Captured on Nintendo SwitchWhen Onimusha: Warlords launched for Switch all the way back in 2019, we had optimistically assumed that its sequel would be right around the corner. How naïve. A bit of patience has been required, but now, more than six years later, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny has finally been given the same remaster treatment. We can’t be too mad at the long wait, mind you; with Capcom looking to fully revive the series with Onimusha: Way of the Sword in 2026, now might be the best time to remind players of what could well be the best entry. In terms of what’s new with the Switch remaster, you can look to the original for a pretty solid benchmark. Visuals have been given a nice boost, and while there are no enhancements here akin to what the Resident Evil franchise has enjoyed in the past, the bump up to HD is still pretty nice. Certain areas can look a little muddy in handheld mode, but it’s a fine-looking game for the most part, bolstered by strong art design. Captured on Nintendo SwitchOne area that did stick out to us, however, was the aspect ratio. By default, the game is presented at a widescreen 16:9 display, but you can switch this to the original 4:3 display via the options menu. We opted for the latter for most of our playthrough, since widescreen mode cuts off a huge chunk of the environment and action by simply zooming in to fill the space. It’s not like the game takes any cues from the HD port of the Resident Evil remake by panning the camera as you move to compensate for the missing content; for a lot of shots, it’s just gone. If you can stomach the black bars on the sides, stick to 4:3. Gameplay has received a revamp, with ‘modern’ movement mapped to the analogue stick, and the traditional ‘tank controls’ mapped to the D-pad. It would’ve been nice to have the option to switch these for the purists out there, but with only two control configurations available, the only thing you’re going to be altering is which analogue stick can be clicked to initiate a quick turn. Not the end of the world, but a bit more customisation would be welcome. The modern controls feel pretty good for the most part. Since we’re still dealing with fixed camera angles, there are brief moments where holding in one direction will result in protagonist Jubei jerking to the left or right as you recalibrate your movement with a sudden camera change. Tank controls simply have you pushing ‘up’ to move forward, so these don’t suffer from the same problem, but there’s no doubt that they feel generally more cumbersome in comparison. Captured on Nintendo SwitchTo illustrate the gameplay and visuals a bit better, Onimusha 2 feels like a stepping stone between the rigid limitations of classic Resident Evil and the more free-flow setup of Devil May Cry, despite the latter launching a year prior to Onimusha 2. There are no sweeping camera movements here, which is a shame since the game's fixed angles felt dated back in 2002, but the gameplay certainly feels more agile and responsive than anything you’d find in those early RE games. The story itself stars Jubei Yagyu, who takes over from Samanosuke as the only surviving member of a clan wiped out by the evil Nobunaga Oda. We’ll be honest, Jubei is kind of a boring protagonist with a typically gruff voice, but his lack of wit is compensated for by the surrounding cast, including the charmingly boisterous Ekei Ankokuji and the delightfully flamboyant demon Gogandantess. Gameplay is a mix of sword-fighting action and light puzzle solving. Jubei can wield several unique weapons as you proceed through the story, starting with a basic samurai sword before grabbing a spear, a hammer, and more. You can lock onto enemies, strafe around them, and use a slick mix of offensive and defensive actions accordingly, including the ability to kick your enemies backwards and stab them with a sharp thrust. Captured on Nintendo SwitchDefeating enemies once again results in their souls drifting upwards into the air, by which point you can absorb them with your gauntlet. This lets you regain lost health, add power to your magic meter, and upgrade your equipment at various shrines dotted around the world. Onimusha 2 dips its toe into RPG mechanics, but it’s light enough that those who aren’t particularly fond of such things need not worry. It’s very much a case of choosing which weapon to upgrade, holding down ‘A’ to spend your currency, and away you go. Crucially, you’re not necessarily punished for not bothering with it too much. Overall, Onimusha 2 feels like a significant improvement over its predecessor, with deeper combat mechanics, more varied environments, excellent boss encounters, and engaging puzzles. The music is also worth highlighting, too, taking inspiration from the feudal setting to bolster its authenticity while providing a bunch of catchy tunes you’ll be humming long after the credits roll. Neat little extras are also loaded into the remaster. If you’ve played through Onimusha 2 multiple times, you might ‘enjoy’ the new Hell difficulty setting, which sees Jubei die with just a single hit – brutal stuff. On the flip side, an Easy mode has also been