What on earth is going on with the VFX in Netflix's "The Snow Sister"? Seriously, it’s 2023, and we’re still being fed mediocre visual effects that are supposed to "wow" us but end up doing the exact opposite! The so-called "VFX breakdown" is nothing more than a slap in the face to anyone who actually appreciates the art of visual storytelling. Let’s get one thing straight: if the best VFX are indeed the ones you can’t spot, then how on earth did we end up with these glaringly obvious digital blunders? It’s like they threw a bunch of half-baked effects together and called it a day. Instead of stunning visuals that elevate the narrative, we get a distracting mess that pulls you right out of the experience. Who are they kidding? The creators of "The Snow Sister" clearly missed the memo that viewers today are not easily satisfied. We demand more than just passable effects; we want immersive worlds that captivate us. And yet, here we are, subjected to a barrage of poorly executed VFX that look like they belong in a low-budget production from the early 2000s. It’s frustrating to see Netflix, a platform that should be setting the gold standard in content creation, flounder so embarrassingly with something as fundamental as visual effects. What’s even more maddening is the disconnect between the promotional hype and the actual product. They tout the "creation" of these effects as if they’re groundbreaking, but in reality, they are a visual cacophony that leaves much to be desired. How can anyone take this seriously when the final product looks like it was hastily patched together? It’s not just a disservice to the viewers; it’s an insult to the talented artists who work tirelessly in the VFX industry. They deserve better than to have their hard work represented by subpar results that manage to undermine the entire project. Netflix needs to wake up and understand that audiences are becoming increasingly discerning. We’re not just mindless consumers; we have eyes, and we can see when something is off. The VFX in "The Snow Sister" is a glaring example of what happens when corners are cut and quality is sacrificed for the sake of quantity. We expect innovation, creativity, and, above all, professionalism. Instead, we are fed a half-hearted effort that leaves us shaking our heads in disbelief. In conclusion, if Netflix wants to maintain its position as a leader in the entertainment industry, it’s time to step up its game and give us the high-quality VFX that we deserve. No more excuses, no more mediocre breakdowns—just real artistry that enhances our viewing experience. Let’s hold them accountable and demand better! #VFX #Netflix #TheSnowSister #VisualEffects #EntertainmentIndustry

Who knew basketball needed an interactive LED floor? Seriously? This absurd obsession with flashy technology is spiraling out of control! ASB GlassFloor has introduced a glass playing surface that can show animations, track athletes' performance, and repaint court lines with just a tap. What’s next? Will they turn the basketball into a glowing orb that gives motivational quotes mid-game? Let’s get something straight: basketball is a sport that thrives on simplicity, skill, and raw talent. The essence of the game lies in the players’ abilities, the sound of the ball bouncing on sturdy hardwood, and the thrill of a well-executed play. But no, that’s not enough for the tech-obsessed minds out there. Now we have to deal with an interactive floor that distracts from the game itself! Why in the world do we need animations on the court? Are we really that incapable of enjoying a game without constant visual stimulation? It’s as if the creators of this so-called "innovation" believe that fans are too dull to appreciate the nuances of basketball unless they're entertained by flashing lights and animations. This is a disgrace to the sport! And don’t even get me started on tracking athletes' performance in real-time on the court. As if we didn’t already have enough statistics thrown at us during a game! Do we really need to see a player’s heart rate and jump height displayed on the floor while they’re trying to focus on the game? This is a violation of the fundamental spirit of competition. Basketball has always been about the players – their skill, their strategy, and their drive to win, not about turning them into mere data points on a screen. Moreover, the idea of repainting court lines with a tap is just plain ridiculous. What’s wrong with the traditional method? A few lines on the court have worked just fine for decades! Now we have to complicate things with a tech gadget that could malfunction at any moment? Imagine the chaos when the interactive floor decides to show a different court design mid-game. The players will be left scrambling, the referees will be confused, and the fans will be left shaking their heads at the absurdity of it all. And let’s be real – this gimmick is nothing but a marketing ploy. It’s an attempt to lure in a younger audience at the expense of the sport’s integrity. Yes, pros in Europe are already playing on it, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea! Just because something is trendy doesn’t make it right. Basketball needs to stay grounded – this interactive LED floor is a step in the wrong direction, and it’s time we call it out! Stop letting technology dictate how we enjoy sports. Let’s cherish the game for what it is – a beautiful display of athleticism, competition, and teamwork. Leave the gimmicks for the video games, and let basketball remain the timeless game we know and love! #Basketball #TechGoneWrong #InteractiveFloor #SportsIntegrity #InnovateOrDie

