Are you passionate about AutoCAD and eager to get a sneak peek at upcoming features? Here’s your chance to go behind the scenes with the AutoCAD Product Development team and make your voice heard by registering your interest to join the AutoCAD Inside the Factory virtual event.
What is AutoCAD Inside the Factory?
AutoCAD Inside the Factory is an exclusive, interactive event designed to connect you directly with the experts behind AutoCAD. This is a unique opportunity to:
Interact with new features and enhancements in the upcoming release in Beta.
Ask direct questions to the teams responsible for design, development, and testing.
Share feedback that could shape the future of AutoCAD!
Event Details
This 2-hour virtual event is by invitation only, and we have two sessions available:
EMEA session: Jan 22, 2025 (Wednesday), CET 5-7pm, US West Coast 8-10am
AMEA session: Jan 23, 2025 (Thursday), US West Coast 10am-12pm, US East coast 1-3pm
How to Sign Up?
If you’re excited to participate, sign up using the link below. But hurry, seats are limited!
What Happens If You’re Selected?
Once selected, we’ll provide all the information you need to prepare for this event, giving you a head start in exploring new AutoCAD features!
This is a fantastic opportunity to influence the future of AutoCAD. We’re looking forward to your participation.
This month, adventure calls. Sometimes when ID@Xbox team decides the monthly Selects, we pull from our cozy bag, or our introspective bag, or maybe even our abstract bag. This was not that month. We all felt the need to take action, to explore, and to fight.
The six, handpicked Indie Selects this month are about kicking some serious butt. The question is: how do you want to kick that butt? Do you want to meticulously plan, position, and time your attacks? Do you need a team of spirits to aid in the difficult battle ahead? Or maybe you’re just a cat that handles conflict as it comes and asks questions later? Here’s what we’ve got for you this month (in no particular order):
A story-driven action-adventure combining exploration with fast-paced combat. The developer, Ember Lab, led by two brothers, began as an animation studio in 2009. Kena was their first game, and blends breathtaking Pixar-like animation with fantastical environments, loveable characters (the Rot are adorable, made even more so with all the hats you can find for them), a heartfelt story, and super satisfying and compelling gameplay. Though the game’s combat can be a bit tough for some, the game offers a wide array of difficulty and accessibility settings to accommodate players at all skill levels and to help ensure that everyone can make their way through the story. This title is just pure magic and fun and stands as a testament to what a team can achieve when they pour their hearts into a project.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Ember Lab
☆☆☆☆☆ 76
★★★★★
$39.99
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a story-driven action adventure set in a charming world rich with exploration and fast-paced combat. Players find and grow a team of tiny spirit companions called the Rot, enhancing their abilities and creating new ways to manipulate the environment.
Kena, a young Spirit Guide, travels to an abandoned village in search of the sacred mountain shrine. She struggles to uncover the secrets of this forgotten community hidden in an overgrown forest where wandering spirits are trapped.
Find the Rot
Timid and illusive spirits scattered throughout the forest. They maintain balance by decomposing dead and rotting elements.
Key Features
• Build Your Team: Find and collect Rot to gain powerful abilities, make discoveries, and transform the environment.
• Explore: A forgotten village and a strange curse. Draw on the power of the Spirit Realm to restore this once-majestic world.
• Fast-Paced Combat: Spirits have become corrupt, trapped and unable to move on, challenging Kena at every turn.
Hunt: Showdown 1896 is the big Xbox Series X|S upgrade that players of this incredible game have been waiting for. With the console version transitioning to Cryengine 5.11, Hunt has never looked better. The UI has been completely revamped, new weapons added, a new enemy is roaming the maps, and there’s even an entire new location for veterans of the series to explore. For first timers, this game marries the extraction shooter genre with the words ‘creepy’ and ‘unique’. Aesthetically, the game hones in on the quiet horror of a 19th Century wilderness, where you find yourself listening for every gunshot, every animal sound, and every footstep that is not your own.