added if you prefer to enjoy the story without much hassle. Captured on Nintendo SwitchFun yet throwaway minigames, including The Man in Black, Team Oni, and Puzzle Phantom Realm, are now available from the start via the main menu, and the original’s Gallery mode has been included once again with revamped, HD assets to enjoy whenever you like. Finally, extra costumes for the main game are available, but these look kinda goofy in our opinion. If you own the first title on Switch, however, you can opt to wear Samonosuke’s outfit, which will always look badass. Conclusion Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is a strong, worthy successor to the original that is now at its absolute best on Switch. Some of it feels dated by modern standards, with fixed camera angles that arguably should have been ditched back in 2002, but it still feels incredibly fun regardless. The remaster adds in a bunch of quality-of-life updates and extras that both longtime fans and newcomers will appreciate, but ultimately, this is a faithful revival of one of the PS2's very best games. Now the patient wait for Onimusha 3 begins. Still an excellent sequel more than 20 years onLots of great characters, even if Jubei isn't the most engaging protagonistGameplay is slick, with plenty of depthNeat little extras bolster the overall package nicelyHell Mode should prove a worthy challenge for veterans 16:9 widescreen mode just cuts off the top and bottom of the screenFixed camera angles felt dated back in 2002Minigames are fun but ultimately throwaway Great 8/10 #review #onimusha #samurai039s #destiny #switch

The Flipper Zero has always felt like a digital Swiss Army knife for hardware hackers – part toy, part toolkit, and a whole lot of trouble for the devices around it. Out of the box, it could spoof RFID badges, copy remotes, analyze sub-GHz signals, and poke into wireless protocols with the ease of a gadget built by a Bond villain’s favorite engineer. But where it really opened up was at the top, with those GPIO pins that transformed it from a multi-tool into a platform. Enter Michael Baisch’s UV Meter module. It’s a thumbnail-sized add-on that plugs directly into the Flipper’s GPIO header and does one thing extremely well: it measures ultraviolet radiation. UVA, UVB, and even UVC rays most of us can’t see, don’t think about, but probably should. It’s like giving your Flipper Zero sunscreen awareness, which feels oddly poetic for a device usually associated with penetration testing and hacking. Designer: Michael Baisch The core of the module is the AS7331 sensor, a surprisingly sophisticated little chip that Baisch had to wrestle into submission. Reading UV data isn’t just about pulling values from registers. The AS7331 speaks in wavelengths and photodiode voltages, not clean numerical outputs. So Baisch wrote his own library to interface with it via I²C, making the sensor’s data digestible for the Flipper’s tiny 128×64 pixel screen. What you get is live UV index readings broken into the A, B, and C spectrums. UVA is the long-wave stuff that penetrates deep into skin, causing wrinkles and damage over time. UVB is what gives you sunburns. UVC is mostly filtered by the atmosphere, but if you’re anywhere near artificial UV sources like sterilization lamps, knowing it’s there matters. And the module doesn’t just spit out raw numbers. Baisch paid attention to the UX, cramming a clean, usable interface into the Flipper’s minimal display. There’s even a wiring guide built into the app for DIYers who’d rather solder their own sensor than buy the full PCB. But for the rest of us, he’s made the hardware files public, so you can 3D print, fab, or Tindie your way into having a plug-and-play UV monitor on your Flipper. Sure, it’s not as headline-grabbing as cloning key fobs or brute-forcing infrared signals, but it taps into something arguably more relevant. UV exposure is tied to everything from cancer risk to sleep patterns. Being able to measure it on a whimis a compelling narrative shift. It’s another reminder that the Flipper Zero is an absolute hardware chameleon capable of so much more than we know. With every new module, it finds fresh territory to explore. Today it’s the sun. Tomorrow? Who knows. Maybe something in the air, the soil, the human body.The post This Add-On Module Turns the Flipper Zero Into a Pocket UV Radiation Scanner first appeared on Yanko Design. #this #addon #module #turns #flipper

