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How to motivate yourself to do a thing you don't want to do

We have an air bike in our basement. If you are unfamiliar with air bikes, they are similar to stationary bikes with foot pedals but also have handles you push and pull with your arms. It uses air resistance, so the harder you pedal and move your arms, the higher the resistance. It’s also known as an assault bike. 😬 Which is apt, because it’s a butt-kicker of a workout. I use it about once a week, more frequently in the winter when it’s too cold to run, and less often in the summer when I can

How to Motivate Yourself to Do a Thing You Don't Want to Do

We have an air bike in our basement. If you are unfamiliar with air bikes, they are similar to stationary bikes with foot pedals but also have handles you push and pull with your arms. It uses air resistance, so the harder you pedal and move your arms, the higher the resistance. It’s also known as an assault bike. 😬 Which is apt, because it’s a butt-kicker of a workout. I use it about once a week, more frequently in the winter when it’s too cold to run, and less often in the summer when I can

Hate Windows 11's vibe? Make it look more like Linux or MacOS - here's how

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Seelen UI is a desktop environment for Windows. With this app, you can achieve a Linux or MacOS look. Seelen UI is free to use and install on Windows 10/11. As a longtime Linux user, my opinion of the Windows UI has never really wavered: I think it's pretty dismal. Given that Linux has a cornucopia of desktop environments from which to choose, it makes perfect sense that someone wh

I wish my web server were in the corner of my room (2022)

Back in college I used to run part of my website from a Linux box in my room. I made it into a speech synthesiser, and people could connect to the machine to talk into my flat. (Retrospective apologies to my flatmates.) This is way back in 2000 so before smartphones, and before texting, and before always-on internet (college was an exception), and before camera phones or being able to reliably email photos let alone video. Decent text-to-speech still felt novel. We had a friend who was travell

In Silksong, spite is my motivation to keep playing

is a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities. I would not call the time I’m having with Hollow Knight: Silksong “fun,” and yet I’m still playing. In the depths of The Marrow, the second major area of Silksong, there’s a particularly nasty midboss. I eventually beat him, but my reward wasn’t a new ability, item, or a bench where I could rest and save my progress. All I

‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run’ Anime to Stream Worldwide on Netflix

The upcoming season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime, Steel Ball Run, is set to stream worldwide on Netflix. The announcement came alongside a press release to celebrate the streaming platform’s tenth anniversary in Japan, Deadline reported. The anime series, based on Hirohiko Araki’s manga, follows the Joestar family’s bloodline across generations as they face a variety of eccentric foes, including the time-rewinding Dio Brando. This series’ core gimmick features heroes and villains alike uti

This Pop-Out Phone Controller Could Reinvent How We Think of Mobile Gaming

Today’s retro recreations are so good at replicating the Game Boy’s look, feel, and portability. The problem is, my pockets are already occupied with my mobile supercomputer that contains my life behind a 6.3-inch pane of glass. If my phone has a powerful processor and excellent AMOLED display, why can’t it also become my gaming device when I’m on the go? MCON, the controller hyped to hell and back by young engineer Josh King and brought to market by phone peripheral makers OhSnap, could be enou

The subjective experience of coding in different programming languages (2023)

Different programming languages feel viscerally different, right? I can’t be the only one. It’s so embodied. When I’m deep in multiple nested parentheses in a C-like language, even Python, I feel precarious, like I’m walking a high wire or balancing things in my hands and picking my way down steep stairs. It’s a relief to close the braces. Like if I’m trying to cover all the conditions in a complicated state machine or a conditional, I’m high up. I often hold my breath. Functional languages a

The subjective experience of coding in different programming languages

Different programming languages feel viscerally different, right? I can’t be the only one. It’s so embodied. When I’m deep in multiple nested parentheses in a C-like language, even Python, I feel precarious, like I’m walking a high wire or balancing things in my hands and picking my way down steep stairs. It’s a relief to close the braces. Like if I’m trying to cover all the conditions in a complicated state machine or a conditional, I’m high up. I often hold my breath. Functional languages a

Purposeful animations

When done right, animations make an interface feel predictable, faster, and more enjoyable to use. They help you and your product stand out. But they can also do the opposite. They can make an interface feel unpredictable, slow, and annoying. They can even make your users lose trust in your product. So how do you know when and how to animate to improve the experience? Step one is making sure your animations have a purpose. Purposeful animations Before you start animating, ask yourself: what

