cleverhottubmiracle

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Discover global job opportunities in fashion on BoF Careers today.At a time when sustainability is slipping down the executive agenda in retail, Kathleen Talbot’s career journey tells a different story. The Reformation chief sustainability officer (CSO) and vice president of operations built her career around environmental impact, following her purpose into an industry she never initially considered. “I still see myself as a sustainability professional first who happens to work in fashion,” she shared in the latest instalment of the BoF Careers webinar series, Building a Career in Fashion.After receiving her MA in Sustainability from Arizona State University, where she researched food systems, Talbot delivered a convocation speech with a stark reality check: “This is important work, but there probably are not jobs posted for this. You will have to go out and make them yourselves,” she said to her fellow graduates.Talbot went on to begin her professional career in education and academia. She taught at the Global Institute of Sustainability and then became the sustainability officer at Marymount California University. While these roles were formative, she wanted to “shift from theory to practice,” she shared. Kathleen Talbot, Reformation’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations (Reformation ) She was drawn to Reformation’s mission and founder Yael Aflalo’s vision, sharing: “There are more connections between fashion and food than I initially thought, especially in our work supporting regenerative agriculture in cotton, wool and leather supply chains.”Since joining Reformation in 2014, Talbot has risen to the role of CSO and VP of operations. In her dual role, she leads sustainability initiatives, manages factory operations and creates customer-facing campaigns to raise awareness about the environmental and social impact of the fashion industry.Now, Talbot details more about her time in the industry – from navigating quickly evolving regulations to proving that environmental impact and business success can coexist.For the full interview, watch our LinkedIn Live, Building a Career in Fashion with Kathleen Talbot.With sustainability falling down the executive agenda, is it still a viable career path in fashion?I think sustainability is still a viable career option, and frankly, it is a mandate. The work is not going away because building more resilient and regenerative businesses requires real leadership. The future of fashion is about going beyond compliance and addressing the most pressing issues at the intersection of our industry – as well as the people and planet that depend on it.That said, if you do not have the grit to manage the ebb and flow that comes with this field [...] consider shifting to public policy, non-profit work or technical roles that drive impact within fashion. We need to [broaden our definition of] climate action and sustainability leadership.How did you transition from food systems research to fashion sustainability?I have always had sustainability in my title, which is unusual. [...] I focused on food systems during college and graduate school, worked in non-profits and then started my professional career in academia.I wanted to shift from theory to practice. I did not seek out fashion — I was drawn to Reformation’s mission and the founder’s vision. If it were not for [Reformation], I would not have necessarily made it into this industry. I still see myself as a sustainability professional first who happens to work in fashion. Interestingly, there are more connections between fashion and food than I initially thought, especially in our work supporting regenerative agriculture in cotton, wool and leather supply chains.Is a degree necessary for sustainability roles in fashion?A degree is not necessary, but it is much more common today than a decade ago. [...] Now, pretty much everyone we bring onto the team has formal training — whether a degree or certificate program — because it is a more competitive space.The more typical path into sustainability is actually internal promotions, because so much of the role involves knowing the business structure and how to influence people within the organisation. Our senior director of sustainability started as a production manager and moved over five years ago.Build technical chops, whether through degree programmes, certificates or independent study. You can not just want to do good; you actually have to bring something to the work.Consider what you are actually good at and what you want to spend your day doing. If you love spreadsheets, go into merchandising or finance — we need sustainability champions there too. Our sustainability team is small, but we have [advocates] across raw materials, product development, planning and operations [making] as much impact [on the organisation] as anyone.How has the sustainability field evolved since you started in 2012?When I graduated in 2012, I was asked to give the convocation speech, and the gist was: ‘This is important work, but there probably are not jobs posted for this. You will have to go out and make them yourselves.” Not exactly inspiring.The challenge then was [to define] what sustainability [meant] as a role and how it was relevant to business. When I started at [Reformation], we had to create an in-depth “impact of fashion” page to help customers connect clothes with global issues like climate — and it was not widely understood.[...] The biggest challenge now is navigating quickly evolving regulations while focusing on durable sustainability commitments that do not swing based on public sentiment.What were some early career mistakes you learned from?While I reliably raise my hand to do things I have never done before [...] there is a higher risk of failure. One example is when we set up our LA office in 2014. We used cloth napkins in bathrooms instead of paper towels because we thought disposables were not “eco” [...] — it was not scalable at all.A bigger mistake was when we first created fibre standards and [...] we did not allow any cotton whatsoever — no certified, organic or regenerative. We even had a shirt that said “F Cotton”. In retrospect, that was too dogmatic. We now source incredible organic and regenerative cotton with on-farm programmes.On the personal side, I did not always cultivate important relationships early on, which ended up being costly mistakes for influence and internal engagement.How do you translate sustainability goals across teams and up the corporate ladder?If you work in sustainability, you are probably altruistic — you want to do the right thing for the sake of it. But in a corporate setting, that will not resonate with everyone. It took me several years to stop leading with “because it’s good for people and the planet” and reframe it around business goals. [...] Consider what will motivate your audience and why they might say “no”, then address that openly.From a communications perspective, I have great partners on brand and creative who help