Macworld If there’s one thing Apple’s good at, it’s building operating systems that are simple to use and full of intuitive features. A prime example of that is its collection of Mac trackpad gestures, which let you work your way around macOS with just a few breezy swipes. You might already know a few key trackpad gestures, like pinching to zoom or using two fingers to scroll. But look a little closer and there are many more little-known gestures that can seriously level up your macOS experience. Here, we’ve detailed nine of the best Mac trackpad gestures that give you new powers to control your computer. Hide all other appsApple When you’re really knee-deep in a project on your Mac, you can quickly find yourself with multiple app windows clogging up your screen. Managing them all can be a pain, but there’s an easy way to do it: use App Exposé. With a quick swipe, this feature will hide all windows except those belonging to the currently active app. That gives you a speedy way to see how many windows a particular app has open and to switch between them. As well as that, you’ll see a row of recent documents along the bottom of your screen, so you can open them without having to root around in folders looking for them. App Exposé is turned off by default, but it’s one of the first things I enable whenever I get a new Mac. To do so, open the System Settings app and go to Trackpad > More Gestures. Next to App Exposé, choose either Swipe Down with Three Fingers or Swipe Down with Four Fingers from the dropdown menu. Mission Control Apple While App Exposé requires a downward gesture, swipe four fingers upward on your trackpad and you’ll activate Mission Control, which is enabled by default. It’s a helpful feature for when you have an app-laden desktop, but instead of hiding everything except the active app, Mission Control shows all your open apps and windows in one view. That means you can switch to the app you need without having to repeatedly tap Command-Tab. Mission Control is also useful for viewing and switching to different virtual desktops. Swipe four fingers up to launch Mission Control, and your active desktops appear in a row at the top of your display. You can flip between them, add a new desktop, or remove any that you’ve created. Learn more about Mission Control. Switch desktops and full-screen apps Apple Speaking of virtual desktops, you don’t need to use Mission Control to see them; a simple trackpad gesture will do the trick. Once you’ve created more than one desktop, swipe four fingers left or right to switch between them. That’s much faster than launching Mission Control, finding the right desktop, then clicking to open it. The same gesture works for full-screen apps, too. When you’re in a full-screen app, swipe four fingers across your trackpad to move between other full-screen apps and your virtual desktops. Each full-screen app occupies its own virtual desktop space, which you can see by opening Mission Control. Show your desktop Apple When your Mac is cluttered with open apps, it’s a pain to minimize them all one by one to get to your desktop. Instead, just place three fingers and your thumb close together on your trackpad, then spread them apart. All your apps will lift away to reveal your desktop. You can cleverly pair this gesture with a mouse if you have one for your Mac. For instance, spread your fingers on your trackpad to hide your apps, then click and drag a file located on your desktop. While still holding your mouse button down, pinch your fingers together again on your trackpad. This process lets you hide your apps, pick up a file, then bring your apps back and drop the file into an app of your choice. Find apps quickly using Launchpad Apple While moving your thumb and three fingers apart shows your desktop, doing the opposite action–starting three fingers and your thumb wide and then pinching them together–is a quick way to open Launchpad. This is a grid view of all your installed apps, and it lets you open them quickly without delving into the Applications folder. You can arrange apps however you want and organize them into folders to neaten things up. And with this gesture, they’re just a quick swipe away. Open Notification Center Apple Heard of the Notification Center? It’s a dedicated widget area that can house a clock, a calendar, a weather forecast, and more. It lives off-screen on your Mac and can be summoned by clicking the time and date in your display’s top-right corner. It’s an underused part of macOS, but it’s a handy way to add a few widgets into the mix without having them permanently sitting on your desktop. While you could activate the Notification Center by clicking your Mac’s date, you can also bring it out of its hiding place with a gesture. Move your mouse pointer to the right-hand edge of your screen, then swipe from right to left with two fingers. This will drag the Notification Center out into the open. To put it back, just swipe from left to right or click on any part of your display. Learn more about Notification Center. A better way to move files Apple If you want to drag and drop a file from one side of your display to the other, things can get a little tricky with a trackpad, and it’s not uncommon for your fingers to bump up against the trackpad’s edge before you’ve finished moving your file. Fortunately, there’s a feature that can help make this a little less fiddly. Open the System Settings app and navigate to Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options. Next, enable the toggle next to Use trackpad for dragging. Now, pick an option from the dropdown menu next to Dragging style. If you pick Without Drag Lock, you can double-tap a file, then, without lifting your finger after the second tap, move it, and it will “stick” to your pointer. Raise your finger to release the file. The With Drag Lock option is similar, except you don’t need to keep your finger