June 13, 20255 min readFive Climate Issues to Watch When Trump Goes to CanadaPresident Trump will attend the G7 summit on Sunday in a nation he threatened to annex. He will also be an outlier on climate issuesBy Sara Schonhardt & E&E News Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | The world’s richest nations are gathering Sunday in the Canadian Rockies for a summit that could reveal whether President Donald Trump's policies are shaking global climate efforts.The Group of Seven meeting comes at a challenging time for international climate policy. Trump’s tariff seesaw has cast a shade over the global economy, and his domestic policies have threatened billions of dollars in funding for clean energy programs. Those pressures are colliding with record-breaking temperatures worldwide and explosive demand for energy, driven by power-hungry data centers linked to artificial intelligence technologies.On top of that, Trump has threatened to annex the host of the meeting — Canada — and members of his Cabinet have taken swipes at Europe’s use of renewable energy. Rather than being aligned with much of the world's assertion that fossil fuels should be tempered, Trump embraces the opposite position — drill for more oil and gas and keep burning coal, while repealing environmental regulations on the biggest sources of U.S. carbon pollution.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Those moves illustrate his rejection of climate science and underscore his outlying positions on global warming in the G7.Here are five things to know about the summit.Who will be there?The group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — plus the European Union. Together they account for more than 40 percent of gross domestic product globally and around a quarter of all energy-related carbon dioxide pollution, according to the International Energy Agency. The U.S. is the only one among them that is not trying to hit a carbon reduction goal.Some emerging economies have also been invited, including Mexico, India, South Africa and Brazil, the host of this year’s COP30 climate talks in November.Ahead of the meeting, the office of Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, said he and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva agreed to strengthen cooperation on energy security and critical minerals. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would be having "quite a few" bilateral meetings but that his schedule was in flux.The G7 first came together 50 years ago following the Arab oil embargo. Since then, its seven members have all joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. The U.S. is the only nation in the group that has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, which counts almost every country in the world as a signatory.What’s on the table?Among Canada’s top priorities as host are strengthening energy security and fortifying critical mineral supply chains. Carney would also like to see some agreement on joint wildfire action.Expanding supply chains for critical minerals — and competing more aggressively with China over those resources — could be areas of common ground among the leaders. Climate change is expected to remain divisive. Looming over the discussions will be tariffs — which Trump has applied across the board — because they will have an impact on the clean energy transition.“I think probably the majority of the conversation will be less about climate per se, or certainly not using climate action as the frame, but more about energy transition and infrastructure as a way of kind of bridging the known gaps between most of the G7 and where the United States is right now,” said Dan Baer, director of the Europe program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.What are the possible outcomes?The leaders could issue a communique at the end of their meeting, but those statements are based on consensus, something that would be difficult to reach without other G7 countries capitulating to Trump. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that nations won’t try to reach a joint agreement, in part because bridging gaps on climate change could be too hard.Instead, Carney could issue a chair’s summary or joint statements based on certain issues.The question is how far Canada will go to accommodate the U.S., which could try to roll back past statements on advancing clean energy, said Andrew Light, former assistant secretary of Energy for international affairs, who led ministerial-level negotiations for the G7.“They might say, rather than watering everything down that we accomplished in the last four years, we just do a chair's statement, which summarizes the debate,” Light said. “That will show you that you didn't get consensus, but you also didn't get capitulation.”What to watch forIf there is a communique, Light says he’ll be looking for whether there is tougher language on China and any signal of support for science and the Paris Agreement. During his first term, Trump refused to support the Paris accord in the G7 and G20 declarations.The statement could avoid climate and energy issues entirely. But if it backtracks on those issues, that could be a sign that countries made a deal by trading climate-related language for something else, Light said.Baer of Carnegie said a statement framed around energy security and infrastructure could be seen as a “pragmatic adaptation” to the U.S. administration, rather than an indication that other leaders aren’t concerned about climate change.Climate activists have lower expectations.“Realistically, we can expect very little, if any, mention of climate change,” said Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada.“The message we should be expecting from those leaders is that climate action remains a priority for the rest of the G7 … whether it's on the transition away from fossil fuels and supporting developing countries through climate finance,” she said. “Especially now that the U.S. is stepping back, we need countries, including Canada, to be stepping up.”Best- and worst-case scenariosThe challenge for Carney will be preventing any further rupture with Trump, analysts said.In 2018, Trump made a hasty exit from the G7 summit, also in Canada that year, due largely to trade disagreements. He retracted his support for the joint statement.“The best,realistic case outcome is that things don't get worse,” said Baer.The worst-case scenario? Some kind of “highly personalized spat” that could add to the sense of disorder, he added.“I think the G7 on the one hand has the potential to be more important than ever, as fewer and fewer platforms for international cooperation seem to be able to take action,” Baer said. “So it's both very important and also I don't have super-high expectations.”Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals. #five #climate #issues #watch #when