You Don't Need Animations

When done right, animations make an interface feel predictable, faster, and more enjoyable to use. They help you and your product stand out. But they can also do the opposite. They can make an interface feel unpredictable, slow, and annoying. They can even make your users lose trust in your product. So how do you know when and how to animate to improve the experience? Step one is making sure your animations have a purpose. Purposeful animations Before you start animating, ask yourself: what

The green steel firms looking to revive US steelmaking

The green steel firms looking to revive US steelmaking 57 minutes ago Share Save Chris Baraniuk Technology Reporter Share Save Boston Metal Making steel using electricity is less carbon intensive than traditional methods An activity centre for babies and toddlers, an Indian restaurant, an indoor golf centre – and a mini experimental steel plant. These businesses are among those that make up a small retail and industrial estate in the city of Woburn, Massachusetts. "People are dropping off the

Eels are fish

Let’s dive right in: for most of history, we didn’t really know where eels come from. Which is strange, because they’re everywhere—rivers, lakes, oceans. Even now, we only have the faintest sense of where they spawn or how. Their lives remain partly hidden, and that blank space has always invited stories. Aristotle thought they slithered out of mud, giving the primordial ooze its first big break. Another tale claimed they rose from sea foam, like a grotesque remix of Aphrodite’s birth. Japa

Instagram launches official iPad app, now available on App Store

The day has finally arrived: Instagram for iPad is here. Though it seemed like it might never happen, the popular social media app now offers an official iPadOS version. Here are the details. Instagram for iPad rolling out to all users now Instagram’s iPad app is now rolling out to all users on the App Store. As you might expect, it includes access to your feed, stories, and most of the features you would expect. But Instagram has built its iPad app with a special emphasis on Reels. From th

Instagram finally has an iPad app 15 years after it first launched

The social media platform Instagram is finally available on the iPad as a native app. It only took 15 years, as the app first launched all the way back in 2010. We knew this was coming and, well, now it's here. The iPad is a different platform from a smartphone, so the tablet-based app features redesigned elements. For instance, the app opens directly into a feed of Reels. The iPad app also lets users organize posts and Reels into a chronological list, with recent posts appearing first. This is

After 15 Years, Instagram Finally Releases an iPad App

Fact: the iPad launched 15 years ago in 2010. Steve Jobs famously made himself comfortable in a leather armchair and then proceeded to show everybody how “magical” the iPad was for browsing the web, looking at photos, and—yes—checking Facebook. Also fact: Instagram launched months later that fall, two years before Mark Zuckerberg would cut the app’s founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, a fat check for $1 billion. In the decade and a half since establishing itself as the go-to place to share

Today, I learned that eels are fish

Let’s dive right in: for most of history, we didn’t really know where eels come from. Which is strange, because they’re everywhere—rivers, lakes, oceans. Even now, we only have the faintest sense of where they spawn or how. Their lives remain partly hidden, and that blank space has always invited stories. Aristotle thought they slithered out of mud, giving the primordial ooze its first big break. Another tale claimed they rose from sea foam, like a grotesque remix of Aphrodite’s birth. Japa

You may soon be able to watch Instagram Reels in picture-in-picture mode

In a new test, Meta is letting select users keep watching Instagram Reels as a floating window on their devices even after they close the app. Here’s what it looks like. As spotted by Radu Onescu on Threads, Instagram is prompting select users to “Try Picture in Picture” with a pop-up when they swipe through posts made on Reels: The pop-up reads: “Try picture in picture Turn this on to continue watching reels in a floating window on your device after you’ve left Instagram. Manage your picture

Implementing a Foil Sticker Effect

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to create a custom shader in Three.js that simulates the look of a foil sticker, complete with angle-dependent iridescence and sparkling metallic flakes. The goal is to capture that premium, holographic effect you see on collectible stickers, trading cards, and high-end packaging, but to render it in real time directly in the browser. Iridescence If you’ve ever tilted a holographic sticker or watched sunlight catch on a soap bubble, you’ve seen iridescen

You Have to Feel It

August 30, 2025 You see a series of checkboxes checked. Schedules met. Requirements satisfied. Demos delivered. It's a good day. Good job, you, good job! A promotion is in sight. But you didn't feel it. You didn't feel it. We, as people, feel something with every interaction. Frustration, joy, relief, confidence. A feeling. A person interacts with our work. Our work evokes a feeling. The feeling matters. The feeling is part of the work. The desired feeling is part of the requirements. When y