pressed on the trackpad. Instead, double-tap a file and it will be attached to your pointer; you can then click to drop it. Three Finger Drag is the final option, and it lets you drag a file by moving it with three fingers, no tapping required. Look up words and manage dates and numbers Apple Many apps in macOS are smart enough to automatically detect things like phone numbers, email addresses, street addresses, dates, and times, then give you options on how to manage that data. For example, type an address into the Mail or TextEdit apps, and you might see a dotted box appear around the address when you mouse over it. Click the arrow that appears and you’ll get options to add the address to your contacts, view it in Maps, and more. Instead of trying to click this small arrow, you can activate these contextual detailswith a gesture. In System Settings, go to Trackpad > Point & Click, then next to Look up & data detectors, choose either Force Click with One Finger or Tap with Three Fingers. When you next perform the gesture over a piece of compatible text, you’ll activate the data detector. Not all data detectors show a dotted box and an arrow. Links in web pages, for example, will show a preview of the linked page when you use your chosen data detector gesture on them. Or you can highlight a word, then use the data detector gesture on it to look up a definition of what it means. Note that you might have to enable data detectors in the first place. To do so, open an app and find Edit in the menu bar, then go to Substitutions and click Data Detectors. #secret #mac #trackpad #gestures #you

Phones that flip and fold have been The Next Big Thing so long it almost seems like they might never happen. Even as they've gotten better, faster, and more durable, devices from Google, Samsung, and others have just had too many compromises.But bit by bit, year by year, it seems we might be getting closer to truly great flips and folds. On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge's Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about her review of Motorola's new Razr Ultra, one of the most compellingflip phones we've yet tested. Allison explains what Motorola got right, what's not quite ready, and why she's not quite ready to sell everyone on a flip phone. She also talks about Motorola's approach to AI, which is sometimes very clever and sometimes just flat out bad. Subscribe: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Pocket Casts | More After that, The Verge's Alex Heath talks us through the recent history of Snap, and why the company still seems unable to find its footing as a business. Snapchat is more popular than ever, especially among young users, but hasn't managed to turn that into the perpetual money machine it needs in orde … Read the full story at The Verge. #razr #ultra #proves #flip #phones

BySamuel MorenoPublished5 minutes agoWe may earn a commission from links on this page.Screenshot: Capcom / Samuel Moreno / KotakuJump ToMonster Hunter Wilds’ first title update introduced a lot of new content, but a standout addition is Mizutsune. This serpentine behemoth is a one-of-a-kind threat packed with unique mechanics and an aggressive attitude. The Tempered version takes it to another level and is considered by many to be stronger than anything encountered in the campaign or after. No matter which variant you’re having trouble with, we can help you beat this frothy threat.Suggested ReadingThe 3 Best And 3 Worst Korok Challenges In Tears Of The Kingdom Share SubtitlesOffEnglishview videoSuggested ReadingThe 3 Best And 3 Worst Korok Challenges In Tears Of The Kingdom Share SubtitlesOffEnglishYou’ll first take on a Mizutsune in the “Spirit in the Moonlight” side mission. The only requirements are being at Hunter Rank 21 and having already completed the “Fishing: Life, In Microcosm” side mission for Kanya. Once you’ve hunted the monster down one time, it will start spawning in both the Scarlet Forest and Ruins of Wyveria.Tempered Mizutsune can spawn in these same areas, albeit only once you’ve leveled up more and at least reached chapter six of the main quest line. I can say from personal experience that the Tempered version spawned more often during a Fallow season or an Inclemency. Feel free to use the Rest function a couple of times to make it show up.Screenshot: Capcom / Samuel Moreno / KotakuMizutsune’s most distinctive aspect are its bubbles, which are dispersed during many of its attacks. Getting hit by most of these will inflict you with the unique Bubbleblight ailment. This ailment is split into a minor and a major stage. Minor Bubbleblight isn’t too bad, as it’s a buff that enhances your evasion. Getting hit with another bubble will change it to the more frustrating Major Bubbleblight, which causes you to slip while running and be sent farther away by large attacks or explosions.A Nulberry is unfortunately not able to cure this status ailment, although they’re still worth bringing since Mizutsune can additionally inflict both Waterblight and Fireblight. The quickest way to cure Bubbleblight is to use a Cleanser. Alternatively, if you have fought this monster before and are just