The core mechanic comes down to the high stakes nature of death. Whether playing solo or as a team of two or three, the objective of Bounty Hunts is to track down and eliminate monsters by following clues, exorcise their souls, collect a bounty token from their remains, and head towards the extraction point. Easy right? Except for all other monsters that try to kill you on the way, or the other players who would love to take that bounty off your hands. If you die, you only collect half the XP, but worse you lose everything collected in your run, and the hunter you chose. You may even run out of hunters, requiring you to either spend your double skull bucks to buy more, or jump into Soul Survivor mode to defeat a boss and protect the corpse until the timer expires. But escaping with a bounty means unlocking dark powers and incredible wealth. So pro tip: don’t die.
Hunt: Showdown 1896
Crytek
☆☆☆☆☆ 240
★★★★★
$29.99
Hunt: Showdown 1896 is a new era of the addictively unforgiving extraction shooter. In corrupted backwaters lost to history, fight back alone – or with friends – against timeless evil. Twisted monsters and other ruthless Hunters stand between you and your Bounty. Risk everything as Hunt consumes you.
Bounty Hunt: Take rich bounties and kill anyone that tries to stop you – and they will try. Race competing Hunters to track down bosses, send them to hell, claim their bounty, and fight your way to extract. If others only slow you down, go alone. If you find strength in numbers, take up to two teammates along.
Progression and Permadeath: Risk everything to unlock dark powers and forbidden wealth. Every bullet counts. Every wound hurts. And every death is permanent. But if you succeed, every victory will be unforgettable.
Atmosphere and Sound Design: Hear footsteps squelch in the mud as you wait with bated breath to strike. The world speaks. Every gunshot is a message; every howling dog a klaxon. Gramophones murmur with the haunting melodies of Port Sulphur Band. Listen, and you might live to die another day.
Constantly Evolving Game: Keep striving for more, the world is always growing. Frequent updates challenge you with new Events, expand your arsenal of weapons, introduce new characters, and offer the chance to get ornate rewards. Join the thriving Hunt community, stay informed, and get an edge over the Corruption.
We play a lot of cat games on this team, but this was not at all like any cat game we have ever seen. This game is wild in all the best ways. This is a surprisingly violent, foul-mouthed, gory, stylish, unhinged action-platformer cat game. Gori is equipped with a plethora of lethal tools and actions that will let you slice, hammer, and crash into various foes – some who can only be killed in an extremely specific manner. As you become proficient in these abilities, you will find yourself charging into an arena, slamming into the ground, launching into the air, unleashing a barrage of missiles, brutally slicing through unicorns, and performing executions seamlessly. Visually, the enemy designs and level art are either straight out of your childhood dreams or nightmares, but in either case are truly inspired. The gameplay is gory, the levels are vibrant, and the experience is joyously chaotic.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Wired Productions Ltd
☆☆☆☆☆ 91
★★★★★
$21.99
Humanity has been destroyed – and it’s up to Gori, along with his deadly but wise-cracking sentient hoverboard, F.R.A.N.K, and morose A.I companion, CH1-P, to slay the evil Adorable Army with lethal combos.
Fuelled by insatiable demand, ‘Cool-Toyz Inc.’ created ‘Ultra Pets’. The ultimate companions that never hunger, never require bathroom breaks and are impervious to the ravages of time. Little did anyone expect the mutation that transformed these perfect pets into twisted toys straight from your nightmares, hell-bent on wiping out humanity.
Master explosive weaponry and devastating combos in an epic battle to prevent the Adorable Army from conquering the galaxy, and rescue Professor Y, their missing creator and only human who showed Gori and his friends love. Push your combat and platforming skills to the limits as you fight your way through twisted landscapes filled with environmental hazards, razor-sharp adult humour and a bone-crunching, pulse-pounding soundtrack.
These reluctant heroes must track down and obliterate the generals of the Adorable Army, and with the help of a wild cast of unlikely allies – discover the truth about Cool-Toyz Inc. and unravel the secrets of this thrilling, action-packed hack ‘n’ slash adventure. Get ready to unleash the cuddly carnage!
PLAY AS A BADASS CAT – One of the last prototype synthetic pets, smuggled out of Cool-Toyz Inc before destruction, Gori is cute, cuddly, yet extremely deadly.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE… – Save the galaxy with a team of the unlikeliest heroes, from F.R.A.N.K and CH1-P to a host of unexpected allies, with a script packed with heart and adult humour that’s as razor-sharp as F.R.A.N.K’s blades!