distil core messages and make them accessible. They would say “talk to me like I am a second grader” and help create the fun, accessible calls to action that sustainability nerds [like me] never land on their own.It took me several years to stop leading with ‘because it’s good for people and the planet’ and reframe it around business goals.How do you balance commercial operations with sustainability commitments?Having a dual role — CSO and VP of Operations — might seem odd, but I would recommend it. [...] It has made me a better CSO because I understand the business pressures and real tensions between business and sustainability.One of our core tenets is that we do not say “no” if we do not have a commercially viable alternative. [...] Our founder did not want sustainability to be a police officer or cheerleader on the side — they should be doing the work and making decisions while applying a sustainability lens. How do you keep up with rapidly changing regulations and consumer expectations?First and foremost, it is about [your] network. I have incredible peers across brands who have different expertise [...] and we lean on each other rather than trying to be experts in everything.We get guidance from multi-stakeholder initiatives like Fashion for Good [...] and industry publications like BoF help with synthesis — if it is hitting headlines, we know what to address.Customer sentiment is the hardest to follow. We have a customer strategy team that does surveying and focus groups. We try to balance stakeholder needs while staying sturdy in our core strategy, not changing our mission based on one year’s survey showing sentiment shifts.How can job seekers find employers that align with their sustainability values?Be realistic about finding an employer that hits all your personal values perfectly. If your career purpose needs to be rooted in mission-focused work, seek out social enterprises or explicitly mission-driven companies.To evaluate [whether] companies are legitimate, read their sustainability reports to see if claims [are supported by] actual numbers and work, not just commitments. Leadership matters — check if their thought leaders publish perspectives. Ask about culture and values in interviews, especially when talking to peers about what purpose means to them.Sometimes you [may] not align completely with a company’s mission but [may] find an incredible leader who will mentor you while doing good work in their programmes.How do you see the sustainability landscape changing in the next 5-10 years?I see a real market shift toward fashion brands integrating circularity principles into their impact strategy and programming, [and] this will continue growing. There will also be a significant [move] in compliance reporting and assessments as regulations roll out for implementation. Optimistically, more of these rules might sit within legal or finance verticals rather than being core to sustainability or ESG mandates.Stay open and curious. Really consider what work needs to be done and how you can contribute. [...] Build technical chops, whether through degree programmes, certificates or independent study. You can not just want to do good; you actually have to bring something to the work.Communication skills are crucial and frankly harder to find as I am growing the team. Building strategies for how you talk about the work is just as relevant as the technical aspects. [Another valuable path is to] go into communications and creative as a sustainability champion.Disclaimer: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Kylie Jenner is a woman of superlatives, or at least of notable firsts: She’s the youngest Kardashian; she’s allegedly a self-made billionaire; she’s the sister who has undergone the most radical style transformation. Not bad for a Gen Z-er with four accomplished older sisters and an Olympian for a parent. She was born into a reality-television dynasty, and as a result, grew up in the spotlight, accompanying her parents on the red carpet and frequently twinning with Kendall Jenner, the sister just two years her elder. But over time, Kylie has cultivated a look that sets her apart from her closest sibling and aligns her more directly with her Kardashian half-sisters, filling her closet with shimmering Balmain and Versace looks and plenty curve-hugging pieces. She’s established relationships with some of fashion’s biggest brands and designers—from Jean Paul Gaultier and Maison Margiela to Mugler and Schiaparelli—and let’s not forget her decades-long friendship with Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing. Below, see Kylie Jenner’s red carpet evolution, from tween star to Balmain muse and self-described “cool mom.”2025: David di Donatello AwardsMondadori Portfolio/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty ImagesIn May 2025, Kylie and her beau, Timothée Chalamet, made their long-awaited red carpet debut. Jenner, of course, used the moment to make a low-key fashion statement—she wore a simple spaghetti strap dress from Schiaparelli and the label’s signature gold jewelry.2025: Met GalaDia Dipasupil/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesThe model turned to Ferragamo’s Maximillian Davis at the 2025 Met Gala, wearing a sheer look with a daring skirt inspired by a tuxedo jacket.2024: CFDA AwardsSean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty ImagesDon’t get too close to the model’s Schiaparelli dress—it has spikes.2024: Met GalaJeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty ImagesKylie channeled Madonna’s infamous cone bra at the 2024 Met ball in a champagne hued look by Oscar de la Renta.2023: Met GalaSean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty ImagesKylie’s choice of Haider Ackerman for the 2023 Met Gala may have surprised some, but the red and blue cut-out gown looked oh-so right on the event’s iconic red carpet.2023: Vanity Fair Oscar Party Lionel Hahn/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesKylie wore a custom silver Maison Margiela bow dress and Amina Muaddi heels for the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.2023: Schiaparelli ShowMarc Piasecki/WireImage/Getty ImagesThe Khy designer turned a lot of heads in this roaring Schiaparelli velvet dress (featuring an extremely realistic 3D lion head) for the brand’s runway show during Paris Fashion Week.2022: Thierry Mugler: Couturissime ExhibitionLexie Moreland/WWD/Getty ImagesFor the opening of the Thierry Mugler: Couturissime at the Brooklyn Museum, Kylie looked otherworldly in a black corseted gown and glittering headpiece.2022: CFDA Fashion AwardsSean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty ImagesKylie looked as chic as ever in this one-shoulder and sheer Thierry Mugler dress for the 2022 CFDA Awards.2022: Business of Fashion GalaMarc Piasecki/WireImage/Getty ImagesClearly, she was feeling the lace look when she chose this lingerie-inspired Mugler ensemble to attend the Business of Fashion 500 Gala.2022: Billboard Music AwardsBillboard/Penske Media/Getty ImagesKylie brought along her daughter