farming, equipping Mizutsune-forged armor is a big help. Its Bubbly Dance skill will prevent Major Bubbleblight so that you can focus more on dealing damage. If you don’t have the armor or run out of Cleanser, your next best bet is waiting 30 seconds for it to disappear.Some bubbles apply different effects, which makes things more complicated. Thankfully, they’re color-coded; however, you’ll still need to be quick on your feet when they’re coming right at you. Here are the different-colored bubbles and what they do:Clear: Deals damage and inflicts BubbleblightGreen: Provides healing and inflicts BubbleblightRed: Provides a temporary attack boost and inflicts BubbleblightFiery Blue: Deals damage and inflicts FireblightTrying to dodge these bubbles isn’t always the best use of your time. Both Slinger ammo and attacks from your weapon can pop them, although slower melee weapons can require precise timing. Using ranged weapons like Heavy or Light Bowguns is a lot more convenient.Screenshot: Capcom / Samuel Moreno / KotakuMizutsune is a highly mobile monster that can hit hard and use its water-based attacks to trigger a variety of status ailments. Start your hunts with the following weaknesses in mind because you’ll want to take advantage of them:Elemental Weaknesses: Thunder, DragonWeapon Type Weaknesses: Cut, BluntBreakable Parts: Head x2, Claws x2, Tail, Dorsal FinWeak Point: MouthSusceptible Status Ailments: Blastblight, Exhaust, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep, StunScreenshot: Capcom / Samuel Moreno / KotakuEven though you can tackle this thing as early as Hunter Rank 21, I suggest holding off for a bit. Mizutsune dishes out massive damage that can be mitigated with better armor and weapons. Wait until you’ve finished chapter five and can farm Gore Magala hunts. Weapons crafted from Gore Magala parts dish out Dragon element damage, while its armor offers great Water resistance. These are huge advantages to have when fighting this creature.Any weapon type can work, but slower ones will feel extra cumbersome against Mizutsune. Between the erratic movements and seemingly endless bubbles, it’s convenient to have quicker weapons like Dual Blades or Sword and Shield. Their multi-hitting nature will help with applying elemental damage as well. I advise pinning it down using traps and different ailments if you’re still having trouble landing hits.You should also watch out for its Waterblight-inflicting jet stream attacks. Mizutsune has a handful of moves that involve vertical or horizontal sweeping water beams. Thankfully, they’re easily telegraphed and have small hitboxes. Make sure to exploit Mizutsune’s long recovery periods after using these attacks.Mizutsune’s long-reaching tail attacks are another notable characteristic. The most deadly of these are the tail slams, which come out fast and can take out all of your health if your defense is low. There is a backflip variant to hit anyone behind and another where it twists its body in the air to slam those in front. I’ve seen the latter countered with an Offset Attack, but dodging it is the less risky solution.All of the above is amplified when the monster enters its unique enraged state. Breaking its head will enable it to transition into a powered-up mode akin to Soulseer Mizutsune from prior entries, complete with blue fire flaring from its left eye. Mizutsune will start shooting fire-covered bubbles in addition to using attacks more rapidly and aggressively when this state is triggered. While you can try to avoid this by not breaking the head, the trade-off is that you’ll be inflicting less damage. The one positive to this enraged state is that it will tire quicker and eventually become exhausted. That’s your cue to start dealing as much damage as possible.Don’t feel bad if these hunts leave you frustrated. There is a lot to keep track of with little time for reaction. Tempered Mizutsune is even more challenging and might just be the toughest fight in Monster Hunter Wilds yet. Still, everything we’ve mentioned will apply all the same. Memorizing which animations initiate which attacks will go a long way. Otherwise, bring your best gear, outfit them with appropriate decorations, and carry the Armorcharm and Powercharm items for good measure.Screenshot: Capcom / Samuel Moreno / KotakuNothing makes a tough fight feel worth it more than some good loot. Flipping through the monster’s Detailed Info tabs will break down all the various drop rates for the end of a hunt, destroyed wounds, and body part carvings. It’s a lot to take in, but worth perusing to narrow down what parts you need. I’ve provided a simple list of the attainable Mizutsune materials below that’s sorted by the overall drop frequency, with the most common parts at the top.Mizutsune Fin+Mizutsune Claw+Mizutsune Purplefur+Mizutsune TailMizutsune Scale+Bubblefoam+Mizutsune Certificate SMizutsune Water Orb The community’s pleas for harder hunts certainly seem to have been heard. With the addition of Arch-Tempered monsters on the horizon, I can imagine these are only going to get tougher.. #how #take #down #powerful #mizutsune