The ‘Borderlands 4’ Character Shorts Are Doing Their Job Right

Gearbox and 2K is set to release Borderlands 4 in a mere two weeks, the latest entry in their looter-shooter franchise. And for the last month or so, the studio has slowly peeled back the curtain on the game’s four playable Vault Hunters through gameplay breakdowns and short narrative videos. Borderlands 4 takes place on a brand new planet called Kairos, where the Vault Hunters—Siren Vex, Exo-Soldier Rafa, Forgeknight Amon, and Gravitar Harlowe—join up with the world’s resistance fighters to br

I Spent over $31,900 on Whiteout Survival – Here's Why I Regret It

Hey everyone, I’ve been debating whether to post this for a long time. It’s not easy admitting this, but after stepping back and looking at the numbers, I feel like I need to share my experience—not for myself, but to warn others who might be heading down the same path. I’m using a throwaway account for obvious reasons, but I feel it’s important to put this out there and hopefully help someone avoid making the same mistakes I did. I started playing Whiteout Survival in December 2023 and played

We regret but have to temporary suspend the shipments to USA

by OLIMEX Ltd in Uncategorized Starting August 29th, new regulations have come into effect. Both DHL and UPS currently have no working solution, so on their advice, we are temporarily suspending all shipments to the USA effective immediately. The issue is that we are now required to collect all taxes and tariffs on U.S. shipments in advance. However, there is no functioning calculator for this, which has created chaos. Parcels are being held in customs for weeks due to unreasonable requirement

My 4 favorite Linux distros for streaming - and why choosing the right one makes a huge difference

Jose A. Bernat Bacete / Moment via Getty Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Some Linux distributions are better for streaming. There are certain factors to consider for streaming on Linux. The distributions here should work fine without tweaking. Among Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services, I consume a lot of content. Although you might think any operating system with a web browser (or the ability to install an app or two) is perfectl

Automaker Geely Launched Its Own Satellites Into Space, Highlighting China’s Ambitions

Earlier this month, the Chinese aerospace company Geespace said it sent 11 satellites into orbit. The satellites went up in Geespace’s fourth rocket launch since 2022, bringing its total “IoT constellation” from 30 to 41 satellites. By the end of this year, it has ambitions to deploy 72 satellites, which will provide global data coverage “excluding only the polar regions,” according to a press release. Like any other satellite firm, Geespace has relationships with several telecommunications com

Trump Is Betting Big on Intel. Will the Chips Fall His Way?

The US government is aiming to take an equity stake in Intel in exchange for grants the company was already committed to receive under the Biden era CHIPS Act, according to comments US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick made in an interview with CNBC. The move is part of the government’s efforts to boost US chip manufacturing. “We should get an equity stake for our money, so we’ll deliver the money which was already committed under the Biden administration,” Lutnick said. “We’ll get equity in re

Instagram now lets creators link multiple reels in a series

Instagram has begun allowing creators to connect multiple reels in a series, the Meta-owned social network told TechCrunch exclusively. The new capability, which is already available on TikTok, makes it easier for viewers to follow and discover related content. Now if a creator is telling a story in a series of videos and follow-ups, they can link them all together so that viewers don’t have to scroll or search for different parts. For instance, creators often tell followers to “come back for p

A Brompton Reborn: How to Future-Proof a Decades-Old Foldable Bike

Good design involves technical ability, industrial know-how, creativity, innovation, adaptability, and a generous helping of luck to pull the strands together. Getting it right the first time almost never happens. Converse came close with the Chuck Taylor All-Star, of course, first launched in 1922 and barely altered since. Then there’s the Sharpie marker pen, which hasn’t changed since 1964. In London, in 1975, a Cambridge engineering graduate, Andrew Ritchie, came up with a ludicrous concept

Deel scores a lawsuit win, but not against Rippling

A Florida judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed against embattled HR and payroll provider Deel. And while Deel described this as a “Rippling-aligned” and “Rippling-supported” lawsuit, this is not the infamous lawsuit filed by its rival earlier this year that involved an alleged corporate spy. Rippling CEO Parker Conrad even went so far as to say “This litigation has nothing to do with Rippling, we are not a party to it, did not fund it,” in a tweet. (Rippling representatives declined furth