Stormi to the 2022 Billboard Music Awards where she wore a curve-hugging silver and navy Balmain dress.2022: Met GalaWWD/Penske Media/Getty ImagesKylie chose a dramatic, bridal-style gown from Off-White (complete with a baseball cap veil) to attend the 2022 Met Gala.2021: Parsons AwardsGotham/GC Images/Getty ImagesThe model looked ravishing in a green Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra dress for the 2021 Parsons Awards.2020: Vanity Fair Oscar Party Toni Anne Barson/WireImageKylie opted for a glittery Ralph & Russo couture gown at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.2019: Met GalaKylie stole the show in a purple Atelier Versace gown for the 2019 Met Gala themed “Camp: Notes on Fashion.”2019: Grammy AwardsDavid Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesWearing a sculptural pink Balmain couture outfit, Kylie certainly made a statement for the 2019 Grammy Awards.2018: MTV Video Music AwardsChanneling business woman chic for the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, Kylie wore a white suit dress and silver heels. 2018: Met GalaKylie opted for a strapless Alexander Wang gown and sleek, crytsal-encrusted sunglasses for the 2018 Met Gala.2018: Louis Vuitton Menswear ShowKylie and Kim attend the Louis Vuitton Menswear spring/summer 2019 show in equally colorful looks.2017: Met GalaFor the 2017 Met Gala, Kylie showed up to the annual event in a custom Versace dress that she styled with an edgy platinum bob.2017: Golden Globe AwardsWhen you’re a Kardashian, even the runway won’t do—Kylie went custom once again for the 2017 Golden Globes in a silver La Bourjoisie gown.2016: Met GalaKylie called on Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing to outfit her in this cut-out sparkling gown for the 2016 Met Gala.2015: ESPYSGlistening in gold Shady Zeineldine, Kylie attended the 2015 ESPYS in Los Angeles, California.2015: American Music AwardsA regular at the American Music Awards, Kylie went custom for the 2015 edition in a chainmail and leather Bryan Hearns number.2015: The Gallows PremiereKylie once told us her mom is her style icon, so it makes sense they would pair up on the red carpet, too. Here, Kylie wore a Cushnie et Ochs top with Alaïa leggings and a Kimora Lee Simmons coat to the premiere of The Gallows.2015: Balmain x H&M LaunchWearing Balmain x H&M, Kylie appeared at the launch of the brand’s capsule collection in 2015.2015: Billboard Music AwardsCompleting the arc that brought her into Olivier Rousteing’s fold, Kylie wore Balmain to the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.2015: GQ Grammy Awards Afterparty This cut-out Steven Khalil gown was Kylie’s outfit of choice for the 2015 GQ Grammys afterparty.2014: MTV Video Music AwardsKylie matched her black bob to this silk Alexandre Vauthier number and patent Gucci heels at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.2014: American Music AwardsKylie once again chose Alexandre Vauthier, this time in burgundy, for the American Music Awards.2014: MuchMusic Video AwardsKylie opted for an orange Nicolas Jebran mini dress at the MuchMusic Video Awards in 2014.2014: Billboard Music AwardsThe blue dye of Kylie’s bob popped against the white palette of her Alex Perry dress and Louboutin heels during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.2013: American Music AwardsKylie, in Maiyet and Giambattista Valli, debuted a new hair style when she walked the red carpet at the American Music Awards with her sister Kendall.2013: After Earth PremiereThe star went with a sleek black two-piece look to attend the premiere of After Earth (the movie fronted by then-boyfriend Jaden Smith) in 2013.2013: MTV Movie AwardsThe mogul opted for white and nude, a palette she’d come to favor down the line, at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards.2013: Kids’ Choice AwardsKylie wore a dress by Msfts, the label designed by her then-reported boyfriend, Jaden Smith, to the Kids’ Choice Awards in 2013.2012: Fashion’s Night OutKylie packed on the sparkle for Fashion’s Night Out in 2012.2011: Prom PremiereIn coordinating blue dresses, Kendall and Kylie proved their twinning days were just getting started in 2011.2011: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never PremiereThough Kylie opted for a white strapless dress, she seemed to match her nude patent heels to Kendall’s Louboutin pair for the premiere of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.2010: Teen Choice AwardsKylie joined her sisters Kim and Kendall in a white mini dress during the 2010 Teen Choice Awards.2009: Kiss and Tell Release PartyKylie wore a floral mini dress at the 2009 release party for Selena Gomez’s album Kiss and Tell.2009: KIIS-FM’s Wango TangoKendall and Kris joined Kylie at a 2009 KIIS-FM event.2008: Heroes Celebrity CarnivalA pre-teen Kylie attended a 2008 charity event in white shorts and a ruffled blouse.2000: The Emperor’s New Groove PremiereThe Jenner family looked as stylish as ever (was this Kylie and Kendall’s first matching moment?) at the world premiere of The Emperor’s New Groove in 2000.This article was originally published on Aug. 10, 2018 Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

“I love packing,” said no one ever. After traveling to more than 40 countries around the world, let’s just say I’ve definitely earned my 10,000 hours. At this point, I might even qualify for an honorary PhD… in packing! 😉 I’ve wheeled suitcases over cobblestone streets, sprinted through crowded airports with a carry-on in tow, and packed (and repacked) more times in one trip than I care to admit. So yes—I’ve learned what really works… and what to avoid (usually the hard way). And let me be clear—packing for trips with checked luggage versus packing in a carry-on only? Two totally different games. In this post, I’m diving into the art of packing light… in just a carry-on. It might seem impossible, but I promise—it’s absolutely doable. Today, I’m sharing the tried-and-true strategies I’ve learned over decades of travel so you can pack lighter, smarter, and still look incredibly stylish—without the stress. Okay, ready to become a carry-on queen? Let’s do this! Turn on your JavaScript to view content For a comprehensive guide on packing like a pro for international travel, here’s the blog for you!  how to pack like a pro 1. Master the Second Bag Strategy You have your carry-on bag of course, but you also get to bring along a personal item. And—it’s your secret weapon. When you’re packing for a huge trip and need as much space as possible, make sure you choose an extra roomy tote or weekender bag. (Keeping in mind it needs to fit under the seat in front of you.) While I vary my second bag quite a bit, I almost always opt for a large tote bag. On longer trips, a small weekender is the way to go. Another note about your second bag, think about bringing a bag that is both roomy and one that you really want to use on the trip. For example, on a recent summer trip to Europe, I brought a gorgeous raffia tote that I carried throughout my vacation. Everything