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Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Why Trust Us?Last week I was reading one of my favorite design newsletters, Cathy and Garrett of The Grit And Polish, a pair of old-home renovators in Washington state. Cathy was sharing about shopping for window treatments, specifically the designer-beloved Chik blinds, for a rental renovation project. When the estimated price for the blinds didn’t come in at budget, instead of giving up, Cathy employed what she’s coined, “The 90% Rule.” I’ll let her explain:“Garrett and I have found that getting from 90% to 100%, design-wise, can be very expensive,” says Cathy. “And more often than not, we’re just as satisfied with the lower cost option.”Cathy ended up sourcing bamboo rollup blinds that, while not an exact match to the Chik blinds, are close enough to get the desired look without significantly breaking the budget. Cathy admits that, like all of us, she occasionally splurges, but “most of the time 90% feels like the right compromise between good design and reasonable budget.” Armed with a new catch phrase, I spent the weekend thinking of all the times I’m thankful to have settled on a “pretty good is good enough” way of thinking.In the Living RoomEllen GodfreyThe living room of my 1914 Craftsman is bright and cheerful with coffered ceilings and an original coal-burning fireplace with an inky green tile surround. I knew I wanted to do something to highlight the green tile, so when my friend and designer, Ellen Godfrey introduced me to Trustworth’s “Hydrangea” wallpaper it was love at first sight. It’s a whimsical, floral pattern that has similar green tones to my tile paired with muted yellows and dusty pinks. But without the budget to afford a full-room wallpaper install, I opted to apply the 90% rule and only wallpaper the fireplace bump out instead. I saved thousands of dollars on both the wallpaper and the installation fees, and, thanks to the room being mostly windows and door, I got 90% of the way to the look I was after. Seven years later and I’m still so glad I didn’t wait until I could afford to wallpaper the entire room. For More on Wallpaper:In the KitchenBecky-Luigart StaynerBecky Luigart-Stayner for Country LivingBecky Luigart-Stayner for Country LivingThe vision for my British-inspired kitchen renovation was always yellow, so nailing the perfect shade of warm sunshine was mission critical. Once my husband and I completed extensive swatch testing, lost a few nights of sleep, and polled a dozen of our most design-savvy friends it felt like a worthy splurge to go with our winner, Sudbury Yellow by Farrow & Ball instead of color-matching the yellow hue with a more affordable paint brand. However, another element on the vision board was a breakfast nook for our family of four to have a space to enjoy more casual meals and snacks together. With a tiny kitchen footprint that left no room for a built-in banquet and a budget that couldn’t handle more custom cabinetry, we once again decided to get 90% of the way there, opting for an antique pedestal table and a freestanding scalloped banquette-style bench upholstered in performance fabric. Again, we saved thousands of dollars in construction costs, and, in the end, got 90% of the way there in both form and function. For More on Kitchens & Breakfast Nooks:In the Kid’s RoomMaribeth Jones for Country LivingWhen our daughter Ruby was born we had to get serious about light control in the guest room that was getting twirled up into her nursery. The room has SEVEN windows. Seven! I think it was a sleeping porch in a past life, but I digress. I really wanted motorized linen shades from The Shade Store, like I’d seen in the beautiful Connecticut farmhouse of Debbie Propst. But with the aforementioned seven windows, they just weren’t in the budget. Once again, we employed the 90% rule and went with a more affordable line of motorized shades in a creamy linen that allowed us to get both the light filtering and ease we needed, while not sacrificing too much on the look we were after. If you squint they aaaalmost look like the luxe version from my original inspiration. For More On Window Treatments:So, whether you’re looking to do a full renovation or some minor decor swaps, let the 90% rule be your North Star. Cheers to good enough! Maribeth B JonesDesign DirectorMaribeth B Jones is the Design Director of Country Living where she creates seasonal content full of warmth and playfulness. When she’s not wrangling chickens for a cover shoot you can find her collecting vintage oil portraits or flipping pancakes in her sunny, yellow kitchen with her two chatty daughters. #rule #decorating #has #saved #thousands

