sonic experience invites visitors to contemplate water as a thread that weaves together the country’s memory, identity, and development.The installation presents a critique of the global water management model, emphasizing that, as a finite and increasingly scarce resource, it is essential to establish policies and regulations for its preservation. In this context, architecture plays a key role: it can not only offer innovative solutions but also promote conscious planning around water in cities and territories, acting as a bridge between the way we inhabit and the way we collectively manage this vital resource.Save this picture!Latin America’s participation in the 2025 Venice Biennale reveals that architecture is not only a design discipline but also a powerful critical and cultural tool. Each pavilion, rooted in its specific territorial context and local cultural identity, enacts a form of resistance by exploring ancestral knowledge, natural resources, and contemporary technologies as collective ways of knowing—learning from the past to build better today. In a global context marked by environmental crises, inequalities, and technological transformations, these architectural and deeply reflective endeavors construct new and reimagined narratives, where the local is no longer intrinsic to a fixed context but rather knowledge that expands, connects, and adapts to shared new realities.Save this picture! Image gallerySee allShow less About this authorPaula PintosAuthor••• Cite: Pintos, Paula. "Latin America at the 2025 Venice Biennale: Exploring Territory, Memory, and Ancestral Knowledge to Build the Present" [Latinoamérica en la Bienal de Venecia 2025: territorio, memoria y saberes ancestrales para construir el presente] 23 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030213/latin-america-at-the-2025-venice-biennale-exploring-territory-memory-and-ancestral-knowledge-to-build-the-present&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

$30k per year: $30 per hour, 20 hours per week.Our team is 100% remote and distributed across the world. We have team members in Australia, the US, Thailand, Spain, Germany, the UK, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, the UAE, Romania, and more. It doesn't matter where you live or what time zone you're in.Your main responsibility will be to reply to customers asking for help with WP All Export and WP All Import. You need to love to help others and be able to keep it friendly even when dealing with difficult customers. You need to enjoy the whole process of turning anxious, confused, or angry customers into happy ones. You must be an excellent writer. We want our support replies to be friendly, easy to understand, and concise.FlexibilityWe are a small team but we try to give everyone as much flexibility as possible. Flexibility means that you can work in the mornings, or the evenings, or both, or in the middle of the night, or whatever. It means you can take two weeks off to go on a trip. It means you can wake up and decide you don't feel like working and take the day off without telling anyone.We aim to be as asynchronous as possible. We hate meetings, live chat, Slack, etc because it causes interruptions. You will have a list of prioritized tasks assigned to you, and we'll do our absolute best to leave you alone so that you can work on them in peace on your own time.These do a good job describing how we work:As a remote company, it's important to us to keep a strong line between our personal life and our work. Some places like to tell their employees they are joining a family. They have regular events unrelated to work like social chat rooms, hangouts over Zoom, etc. This is just another way for these companies to emotionally manipulate people into doing more work. You have an actual family and working with Soflyy means you can organize your work around the rest of your life, using your time as you see fit.For most of us here, that is the primary draw. If you take a look at https://www.wpallimport.com/about/, you will notice that we have a lot of people who have worked here for many years. Our employee attrition rate is close to zero, and we think the flexibility we offer is the primary reason. ResponsibilitiesResponding to customer support inquiriesAdding to and improving our documentationAggregating customer feedback and assisting us with development/product roadmap decisionsWriting concise bug reports based on support tickets that are a result of bugs in WP All Export or WP All ImportTesting development versions of WP All Import and WP All ExportAnd perhaps even recording walkthrough videos and other marketing tasks RequirementsThe only thing we care about is the ability to provide high-quality customer support to our clients. The more of these boxes you can tick the better, in descending order of importance:Minimum availability of 20 hours per week.Flawless written English.Expert-level WordPress knowledge. Extensive experience with WordPress including troubleshooting, debugging, plugin development, and WordPress database structure.At least intermediate-level PHP knowledge. Ability to write PHP functions, work with arrays, and make use of our API: http://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/developers/execute-php/, http://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/developers/action-reference/, and http://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/addon-dev/overview/Fast and hands-on learner. Able to quickly become familiar with our software and learn new things about WordPress, PHP, and related technologies.Experience with WooCommerce.Familiarity with XML and CSV file formats and XPath.Debugging and troubleshooting WordPress themes and plugins by looking into their code and the database.To apply, visit https://www.wpallimport.com/hiring/#apply-now.Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Meet JobCopilot: Your Personal AI Job HunterAutomatically Apply to Remote Customer Support JobsJust set your preferences and Job Copilot will do the rest-finding, filtering, and applying while you focus on what matters. Activate JobCopilot

After 17 years of saving your favorite articles, Pocket is shutting down. The popular read-it-later app is set to close on July 8, 2025. The app's owner, Mozilla says it plans to shut down the app once used by millions as “the way people use the web has evolved, so we’re channeling our resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs."You’ll be able to export your articles from now through to October 8, 2025. After then, your data will be deleted, so if you have a long list of outstanding articles, you'll want to grab the export so you can move them to an alternative service.Pocket is no longer available on app stores, but you can download it if you’ve previously accessed the tool on that service. To export your article list, head to this link, check your email is correct and then hit the button titled Export HTML File. You'll then be sent your file through email, which Mozilla says can take up to 24 hours.Those with Premium subscriptions will get a prorated refund depending on how long you have left after the shut down date of July 8. Pocket has already arranged refunds to your original payment method, and it says no action is needed to receive the money.Recommended by Our EditorsMozilla, the software company behind Firefox, hasn’t shared any further specifics about why it has chosen to shut down the app. It may be because of an increase in AI tools to help you save articles to read later. Mozilla bought Pocket in 2017 in its first acquisition for an undisclosed amount.If you're looking for an alternative service to Pocket, other options include Raindrop.io and Instapaper. Raindrop.io is a bookmark manager that is designed to work for more than just articles, while Instapaper is more of a Pocket-like experience giving you an easy to read format of everything you save no matter what device you're using. You can import your Pocket saves into both Instapaper and Raindrop.io.