I pack in my Second Bag: ✅ Toiletries, with the liquids in a separate clear pouch✅ iPad, phone, chargers, portable battery, any other tech✅ Headphones (my favorite: Bose noise-canceling over-ear)✅ Quince mulberry silk eye mask (comes with a bag to keep it clean and dust-free)✅ Passport, ID, and slim card holder (vs. wallet)✅ Snacks, water bottle, hand sanitizer, lipstick Pro tip: Use mini packing cubes or small pouches inside your personal item to stay organized, so you’re never digging around in the airport or mid-flight. Turn on your JavaScript to view content 2. Use Compression Cubes — But Not for Everything! Compression packing cubes are a game-changer—and the ones from Quince are hands-down the best I’ve ever used (And, I’ve tested a lot). Their genius extra zipper lets you compress your clothes down flat, saving a ton of space. I recommend organizing by category—pants and bottoms in one cube, tops in another. Just to give you an idea: in one Quince cube, I can fit three pairs of pants, one pair of shorts, and a skirt… and once compressed, it’s practically flat (check out the photo above)! 🔥 Hot take: Don’t pack everything in cubes. For bulkier or wrinkle-prone items like dresses, lay them flat at the bottom of your suitcase—preferably on the non-handle side. Then layer your cubes and/or shoes on top. This not only keeps dresses smoother but also uses every inch of space wisely. How you pack matters—smart strategy makes all the difference. Check out more Quince travel essentials here! 3. Interior Compression The Quince expandable rolling carry-on is designed to be the max carry-on size (22.8″) so you can pack as much as possible—without checking a bag. Inside, it has a built-in compression system: tighten the interior straps after packing, and watch your clothes flatten down even more. It’s practical and oddly satisfying! Lots of suitcases have interior straps, but Quince’s compression is especially effective and makes a major difference. 4. Take Outfit Photos Before every trip, I create a dedicated iPhone album with photos of every outfit. When choosing what to pack, I always try the outfit on and take a quick mirror selfie. Sometimes I realize that I don’t actually like the outfit as much as I thought, or don’t have the right shoes for that dress…And it’s helpful to look back on during your trip! It takes the decision fatigue out of each day—you just swipe, pick, and go. Bonus: it helps you pack intentionally because you see what actually works together when finalizing your packing list. Turn on your JavaScript to view content 5. Choose a Color Story This is truly the secret to packing light. Pick a thoughtful and strategic color palette and stick to it! Choose base colors like black, brown, white, beige, or navy, and add just one or two pops of color (like a scarf, fun top, or statement accessory). On longer trips, you’ll likely wash and re-wear items, so make sure everything mixes and matches seamlessly. It keeps your wardrobe versatile—and your suitcase light! Now, you can still bring a special piece to wear on your trip, and I’ll talk more about that one later. 6. Three Pairs of Shoes Only! Shoes take up the most space, so you have to choose wisely. When you’re packing only a carry-on, you can bring 3. That’s it! For summer travels, I’d suggest a sneaker (that you wear on travel day), a dressy sandal (I usually do a wedge) that you can really walk in, and a pair of flat sandals. For fall and winter, wear sneakers or booties (pack the other pair) and always one pair of flats.  I pack shoes individually in either cloth handbag storage bags or large ziploc bags to to keep clothes clean. I pack them separately because you can be more strategic about placement. Always tuck small items like socks or jewelry inside of your shoes to use every inch of space. Turn on your JavaScript to view content 7. Choose Light, Airy Fabrics  Natural, breathable fabrics like silk, cotton poplin, and linen are ideal for carry-on travel. They not only keep you cool and comfortable but also fold down beautifully and add minimal weight. (Just a heads-up: fabrics like cotton gauze look light, but can actually be quite bulky!) 💡 Pro Tip: Avoid structured or heavier materials—they tend to eat up valuable space and add unnecessary weight. Carry-on packing is all about curating—choosing only the most versatile, space-saving pieces for your trip. Take a silky midi dress, for example. It rolls up to practically nothing and is whisper thin, but can transition effortlessly from day to night. I wore a black silk slip dress to sightsee in Munich layered over a puff sleeve white tee, then for an elegant dinner look—I removed the tee and swapped flats for heels. When your wardrobe works overtime like that? That’s a true carry-on MVP. Turn on your JavaScript to view content 8. Wear Layers on Travel Day Travel day is your golden opportunity to maximize space and stay comfortable—without sacrificing style. Layer up in a way that feels intentional and elevated: 👟 Wear your bulkiest shoes—sneakers or boots—so they don’t eat up suitcase space🧥 Bring a blazer or sweater you’ll want at your destination (and need for chilly planes)👖 Opt for comfy-chic bottoms you can potentially sleep in like these soft trousers, or stretchy “jeans” that feel like loungewear but look polished Layering helps you navigate everything from freezing flights to unexpected delays with ease—and lets you walk off the plane looking effortlessly put-together. Style + function? Always a win. Turn on your JavaScript to view content 9. Travel Sized Toiletries Since I travel so much, I recently stocked a dedicated toiletry bag with travel-size items: mini toothbrush, travel-size hair brush, eyeliner, deodorant, skincare, even a mini toothbrush—everything needs to be travel sized. I wish I’d thought of this grab-and-go idea sooner! It saves time and energy, and when you’re packing, any step that can be simplified really makes all the difference. All TSA-approved liquids go into a separate clear bag, and then the rest of your toiletries can go in a bag like this. Minimizing your routine whenever possible will also make your life easier too. Just the essentials here! 💡 Pro Tip: Use solid deodorant, and powders vs. aerosols to save space in that limited liquids bag. I love spray dry shampoo, but on trips, I opt for powder instead. Turn on your JavaScript to view content 10. Use Small Spaces Smartly When you’re actually packing your bag, use all the little spaces that you can. After packing your cubes, dresses and shoes you can start filling in every gap: •Roll up belts (with the buckle inside to protect it) and tuck them into corners•Pack bras, socks, underwear around cubes and inside shoes•Let go of the urge to pack everything inside of the packing cubes Every bit of space really does matter when you’re trying to pack light. ✨ Bonus Tip: Don’t Forget to Pack One WOW Piece! Even when packing light, I always include a special outfit that makes me feel amazing. Travel is about experiencing new places—and wearing something that feels special adds to the joy (and the photos!). So don’t let the color story prevent you from bringing along that special piece. I’ve been known to plan entire trips around a special dress, so don’t forget to pack that one standout piece you’ll absolutely feel like a goddess wearing! Space-Saving Skips Leave the hair dryer, steamer, and umbrella at home. Most hotels or rentals provide them—or you can buy locally if truly needed. I also do not bring haircare products like shampoo, conditioner or styling creams to save space. Want styled hair for a special dinner? Find a blow-dry bar at your destination. And honestly? Sometimes it feels freeing to embrace your natural hair, especially in humid spots like Vietnam or China. My hair had a mind of its own, and I still had an amazing, action-packed trip without even worrying about styling it! 