SLAY WITH STYLE – Battle the blood-thirsty hordes of the Adorable Army in fast-paced combat where your hoverboard is your weapon! Power slide, grind and spin to cause MAXIMUM carnage and high combo scores.
LEVEL UP – From neon-drenched city streets and toy factories awash with deadly toxins, to twisted carnivals and the insides of arcade machines – each level is filled with lethal environmental hazards and mutated toys to push your combat and platforming skills to their limits.
LOCK AND LOAD – This cat has claws… and a devastating arsenal of explosives, razor-sharp weaponry and unlockable moves to lay waste to the Adorable Army in the most brutal and stylish way possible.
HUNT FOR SECRETS – Use your extreme hoverboard parkour skills to explore every corner of the level for collectables that unlock radical new filters, outfits and fur-styles for Gori!
PACKED WITH GORE – Paint the town red with F.R.A.N.K’s blades as you slice and dice with gratuitous amounts of dismemberment – body horror and the most twisted toy designs you’ve ever seen!
EXPLOSIVE AND SOUNDTRACK – Skate and slay out to an original bone-crunching soundtrack bursting with energy across multiple genres.
We have really been looking forward to this fantastic solo-dev creation, and once it finally dropped, we devoured its cozy top-down Metroidvania vibes in one fell swoop. As a newly deceased cat named Pluto (we told you we play a lot of cat games), you’re unfairly condemned to an eternity spent sweeping up trash that seemingly appears out of nowhere. But nothing will stop you from making friends with other animal spirits sentenced to forever clean and hatching a plan that involves lots of exploration, upgrades, and good old’ fashioned friendship-making. We loved its variable difficulty settings and challenging boss fights, not to mention the plethora of secrets and collectibles that had us scrambling to 100% the entire map.
Crypt Custodian
Top Hat Studios, Inc.
☆☆☆☆☆ 30
★★★★★
$19.99
Sweep up the afterlife as Pluto the cat in this charming action adventure/Metroidvania about life, relationships, and moving on.
Step into the shoes of Pluto, a mischievous cat who has just died, and landed in the afterlife’s palace. After a brief and disastrous meeting with the Afterlife Guardian – Kendra – you’re banished from the palace and sentenced to clean… FOREVER!!!
Explore the vast grounds that surround the palace, battle beasts with your trusty broom, and gain new abilities to expand your world. Hang out with doomed ghosts, solve puzzles, discover secrets, and… organize an ambush to break back into the palace!
What would you do if the love of your life dies of a mysterious affliction, and the only way to bring her back from the dead is harnessing the power of Yaoguai – dangerous, supernatural beings of immense power? That’s the dilemma faced by Emperor Hong of the Crimson Empire, the character you play in My Lovely Empress. Expect to make deliciously dark and tough choices as the imperial ruler – like whether to sacrifice human souls to revive your Empress, which diplomatic factions to keep happy, and what bidding you’ll send your Yaoguai out to do. Come for the wonderfully crafted cast of characters, Yaoguai and mythological folklore, and stay for a masterfully woven tale of the burdens of leadership and morality you’ll experience in ruling a kingdom while trying to save the life of a loved one. With multiple endings, it’s a lot of fun to see where all your different decisions will take you.
My Lovely Empress
Neon Doctrine
☆☆☆☆☆ 7
★★★★★
$19.99
You have an empire at your command and the world at your feet. Your hands hold the happiness, hopes, and lives of an entire nation, and those who call you, their ruler.
You have everything, and yet, in your heart, you have nothing.
You are Emperor Hong, the esteemed Emperor of the Crimson Empire, and you have experienced profound loss. Following the passing of your mother, the former ruler, you tragically lost your beloved Empress as well.
Faced with no other options, you are compelled to summon and seek the aid of the Yaoguai, forbidden but powerful creatures of the north with a taste for human souls, to assist you in resolving imperial challenges, enforcing your will, and supporting the welfare of your citizens.