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.Tech billionaires are making a risky bet with humanity’s future Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and others may have slightly different goals, but their grand visions for the next decade and beyond are remarkably similar.They include aligning AI with the interests of humanity; creating an artificial superintelligence that will solve all the world’s most pressing problems; merging with that superintelligence to achieve immortality; establishing a permanent, self-­sustaining colony on Mars; and, ultimately, spreading out across the cosmos.Three features play a central role with powering these visions, says Adam Becker, a science writer and astrophysicist: an unshakable certainty that technology can solve any problem, a belief in the necessity of perpetual growth, and a quasi-religious obsession with transcending our physical and biological limits.In his timely new book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity, Becker reveals how these fantastical visions conceal a darker agenda. Read the full story. —Bryan Gardiner This story is from the next print edition of MIT Technology Review, which explores power—who has it, and who wants it. It’s set to go live on Wednesday June 25, so subscribe & save 25% to read it and get a copy of the issue when it lands! Here’s what food and drug regulation might look like under the Trump administration Earlier this week, two new leaders of the US Food and Drug Administration published a list of priorities for the agency. Both Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad are controversial figures in the science community. They were generally highly respected academics until the covid pandemic, when their contrarian opinions on masking, vaccines, and lockdowns turned many of their colleagues off them. Given all this, along with recent mass firings of FDA employees, lots of people were pretty anxious to see what this list might include—and what we might expect the future of food and drug regulation in the US to look like. So let’s dive into the pair’s plans for new investigations, speedy approvals, and the “unleashing” of AI. —Jessica Hamzelou This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 NASA is investigating leaks on the ISSIt’s postponed launching private astronauts to the station while it evaluates.+ Its core component has been springing small air leaks for months.+ Meanwhile, this Chinese probe is en route to a near-Earth asteroid.2 Undocumented migrants are using social media to warn of ICE raidsThe DIY networks are anonymously reporting police presences across LA.+ Platforms’ relationships with protest activism has changed drastically.  3 Google’s AI Overviews is hallucinating about the fatal Air India crashIt incorrectly stated that it involved an Airbus plane, not a Boeing 787.+ Why Google’s AI Overviews gets things wrong.4 Chinese engineers are sneaking suitcases of hard drives into the countryTo covertly train advanced AI models.+ The US is cracking down on Huawei’s ability to produce chips.+ What the US-China AI race overlooks.5 The National Hurricane Center is joining forces with DeepMindIt’s the first time the center has used AI to predict nature’s worst storms.+ Here’s what we know about hurricanes and climate change.6 OpenAI is working on a product with toymaker MattelAI-powered Barbies?!+ Nothing is safe from the creep of AI, not even playtime.+ OpenAI has ambitions to reach billions of users.7 Chatbots posing as licensed therapists may be breaking the lawDigital rights organizations have filed a complaint to the FTC.+ How do you teach an AI model to give therapy?8 Major companies are abandoning their climate commitmentsBut some experts argue this may not be entirely bad.+ Google, Amazon and the problem with Big Tech’s climate claims.9 Vibe coding is shaking up software engineeringEven though AI-generated code is inherently unreliable.+ What is vibe coding, exactly?10 TikTok really loves hotdogs And who can blame it?Quote of the day “It kind of jams two years of work into two months.” —Andrew Butcher, president of the Maine Connectivity Authority, tells Ars Technica why it’s so difficult to meet the Trump administration’s new plans to increase broadband access in certain states. One more thing The surprising barrier that keeps us from building the housing we needIt’s a tough time to try and buy a home in America. From the beginning of the pandemic to early 2024, US home prices rose by 47%. In large swaths of the country, buying a home is no longer a possibility even for those with middle-class incomes. For many, that marks the end of an American dream built around owning a house. Over the same time, rents have gone up 26%.The reason for the current rise in the cost of housing is clear to most economists: a lack of supply. Simply put, we don’t build enough houses and apartments, and we haven’t for years. But the reality is that even if we ease the endless permitting delays and begin cutting red tape, we will still be faced with a distressing fact: The construction industry is not very efficient when it comes to building stuff. Read the full story. —David Rotman We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day.+ If you’re one of the unlucky people who has triskaidekaphobia, look away now.+ 15-year old Nicholas is preparing to head from his home in the UK to Japan to become a professional sumo wrestler.+ Earlier this week, London played host to 20,000 women in bald caps. But why?+ Why do dads watch TV standing up? I need to know. #download #gambling #with #humanitys #future