🧳 FAQ: What Should I Look for in a Great Carry-On? Q: Is it really worth investing in a quality carry-on suitcase? A: Absolutely. Your carry-on does a lot of heavy lifting—literally and figuratively. A well-designed piece of luggage can make packing, navigating airports, and unpacking at your destination significantly easier (and less stressful!). That said, it doesn’t have to break the bank. I recently acquired this high-quality carry-on by Quince that is very lightweight and durable. Q: What features make a carry-on truly functional and travel-friendly? A: Look for: Lightweight Think less than 8 pounds. It matters, especially when you carry on and need to lift in overhead bin.Durable construction (like a polycarbonate shell)Expandable design for that just-in-case spaceSmooth spinner wheels and a comfy handle for easy maneuvering (when it doesn’t roll properly, nightmare!)Built-in compression system to maximize spaceTSA-approved lock for peace of mindFits overhead bins on major airlines These features may sound basic, but when combined, they make a huge difference—especially if you’re trying to travel with just a carry-on. Q: Which carry-on do you personally use? A: I’ve been alternating between the Quince and Beis carry-on’s—and I genuinely love both. They check all the boxes without the luxury brand price tag. (Not sponsored – just my honest opinion), both are amazing options if you want performance without overspending. (I also own expensive ones by Tumi, Paraval, Rimowa and they’re great, but not notably better in any way including aesthetics and durability.) Q: How do I know it’ll fit in overhead bins? A: Most carry-ons that meet 22″ x 14″ x 9″ dimensions will fit in overhead bins on major U.S. airlines. Always double-check the airline’s website before flying internationally or on budget carriers. I’ve never had an issue and as I mentioned earlier, I’ve traveled all over the world. ✈️ stress-free travels ahead Packing doesn’t have to be stressful—even if it’s not your favorite part of the journey. With a little planning, thoughtful outfit selections, and luggage that works with you, you’ll be amazed at how much simpler and better the process is. Traveling lighter means feeling more prepared, more stylish, and more present for what really matters: the adventure ahead. Try these tips on your next vacation—and have the BEST time on your trip! For the most amazing, done-for-you packing lists…subscribe to our newsletter here! Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

[ad_1] Right now, as you're reading this, your device is performing a feat that would seem like magic to anyone just a century ago. Your phone is negotiating with distant cell towers, your WiFi router is streaming high-resolution video, and if you've got any IoT devices, they're whispering to each other using protocols like LoRa. All of this happens through radio frequency (RF) signals - electromagnetic waves that carry information through the air at the speed of light.But what exactly are these signals? How do digital bits in your device's memory transform into physical waves that can traverse a room or an entire city? Let's dive into this invisible world.Everything Starts With CurrentAt the most fundamental level, RF signals originate from a basic principle of physics: a changing electric current in a conductor creates a corresponding changing electromagnetic (EM) field. When this change happens rapidly enough - at radio frequencies - the EM field doesn't just stay around the conductor; it detaches and propagates outward as an electromagnetic wave.Your antenna isn't just a passive piece of wire - it's a transducer. Its specific shape and size are meticulously designed to efficiently convert a rapidly alternating electrical current into a traveling electromagnetic wave for transmitting, and conversely, to convert a passing wave back into a tiny electrical current for receiving.Here's a simple thought experiment: imagine you could short-circuit a battery exactly 2.4 billion times per second. Each time you connect the short, current flows. Each time you disconnect it, current stops. If you could do this at exactly 2.4 billion times per second, you'd create a 2.4 GHz signal - the same frequency as WiFi. Of course, this is impossible with any mechanical system, but it illustrates the fundamental concept: RF signals are rapidly changing electrical current at precise frequencies.Making Noise MeaningfulNow, a pure oscillating signal is just noise - like a constant tone. To carry actual information, we need to modify that signal in specific ways. This is where modulation comes in.Modulation is the process of changing some property of your carrier signal to encode information. Think of your carrier wave as a blank canvas - modulation is how you paint data onto it.Amplitude Modulation (AM): In AM radio, we change the amplitude (strength) of the signal. Imagine you're humming a constant 1000 Hz note, but you make it louder and quieter to spell out morse code. When you want to send the letter "A" in morse code (dot-dash), you might make the signal strong for a short time (dot), then weak, then strong for a longer time (dash). The frequency stays the same, but the volume changes carry the information.Frequency Modulation (FM): FM does something different. Instead of changing the volume, it slightly shifts the frequency up and down. Let's say you want to send the letter "A" using FM. You might start with your 1000 Hz carrier, then shift it to 1001 Hz for a short time (representing a dot), back to 1000 Hz, then to 1002 Hz for a longer time (representing a dash). The amplitude stays constant, but the frequency changes encode your data. This is why FM sounds clearer than AM - frequency changes are less affected by electrical interference than amplitude changes.LoRa (Long Range): LoRa is fascinating because it uses something called chirp spread spectrum. Instead of just changing amplitude or frequency at fixed points, LoRa rapidly sweeps the frequency up and down in specific patterns called "chirps." Each chirp pattern represents different data. It's like having a musical signature where different frequency "melodies" mean different things. This technique makes LoRa incredibly resistant to interference and allows it to