You are far from the only ruler in the world, and balancing the needs of your people with the businesses you conduct with other rulers will be a difficult necessity on the path of growing the Crimson Empire. However, once your land has hit the peak of its prosperity, you are given a choice—live with all you have created or command the Yaoguai to bring about a calamity to devour your empire and sacrifice your people in a bid to resurrect your beloved empress.
This is such a different roguelike. Most of the roguelikes we have played are focused on how long you can survive. However, this one challenged me to be an incredibly precise warrior, with no wasted movement. You start with two tiles (the “cards” of this deck-builder) and as you defeat foes you earn additional tiles and can upgrade the ones you already have. The battles are 2D, turn-based and focus heavily on tactics and placement. A crucial element of the gameplay is being able to see the enemies’ next moves. There are predictable patterns that you can plan around as you queue up to three tiles that can start a sequence of attacks to eliminate all your opponents simultaneously. Once you get the hang of it, it’s like directing a short-form 8-bit samurai film – especially when you obliterate a powerful group without a scratch. This game will sharpen your wits and creativity as you experiment with all the cool weapons and strategies.
Shogun Showdown
Entalto Studios
☆☆☆☆☆ 24
★★★★★
$14.99
Shogun Showdown is a turn-based combat game with rogue-like and deck-building elements. Position yourself and attack at the right time, upgrade your tiles and combo them to get ready to face the Shogun!
Turn-based combat where every action counts. Carefully position yourself, build up and unleash your attacks at the right time!
Upgrade your attack tiles and combo them!
Gain new skills and build the best deck you can before facing the Shogun.
Rogue-like: death is not the end, but the beginning of your journey towards mastery. As you play, you will unlock new characters, attacks, skills and more!
Enjoy a Japanese-inspired setting with pixel art graphics.
Does video quality actually matter on YouTube? Well, not as much as you would think. It’s one important ingredient but your success in growing your channel doesn’t hinge on your video quality. So in this video, I want to show you how to get a “high quality” look for your videos even if you’re using a webcam or phone.
This might come as a surprise, but I don’t think video quality on YouTube matters as much as most people think that it does.
If you know me, you know I’m a gadget girl… Yes, I like cameras and lenses and microphones and lights and I love talking about all of this stuff.
So why would I say this?!
I don’t think having all of the best quality gear is actually that important of an ingredient to your success on YouTube.
VIDEO: How Important is Video *Quality* (REALLY) | Ep. 24
Some product links in this post are affiliate links, and I will be compensated when you purchase by clicking our links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Why Video Quality Isn’t Everything
You might assume that your success on YouTube hinges on having the highest-quality video setup, but that’s not always true. In fact, some of the most popular creators today use basic equipment like webcams or phones to record their videos. A quick glance across YouTube reveals videos with grainy footage, subpar audio, and minimal production value that still garner hundreds of thousands of views and subscribers.
So, why do people still watch these videos? The answer lies in content. People watch videos for the value of the information, entertainment, or personality, not necessarily because the production quality is pristine. If you’re holding off on creating content because you think your video quality isn’t “good enough,” you’re missing the point. Viewers will stick around if your content is engaging and provides value to them.
What Really Drives YouTube Success?
While it’s true that having clear and polished videos can enhance the viewing experience, it’s not the sole factor that drives success. Channels that prioritize content and connection with their audience tend to grow faster, even if the technical quality isn’t perfect.
Moreover, you might find that channels with excellent video quality still struggle to gain traction. Why? Because content reigns supreme. If you’re delivering valuable information, whether through tutorials, personal stories, or entertainment, viewers will keep coming back regardless of the slight imperfections in your video quality.
Mimicking High-Quality Video on a Budget
Now, just because video quality isn’t the main factor doesn’t mean you should ignore it altogether. If you want to enhance the visual appeal of your content without investing in expensive gear, here are some easy tips to mimic a high-production look, even if you’re using a basic webcam or smartphone:
Lighting is Key: The lower the quality of your camera, the more important good lighting becomes. Cameras capture light, so the better lit you are, the better the camera performs. Use natural light from windows or invest in affordable ring lights or softboxes. Avoid harsh sunlight; instead, aim for soft daylight that evenly illuminates your face.