Democrats have a lot to be excited about when they look at President Donald Trump’s polls. Scores of voters have soured on his job performance since he took office. And that group of unhappy voters includes some of Trump’s new 2024 converts — the young voters, disaffected voters, and voters of color who left the Democratic coalition to join Trump’s.But Trump’s losses aren’t translating to Democratic gains. The polling so far suggests that the voters disillusioned by Trump similarly dislike the Democrats — and are more likely to leave politics altogether than align themselves with the Democratic Party.Congressional Democrats — and their party’s national brand — remain dismal: Some 37 percent of voters view the party favorably, while about 60 percent view them unfavorably, according to YouGov’s tracking surveys.Compare that to the GOP’s slightly better standing among voters in the same polls: 40 percent approve while 55 percent disapprove. Despite the early chaos and deluge of news during the first months of the Trump presidency, Republicans are either viewed more favorably than Democrats or running even with them in head-to-head polling.That dynamic is very different from how the parties were viewed during Trump’s first term. At this point in 2017, when Trump’s job approval was similarly spiraling downward, Democrats enjoyed a modest, but constant, edge of support over Republicans as a majority of the country turned even more negatively against Trump’s first-term agenda and performance. They sustained that advantage — generally a 3–6 point margin — through the 2018 “blue wave” midterms and beyond.In 2025, the picture is more evenly divided: a broadly unpopular president and two unpopular parties.A few interconnected reasons explain why Democrats are stuck in this conundrum — and offer some insight into what they have to do to get out of it.Democrats aren’t seen as a credible alternative — yetSo why aren’t newly anti-Trump voters flocking to Democrats? Perhaps the most important reason is that they don’t see Democrats as a better alternative. Consider April’s ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, which was taken at what is, so far, the nadir of Trump’s public support. Despite broad discontent over Trump’s tariffs and inflation, Americans still said they trusted him “to do a better job handling the country’s main problems” over Democrats by a 7-point margin — 37 percent to 30 percent. Another 30 percent said neither could do a better job, while 4 percent said both could do it equally.Similarly, Americans are more likely to say that the Democratic Party is “out of touch” with the average person than either Trump or the Republican Party. About 70 percent of respondents say so about the Democrats, while 64 percent and 60 percent say so for Republicans and Trump respectively, according to that April poll.And what about those Trump’s newest voters — the youth and people of color who joined him in 2024? The data we have suggests they may be increasingly unhappy with Trump, but they’re not running back to Democrats either.Take the Spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll, a project from that university’s Institute of Politics which has been specifically polling and tracking young Americans under the age of 30 since 2000.It found that young Americans’ approval of Trump and congressional Republicans has remained steady over the last few years. But views of the Democratic Party have collapsed from 48 percent approval in 2020 to 23 percent in 2025. Young Black voters, specifically, have grown more supportive of Trump since 2017, the polling suggests. And the unifying theme, Harvard’s analysts find, is a growing distrust of government — and political parties in general — even as the general ideology and values that young Americans hold seem to be moderating a little.Something similar is happening among Latino voters, according to a poll conducted over the past month by the Latino firm Equis Research and Data for Progress.Per the poll, Latino and Hispanic voters’ support for the president is “trending slightly below” 2024 levels. Yet he hasn’t seen a complete collapse in support, in part because some degree of voters still approve of his immigration, border security, and public safety policies, even if a growing share think he’s overreaching. That’s another difference from 2017, when these voters were strongly opposed.But Trump’s loss with Latinos does not appear to be Democrats’ gain. Latino Americans, including young men and Biden 2020-Trump 2024 voters, seem to be rejecting both parties. The firm notes that among Latinos who dislike either Trump’s immigration or economic policies, these voters “still don’t trust Democrats more on the.”Plenty of voters are waiting and seeingAnother reason Democrats don’t seem to be gaining much support among Trump disapprovers is that there are plenty of voters who are biding their time. Polls and anecdotal data suggest there are voters who are still willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt even if they are disappointed. They are unsure or unenthusiastic about some of Trump’s job performance, but they’re not willing to go so far as to say they would redo their vote or switch parties next year.The gap between Trump’s support and the GOP’s support, for example, suggests that some voters might disapprove of how Trump has implemented his agenda, but still back Republicans in general. And the stabilizing of Trump’s approval rating as he does less may signal that voters are returning to him as he rolls back or stands down some of his more controversial actions.These kinds of voters show up a lot in focus groups conducted this spring, including those reported on by the New York Times, and in the wild.While reporting in Philadelphia on remorseful Trump voters earlier this month, I encountered many voters who said they wouldn’t redo their vote, but they still felt a bit let down with some of Trump’s approach to the job. At least anecdotally, young Trump voters tended to say this. Nikita, a senior at Drexel who spoke to me and Today, Explained producer Miles Bryan, admitted he “expected things to be a little different.” But he also thought it was too soon to make a definitive judgment on the Trump presidency or his future vote.