travel much farther than traditional methods.The Speed Challenge: How Do We Switch So Fast?Here's where things get interesting. Modern wireless communications operate at mind-boggling speeds. Your WiFi router is switching at 2.4 GHz - that's 2.4 billion times per second. Bluetooth, cellular, GPS - they're all operating at similar or even higher frequencies. How do we achieve these speeds?The answer lies in finding something that can vibrate fast enough to control electrical circuits at these frequencies. Enter the humble quartz crystal.Nature's Perfect OscillatorThe foundation of stable RF generation is the quartz crystal oscillator. Quartz is a piezoelectric material - it physically deforms when voltage is applied and, conversely, generates a voltage when it deforms. When a precisely cut piece of quartz is placed in an electronic circuit, it can be made to resonate at an incredibly stable and predictable frequency.The frequency is determined by the crystal's physical dimensions. Cut it precisely, and you get a precise frequency. A crystal can vibrate billions of times per second with almost no variation - this stability is what makes modern RF communication possible.But here's the key insight: once we have this stable frequency source, we can control it electronically. By varying the voltage applied to the crystal circuit or using additional circuitry, we can slightly shift the frequency up and down. This is how we can modulate the frequency to encode data - the crystal provides the stable foundation, and we add controlled variations on top of it.The CPU Connection: Crystals All the Way DownHere's something that might blow your mind: your CPU is actually just a crystal oscillator with a lot of fancy logic built around it. That ESP32 you're using for your IoT projects? At its heart, it's got a crystal oscillator running at maybe 40 MHz, and all the processor's operations are synchronized to that crystal's vibrations.So technically, you can generate RF signals directly from a CPU. Take that ESP32, write some code to rapidly toggle a GPIO pin, and you're essentially creating a square wave at whatever frequency you program. If you toggle it 2.4 million times per second, you get a 2.4 MHz signal.In fact, some people do exactly this for quick and dirty RF generation. You can literally output a signal from your microcontroller pin and, with the right antenna, transmit data. It's not pretty, but it works for basic applications.But there's a fundamental problem with this approach...The Harmonic Reality: Why Real RF is ComplexWhen you generate a square wave from a CPU pin, you're not creating a clean sine wave - you're creating a signal full of harmonics. These are multiples of your base frequency that can interfere with other devices and violate radio regulations.If you're generating a 2.4 MHz square wave, you're also generating harmonics at 4.8 MHz, 7.2 MHz, 9.6 MHz, and so on. This is why real RF systems use filters, amplifiers, and other components to clean up the signal and suppress unwanted harmonics.But harmonics aren't always bad. RF engineers use them cleverly to reach higher frequencies. A crystal oscillator provides a rock-solid reference frequency, typically in the tens of megahertz. But how do we get the 2.4 gigahertz needed for WiFi? It's impractical to cut a crystal that resonates that fast.This is where the Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) comes in. A PLL is a brilliant control system that acts as a frequency multiplier. It takes the stable low-frequency signal from the crystal as a reference and uses it to control a much higher-frequency oscillator, called a Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO). The PLL continuously compares the VCO's output to the crystal's reference signal and adjusts the VCO to keep it perfectly locked at a precise multiple of the reference.In essence, the PLL "listens" to the steady beat of the crystal and forces the high-frequency VCO to run at, for example, 60 times the reference frequency, transforming a 40 MHz reference into a pristine 2.4 GHz carrier wave.TCXO vs Standard CrystalsNot all crystal oscillators are created equal:Standard Crystal Oscillators (XTAL): These are your basic crystals. They provide stable frequency generation, but temperature changes can cause slight frequency drift. For many applications, this is acceptable.Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillators (TCXO): These include additional circuitry that monitors temperature and compensates for the crystal's drift. The result is a frequency source that stays locked to its target frequency even when temperatures fluctuate. These are essential for precision applications like GPS, cellular base stations, and high-end RF communications.Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators (OCXO): These go even further, housing the crystal in a tiny, heated "oven" to maintain a constant temperature, providing the ultimate in frequency stability for critical infrastructure like cell towers and base stations.Voltage-Controlled Oscillators (VCO): Unlike fixed-frequency crystals, VCOs generate a frequency that can be adjusted by varying the input voltage. While not as stable as crystal-based oscillators, they are crucial in applications requiring tunable frequencies, such as PLLs (Phase-Locked Loops), RF modulators, and synthesizers. VCOs can be combined with crystals in systems like TCXO and OCXO to provide both stability and tunability.The difference between XTAL and TCXO can be the difference between a signal that drifts off frequency and one that stays rock-solid stable in real-world conditions.From Chip to Air: The RF Front-EndThe modulated signal generated by the PLL and modulator is still incredibly weak. It needs to be prepared for its journey through the air. This happens in the RF front-end, a chain of specialized components:Filtering: The signal is passed through precise filters to remove any unwanted harmonics and ensure it doesn't interfere with other devices on adjacent frequency bands.Amplification: A Power Amplifier (PA) boosts the signal's strength from microwatts to the level needed for effective transmission, all without distorting the carefully modulated information.Antenna: The final, amplified signal is sent to the antenna, which efficiently radiates the energy out into the world as an electromagnetic wave.The Quartz Watch ConnectionThe quartz watch on your wrist demonstrates this same principle. Inside is a tiny crystal vibrating at 32.768 kHz. Why that specific frequency? Because it's 2^15 Hz - divide it by 2 fifteen times, and you get exactly 1 Hz, or one pulse per second. Perfect for keeping time.The same crystal technology that keeps your watch accurate to within seconds per month is what makes your WiFi router, cell phone, and LoRa sensors work - just at much higher frequencies and with more sophisticated control circuits.Putting It All TogetherSo there you have it - RF communication is an elegant symphony of precise engineering. It starts with the fundamental physics of changing current creating