Frame Your Shot Correctly: Good framing can elevate the professionalism of your video. When recording, position your eyes along the upper third of the frame for a more natural look. Avoid leaving too much headroom above or centering yourself in a way that feels “off.”
Distance from Background: If possible, create some distance between you and your background. This adds a subtle blur effect, which mimics the high-end camera depth-of-field look. Avoid fake blur effects as they tend to look unnatural and distract viewers.
If you like gadgets, camera gear, and setups, you’ll love the “Crush It on Camera” series on my channel, where I walk through how everything is set up for me, and nothing about my setup has changed since I recorded that series.
Why Audio Matters More Than Video
While video quality can be forgiven, bad audio is a dealbreaker for most viewers. Our ears are much more sensitive to poor audio quality, and people will stop watching if your voice is hard to hear or unpleasant. Investing in a good microphone will yield better results than upgrading your camera, especially if you’re working on a limited budget.
Start with an affordable external microphone to significantly improve the listening experience. Even with a basic camera, clear and crisp audio will keep your audience engaged longer.
The quality of your audio is probably ten times more important than the quality of your actual video.
If you’re not ready to invest in lighting or microphones, there are still plenty of ways to improve the quality of your videos for free:
Use Natural Light: Sit in front of a window to take advantage of natural, flattering daylight. Avoid direct sunlight, which can cast harsh shadows.
Declutter Your Background: A clean, simple background keeps the focus on you and your message.
Practice Good Framing: As mentioned earlier, ensure your eyes align with the upper third of the screen. It makes your video feel balanced and natural.
Your video quality, audio quality, and setup are only part of the equation—they’re just ingredients in how to create good videos that can grow your channel and business. I 100% believe that when you know your videos look and sound good, it boosts your confidence on camera. You feel good on camera when the output you see looks good.
The Real Key to YouTube Success: Consistency
At the end of the day, what matters most on YouTube is consistency. The more content you produce, the faster you’ll build a library of binge-worthy videos, and the more YouTube will favor your channel in its algorithm. No one ever grew a successful channel by posting one perfectly polished video. Growth happens when you consistently deliver value to your audience over time.
However, one of the biggest roadblocks to consistency is editing. You might have great ideas and a solid video setup, but if editing takes you 20+ hours per video, it’s hard to sustain that output. Each step feels like learning a new skill, and the software seems overly complicated. First of all, you’re not alone, and second, I want to show you how to crush your YouTube edits in two hours or less.
I have a free masterclass coming up “Crush Your YouTube Edits in 2 Hours or Less,” where I’ll show you how to create a simple and efficient workflow so you can stay consistent with your video content. Streamlining your editing workflow can make a world of difference, allowing you to stay consistent without burning out. This is essential if you want to grow your channel and business without spending countless hours on each video.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, don’t let the idea of “perfect” video quality stop you from creating content. While it’s nice to have sharp, professional-looking footage, the most important factor for YouTube success is value—value that you bring through your content, personality, and consistency.
So, get your content out there! Start creating with the tools you already have, improve your lighting and framing, and focus on building a consistent, binge-worthy library of videos.
And remember, people aren’t sticking around because your video quality is flawless. They’re staying for you and what you have to offer.
If you have an online business with a course, program, or any other kind of offer, and you’re not currently generating consistent sales on autopilot, I’d like to introduce you to the hands off youtube funnel that has made me over $20k on a $147 course! That way, you too can make consistent sales of your offer, with the beauty and simplicity of organic, evergreen traffic from YouTube! Start here with my free “AIT Method” training.
Do you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of breakpoints in your Visual Studio project? Wish you could categorize and toggle them on and off with ease? The new breakpoint group feature in Visual Studio 2022 is here to transform your debugging experience.
Breakpoint groups allow you to create custom collections of breakpoints and apply various actions to them. For example, you can enable or disable all breakpoints in a group or set conditions and actions for them or even make the whole group dependent on other breakpoints.
But that’s not all. You can also mark the selected breakpoint group as the default, ensuring all newly added breakpoints are automatically included in that group. This enhancement simplifies the management and organization of breakpoints, providing seamless debugging when investigating multiple issues.