“probably give him either to the end of the year, or just give him a year at first just to see how things are going,” he said. “He’s been in office for what, a few months now? So I guess it’s not enough time yet to really see … if these tariffs are gonna play a big role in our economy and really spike up prices for a while. So just give it some time to see how things play out.”The polling data also shows this dynamic. Trump hit a low point in his popularity in April, when he announced his tariff regime and after a slate of negative coverage related to DOGE and his immigration policy. As he dialed back his tariffs, DOGE receded, and headlines moved on to other news items, his approval ratings stabilized. Some polls are now even capturing a mid-May recovery. And through it all, most Trump voters, even in polls capturing growing disapproval, say they probably wouldn’t change their votes. Instead, it appears that as Trump changed the implementation of his policies, the slide in approval from disaffected Republicans slowed down.Disengaged Trump voters aren’t necessarily Democratic voters-in-waitingFinally, there’s another kind of voter who may be peeling away from Trump’s camp, but doesn’t seem to be Democratic bait: those who tune out of politics entirely, don’t follow the news avidly, and don’t have strong allegiances to any party.These low-propensity, low-information voters were the kinds who Trump was able to reach in 2024, contributing to rightward swings across gender, age, and racial demographics. Something about Trump uniquely appealed to him — what they might have heard about him on social media, podcasts, or from influencers — or they liked the snippets of his agenda and campaign that broke through to them. Democrats are still figuring out how to reach this demographic of voter — which skews younger — but they don’t seem to have broken the code yet, meaning it may be more difficult for Democratic candidates to try to win them over, or reach them at all, in the future.Earlier this month, the data analyst G. Elliot Morris quantified how much these kinds of voters have turned on Trump, finding a 33-point drop in support among people who pay “hardly” any attention to the news “at all.” That decline eclipses the drops among more engaged groups of Americans — his support among those Americans who follow the news “most of the time” has fallen by 14 points, for example, and started off at a much lower baseline of support to begin with. What’s driving that sharp drop is still unclear. Other data sources suggest it’s still the least engaged voters who have more positive views of certain Trump policies than more informed voters. But what remains true is that these voters aren’t very ideological, aren’t married to a political party, and thus aren’t the kind of people who would necessarily turn out in a midterm election. That’s another complication for Democrats who hope to profit off Trump’s overall popularity decline.Democrats will have to address these challenges in the coming monthsFor now, Trump and his party’s standing seem to have reached a new equilibrium. He is unpopular, but still in a much better place than at this point during his first term.Still, what’s old is new: Democrats have been here before. A November 2017 CNN headline — “Poll: Views of Democratic Party hit lowest mark in 25 years” — reads almost exactly like a 2025 one. Just one year later, Democrats would flip 41 seats in the House. As Split Ticket data analysts Armin Thomas and Max McCall write, “the opposition party tends to become more popular in the run up to the midterms while the opposite happens for the incumbent party,” and unpopularity hasn’t stopped sweeping midterms wins by Election Day.And a lot more is going to change in the coming months. Candidates will launch campaigns and make their case. Ads and rallies will start picking up. And the media environment will be swamped with election talk once again. Generic “Democrat” and “Republican” views will turn into personalized and specific contests between real people. And voters of all sorts will get exposed and educated to political debates. That’s the time when the incumbent party gets scrutinized more, and the opposition party may begin to look more favorable.Democratic victories next year will surely depend on winning over some of the voters Trump seems to be turning off. But as we’ve seen in the Trump era, midterm and off-year elections tend to bring out electorates much more favorable to them than to Republicans. The same may happen next year.See More: #why #democrats #shouldnt #get #too