Recap: Breakpoint groups
To create a breakpoint group, right-click on any breakpoint in the Breakpoints window and select Add to Group > New Group. You can name the group and add a description if you want.
To add more breakpoints to the group, simply drag and drop them from the Breakpoints window or use the right-click menu. To remove breakpoints from the group, drag and drop them outside the group or use the right-click menu. You can also delete the group, which will remove all the breakpoints in the group from your project.
Default Breakpoint Group
To set a breakpoint group as the default, simply right-click on the group and choose “Set as Default Group.” The default group will be distinctly labeled in bold, making it easy to identify. When you have a default breakpoint group, any new breakpoints you add to your code will automatically be added to that group. This ensures that your breakpoints are organized consistently, without the need to manually sort them each time you add new ones.
If your needs change, you can easily move breakpoints to a different group at any time. This flexibility allows you to adapt your breakpoint organization as your project evolves. You can change the default group at any time or clear it altogether.
You can access all the breakpoint group actions from the right-click menu or the toolbar in the Breakpoints window.
Try it out today
We hope you find the breakpoint group feature useful and productive. It’s one of the many improvements we’ve made to the debugging experience in Visual Studio 2022, thanks to your feedback and suggestions.
The nostalgic ’90’s PC game Backyard Baseball is coming to Steam on October 10, 27 years after its initial release. It’ll cost $10.
The arcade-style baseball game is a cult favorite among sports fans who grew up with the game, many of whom are now in their 20s and 30s (and some, like Bobby Witt Jr. and Trea Turner, are also now MLB All-Stars). They’re kids games, but they have a certain charm; what is an empty pizza box but a home plate waiting to happen? Sometimes, the whimsy comes in the form of an oddly shaped outfield that’s built around a swimming pool. Other times, the cast of memorable neighborhood children defy the laws of physics by throwing pitches that spontaneously burst into flames.
Even Jason Kelce, former NFL player and brother of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, said on his podcast that he considered buying the rights to the Backyard Sports franchise to reboot it. But, despite internet sleuths’ hopes, a different buyer called Playground Sports beat the Kelce brothers to the punch.
The original company behind Backyard Baseball, Humungous Entertainment, succumbed to a fate of endless mergers and acquisitions; the IP was tossed among holding companies like a $10 million afterthought. Now, the rights to iconic characters like Pablo Sanchez are in the hands of Playground Productions, a children’s media company founded by former public school teacher Lindsay Barnett.
“This was my favorite game growing up. While we’re already hard at work on the future of Backyard Sports, we first want to honor the past by restoring the games that started it all for me and so many others — beginning with Backyard Baseball 1997,” Barnett said in a press release.
Rebooting Backyard Baseball isn’t so easy as buying the IP. The original source code of the game was lost since 1997, so Playground enlisted Mega Cat Studios to remaster the game. Mega Cat hacked a copy of the game on CD-ROM and reworked it to be compatible with present-day PCs. With a successful remaster under its belt, Mega Cat and Playground intend to work together to relaunch other fan favorites from the franchise.
Ellison spoke on her own behalf, beginning by apologizing to everyone she’s hurt. “I think on some level my brain can’t even truly comprehend the scale of the harms I’ve caused,” she said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t try. So to all the victims and everyone I harmed directly or indirectly, I am so, so sorry.”
Ellison never really left work
Ellison went on to say that she’s always thought of herself as an honest person — and that her 2018 self couldn’t imagine being here. “The longer I worked at Alameda, the more my sense of self became inextricably intertwined with what Sam thought of me and the more I subordinated my own values and judgment to his,” she said.
There was something culty about FTX and its sister company, Alameda. The crypto industry is always on, which tends to lead to sleep deprivation among crypto traders. Many traders, including Ellison, rely on stimulants such as Adderall, which suppresses appetite and tiredness. And Ellison never really left work — instead, she went back to an apartment she shared with her friends and coworkers. Leaving would have meant abandoning her nearest and dearest. She was, as she put it, isolated. “At each stage of the process, it felt harder and harder to extricate myself and to do the right thing,” she said.
And then there was her on-and-off-again relationship with Bankman-Fried. According to her lawyer Anjan Sahni, she met Bankman-Fried when she was in college and had a crush on him “from the beginning.” Eventually, her entire world revolved around whether she made him happy or not, which resulted in diary entries like “Sam doesn’t love me because I’m not good enough for him.” She went on to write “I can become good enough for him” by, among other things, working harder. Some of this can be chalked up to inexperience; those of us who are older know this is not how a job — or, for that matter, a relationship — works.
The letters submitted on Ellison’s behalf emphasized that she was a good, kind person — focusing on her volunteering, the money she donated, her selflessness, and her perfectionist streak. Cults tend to attract good people, smart people, people who want to make the world better. And we know Ellison was already associated with something culty — effective altruism — that also purported to improve the world.
“Unlike Bankman-Fried, she is not cunning.”
We also know that when Ellison got caught, she immediately came clean. That was part of the reason her testimony against Bankman-Fried was so “devastating,” said prosecutor Danielle Sassoon, who asked for a lenient sentence for Ellison. She was credible “because of her candor and her refusal to minimize her own role or sidestep the most humiliating aspects of her conduct,” Sassoon said. “Unlike Bankman-Fried, she is not cunning. There is no evidence that she was driven by greed or that an appetite for risk or power is part of her nature.”
Even in sentencing her, Judge Lewis Kaplan remarked on Ellison’s testimony. “I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years,” he said. “I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.” Her testimony was consistent and damning; she did not seek to exonerate herself. In particular, when it came to the spreadsheets of doom — the forged balance sheets that essentially sealed Bankman-Fried’s fate — it was Ellison found the document and alerted prosecutors to it. It was like she was seeking a perfect grade in cooperating with the government.
So what was Ellison’s nature? The diaries she submitted with her sentencing document show her trying hard to be better at work and include resolutions such as “take time off work and detox from Adderall.” Ellison appears to be focused on trying to optimize herself as much as possible, giving herself bulletpointed advice such as “try and get small things done and bootstrap that into increasing confidence” and “give myself positive feedback regularly.”
During her testimony, listening to her discuss making decisions during her time at Alameda was like watching a character in a horror movie make choices that played right into the killer’s hands. At any point, a willingness to be both selfish and disobedient would have saved her. “For some reason that is hard for me to understand, Mr. Bankman-Fried had your Kryptonite,” Kaplan said.
Give Ellison an authority figure, and she will try to please them
When Ellison joined Alameda Research, for instance, she discovered Bankman-Fried hadn’t been entirely honest with her about the company’s circumstances. There’d just been a mass resignation on staff, and lenders had pulled millions. You can imagine someone else hitting the bricks — after all, Ellison’s old job at Jane Street probably would have opened doors to a lot of other places if she’d been able to handle being briefly unemployed.
But she didn’t. Instead, according to her testimony, she stayed as Bankman-Fried convinced her that lying and stealing were fine in the service of the greater good. Little by little, she got more comfortable with dishonesty, until she was sending false balance sheets to lenders and taking customer money. And as her diaries — both published in The New York Timesand submitted as part of her sentencing — demonstrate, she wanted to make Bankman-Fried happy.
Maybe Kaplan had a tough time understanding why Ellison got sucked into this, but I think I have a clearer picture now. Give Ellison an authority figure, and she will try to please them — behaving as obediently as she can, stressing about how she can be better, and basing her happiness on how close she comes to perfection. A straight-A student, a reliable employee (and co-conspirator), and — eventually — a matchless cooperating witness. If this is where being a good girl gets you, I recommend being bad.
I guess the coin was bound to fall on its side at some point after all! Aspyr revealed today that Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 and 2 are getting a remastered edition on December 10, 2024.
Preorders are already live (a 10% off pre-purchase discount brings the price down to US$26.99) and the trailer they’ve uploaded showcases some pretty impressive graphical improvements that don’t ruin the original art style. Just in case the new graphics aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, there’s still an option to switch back to the original style, which is a great feature for any remaster to have. Hopefully the end result is worthy of the saga, as I feel Kain and Raziel deserve a lot more than what they’ve gotten over the years.
Celebrate Soul Reaver’s 25th Anniversary Experience the epic conflict of Kain and Raziel in original form or with remastered graphics.
Included Game Titles Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Experience the Legendary Narrative Centuries after your former master, Kain, betrays and executes you, you rise again and embark on a relentless quest for revenge.
Wield the Powers of a Wraith Slay your former vampire brethren with your claws, bolts of telekinetic energy, and the elemental Wraith Blade. Grow stronger by devouring the souls of your enemies.
Shift Between Realms The Elder God has granted you the ability to shift between the Spectral and Material Realms. Traverse the realms to solve puzzles, reveal new paths, and defeat your foes.
After my test, I found that this phenomenon does exist. I created two JS files in the project:
main.js:
var message = MyApp.Utilities.sayHello("World");
console.log(message);
var sum = MyApp.Utilities.addNumbers(5, 7);
console.log(sum);
app.js:
var MyApp = MyApp || {};
MyApp.Utilities = {
sayHello: function (name) {
return "Hello, " + name + "!";
},
addNumbers: function (a, b) {
return a + b;
}
};
When I rebuild the solution and restart VS, the main.js content is displayed by default. No matter you click sayHello or addNumbers and use F12, you will not be redirected to the method defined in app.js. Even if you right-click sayHello or addNumbers and click go to definition, you will not be redirected to the method defined in app.js. The F12 go to definition function will only work when you click on the app.js file, load the content inside, and then return to main.js. This may be a bug in VS. If you find it troublesome to always open the JS file for method definition, I suggest you report this bug to DC. DC has many VS developers who should be able to help you.
Wear OS 5 is now arriving on the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 alongside the September 2024 update.
Google encourages users to update the device as it brings new features, several bug fixes, and the standard security patches.
Google previewed Wear OS 5 earlier this year, which showed users are in for major health features, watch face updates, and more.
Rolling out Tuesday (Sept 24) is a major OS upgrade for Google’s Pixel Watch series that you won’t want to delay.
Google detailed in a press release that the Pixel Watch and the Pixel Watch 2 are now receiving the Wear OS 5 upgrade. The company adds that it encourages device owners to update their devices as soon as possible as it brings several system improvements. Watches rocking Wear OS 3.5 and 4 are eligible to grab OS 5.
Those with a Pixel Watch 2 will receive version AW2A.240903.005.A1, while those with the original model will get version “A2.“
Joining this Wear OS 5 upgrade is the (late) September 2024 security update for the Pixel Watches. Google states there are “numerous” bug fixes and performance updates for the smartwatches. Additionally, the company noted “new features” with the update, and while it did not specify the new features, it did point out the new grid-view app launcher, upgraded camera controls, and Pixel Recorder functionality.
Those eager to dive into the specifics regarding the security patches can check out the Android Security Bulletin.
The rollout for Wear OS 5 begins today (Sept 24), but Google states it will continue “over the next week.” The update will appear in phases, meaning we won’t all see it on our respective devices simultaneously. Google adds that you will receive a notification about the update’s availability.
(Image credit: Shruti Shekar / Android Central)
In May, Google clued us into a host of new goodies to consume with Wear OS 5 during its I/O event. Those who love running (and marathons) might enjoy the software’s power efficiency as those longer outings consume 20% less power. Health upgrades are a large part of Wear OS 5 as Google worked to add “debounced goals” and Guided Workouts.
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What’s more, watch faces pick up new “Flavors” and complications so you can tailor your Pixel Watch to your needs and tastes.
With Wear OS 5 arriving for Google’s previous two watches, hopefully, this is a sign of more consistency. The company’s past shows that its wearable software often takes a back seat compared to its work for smartphones. Google has also launched the Pixel Watch 3, which shows it’s taking its wearable hardware a little more seriously — as many users have hoped.
Stronger Pixel
The Pixel Watch 3 comes in and cleans up whatever you thought could’ve been better with the second version. Google upgraded this watch with a better battery that should take you a little further beyond 24-hours. More importantly, Wear OS 5 makes a world of difference in terms of UI and health features.