electromagnetic waves, uses crystal oscillators for stable frequency generation, employs PLLs to reach the exact frequencies needed, modulates those frequencies to carry data, and carefully filters and amplifies the result before launching it into the air.The next time you connect to WiFi or send a LoRa message, remember: somewhere in that device, a tiny piece of quartz is vibrating millions or billions of times per second, controlling sophisticated circuitry that creates the invisible waves carrying your data through the air at the speed of light.It's a testament to human ingenuity that we've learned to harness these natural phenomena to create the wireless world we live in today. [ad_2] Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Congratulations on becoming a homeowner! As we wrap up our three-part series on the first time home buying journey (find the previous posts here and here), let’s focus on what happens after you’ve got the keys to your new property. This guide will help new homeowners navigate the exciting yet sometimes overwhelming period following their purchase. In the time running up to the completion of your home purchase, you will have no doubt been busy packing and preparing for your move. Although I haven’t covered off this aspect of the house buying process in any detail so far, I intend to share some posts at a later date with tips on how to move home well. So, for now, let’s imagine you’re all packed and ready to go. Here’s a brief rundown as to what happens next: Your conveyancer will contact you to confirm the transaction is complete and the property is now yours. Exciting times! But what next? You will need to collect the keys to your new home. This will typically involve you visiting the estate agent’s office to sign for them, but some agents will complete this process at the property. In some cases, for example where the vendor has sold the property without the use of an estate agent, the keys will most commonly be left with either party’s conveyancer for you to collect from them. Once you have the keys, you can move in! If this isn’t your first home purchase, it’s likely you’ll have the removal van in close company, eager to offload your belongings at the new property. Deep Clean Unfortunately, not all vendors leave their property in a decent state so before moving in allow time to give your new home a thorough clean. This may be tricky to fit in around the vendor moving out and you moving in, but it can usually be made to work somehow. You might also consider hiring professional cleaners for this task, especially if the property has been vacant for a while and/or the carpets need a proper clean. The house is unlikely to be empty again until the next time you move so it’s worth making the most of the opportunity to clean while there’s nothing in your way (it’s SO much quicker to clean), and a sparkling clean, fresh house is the perfect moving in present to yourself! If the removal team is keen to get cracking with the unloading of your belongings while you are cleaning, make them a cup of tea while they’re waiting, which will usually sweeten the deal and buy you a bit of time. I’ve found they usually don’t mind too much as long as you keep them updated. Focus on getting one downstairs room cleaned first so movers can start putting your belongings in there while you/the cleaning team get to work on the rest of the house. Change the Locks You don’t know how many copies of the keys are floating around, so it’s best to start afresh for your own security and peace of mind. This can be done relatively cheaply via a locksmith, or depending on the type of door you have you may find that it’s actually pretty straightforward to replace the lock yourself. There are lots of You Tube tutorials out there to help you! Set Up The Utilities Ensure all utilities are transferred to your name or set up new accounts for them – this includes electricity, gas, water, internet, council tax and any other utilities that serve the property. Failing to deal with this promptly can lead to service interruptions, which is the last thing you’ll want when you’re trying to settle in to your new home. Utility companies usually let services run on from the previous account for a time, but the sooner you can get this sorted the better, especially if you want to set up a great deal with your new providers. Check Safety Features Inspect and test all safety features, including smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers (if any). It is recommended to replace batteries and update any outdated equipment. Remember, there’s no landlord or parents to look after this for you now – it’s all down to you as the proud new homeowner! Financial Considerations Budget for Ongoing Costs: First time homeowners often underestimate the ongoing costs of homeownership. Create a budget that includes mortgage payments, insurance, utilities, maintenance and unexpected repairs. Build an Emergency Fund: As mentioned in the first post in this series, having an emergency fund is crucial in case something unexpected happens. You should aim to save 1-3% of your home’s value annually for unplanned maintenance and emergency repairs. Understand Your Mortgage: Make sure you fully understand your mortgage terms. You should know when payments are due, how to make overpayments if desired and what penalties might apply for early repayment. Review Your Insurance: Ensure you have adequate buildings and contents insurance. New homeowners might also want to take out life insurance to cover the mortgage in case of unexpected events. Home Improvement and Maintenance Create a Maintenance Schedule Regular maintenance can prevent costly repairs further down the line. New homeowners should create a schedule for tasks such as annual boiler servicing, gutter cleaning and checking for damp. Plan for Improvements While you might be eager to make changes, new homeowners should live in the property for a while before making major renovations. This allows you to understand how you use the space and what improvements would be most beneficial. Learn DIY Skills Basic DIY skills can save new homeowners a lot of money. Consider taking courses or watching online tutorials to learn how todo simple repairs and improvements. Build a Network of Professionals Find reliable tradespeople for jobs you can’t handle yourself. New homeowners should ask for recommendations from neighbours and local Facebook groups or use tradespeople from trusted online directories. Long-Term Considerations for New Homeowners Stay Informed About Your Area Keep an eye on local developments that could affect your property value. New homeowners should attend community meetings and stay informed about planning applications in their area. Think About Energy Efficiency Improving your home’s energy efficiency can save money in the long run. New homeowners should consider upgrades like better insulation, double-glazing and/or solar panels. Keep Important Documents Safe Maintain a file with all important documents related to your home purchase. New homeowners should include the deed, mortgage documents, surveys and insurance policies in this file. Plan for the Future Your needs may change over time. New homeowners should consider how the property might accommodate future life changes, such as starting a family or working from home. If the property wouldn’t work for such situations in its existing configuration, are there changes that can be made to facilitate this, such as building an extension or installing a conservatory or separate garden room/office? Thinking about these matters well ahead of time will leave you forewarned and forearmed. Embracing Your New Home Becoming a homeowner is a journey, not a destination. As a new homeowner, you’ll continually learn and adapt to your this new responsibility. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from more experienced homeowners such as your neighbours or professionals when needed. Reflect on your journey from my first post about budgeting and mortgage affordability, through the home buying process discussed in our second post, to now settling into your new home. Each step has prepared you for this exciting new chapter in your life. New homeowners often feel a mix of excitement and apprehension. This is completely normal! Take the time to enjoy your achievement. Explore your new neighbourhood, meet your neighbours and start making your house feel like a home. By following these tips and staying proactive, new homeowners can navigate the challenges and joys of homeownership with confidence. Welcome to the world of homeownership – may your new home bring you many years of happiness and security! As always, thanks for reading! Source link

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[ad_1] Summary Android OEMs are making "Ultra" flagship smartphones, some partnering with camera companies for tuning. Samsung uses its own computational photography, while Oppo collaborates with Hasselblad for tuning. Camera showdown between Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Oppo Find X8 Ultra reveals Oppo excels in zoom and low-light shots. Most Android OEMs have shifted toward making an "Ultra" version of their flagship smartphones, featuring the best camera hardware they can offer. Many brands, including Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, often collaborate with well-known camera companies, like Hasselblad, Zeiss, and Leica, to enhance their camera tuning. Samsung and Google, on the other hand, have taken a slightly different path. They rely more on their own computational photography and software optimizations rather than relying on these legacy names for their camera tuning. To see how these two approaches compare today, I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra against the Oppo Find X8 Ultra -- and the results were quite revealing. A closer look at the camera hardware Both phones offer a similar camera setup Before we look at the shots from both phones, let's quickly go over the camera hardware. The Galaxy S25 Ultra features a 200-megapixel primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and OIS. It's paired with a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom lens, and a 50-megapixel 5x zoom lens. The Oppo Find X8 Ultra, on the other hand, comes with a quad 50-megapixel setup, including a 50-megapixel primary lens with an f/1.8 aperture, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens with a 120-degree FoV, a 50-megapixel 3x zoom lens, and a 50-megapixel 6x optical zoom lens. As mentioned earlier, Oppo has partnered with Hasselblad over the past few years to fine-tune photo post-processing, while Samsung handles image tuning entirely in-house. In fact, Oppo has renewed its collaboration with Hasselblad and claims to be working on a "next-generation mobile imaging system" that aims to set a "new standard" for smartphone photography. But does Hasselblad processing actually make a difference? Let's find out. The rear camera showdown Which Android smartphone has the better camera? Before we begin, it's worth noting that this camera comparison focuses solely on images taken with the rear camera setups of both phones. All photos were captured in tap-and-shoot mode, with Pro mode not used, as most users typically don't shoot that way. Also, keep in mind that images to the left of the slider were taken with the Oppo Find X8 Ultra, while those on the right were captured using the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Primary Right off the bat, you'll notice a big difference in color reproduction and HDR processing between the two phones. In the shot above, you'll notice that the Galaxy S25 Ultra goes for a more saturated and brighter look, while the Oppo Find X8 Ultra aims for realistic skin tones with a wider dynamic range. But the white balance on the Oppo shot feels slightly off. The greenery in the background has a cooler, almost bluish tint that doesn't look natural. Samsung may be boosting colors a bit, but its overall rendering feels more balanced and visually pleasing in this case. Personally, I prefer the look of the Galaxy S25 Ultra shot here. This one tells a similar story. The Oppo shot once again seems to struggle a bit with either HDR or white balance. Look closely at the text above the truck -- it's clearly visible in the image taken using the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but harder to read in the Find X8 Ultra one. That said, Oppo does a better job of highlighting the details inside the truck. This is where Oppo really shines. I actually prefer the Find X8 Ultra's photo here. It goes for a more saturated, punchier look, which works beautifully in this scene, full of color and contrast. The Galaxy S25 Ultra's version is flatter, with less color and contrast, and loses some information in shadowy regions. Ultra-wide Oppo Find X8 Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: ultra-wide test Moving on to the ultra-wide shots, the Find X8 Ultra produces a brighter (and warmer) image. The greens look a bit livelier, and there's more visible detail in the darker areas near the bottom left. The overall exposure feels more even across the frame. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, on the other hand, goes for a slightly cooler look. Yes, the image does look slightly more dramatic, but it also feels a bit flatter overall and lacks the punchiness that the Oppo manages to deliver straight out of the camera. There's also a big difference in distortion handling. The image from the Galaxy S25 Ultra appears slightly more stretched toward the edges, while the Oppo flagship keeps things tighter and more balanced. Zoom test Oppo Find X8 Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: 3x zoom test At 3x zoom, both phones capture contrast-heavy images, but the differences start to show once you look closer. The Oppo Find X8 Ultra uses a lower aperture (f/2.1 compared to f/2.4 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra), and that shows in the background blur and shallower depth of field. However, that wider aperture also makes it trickier to handle highlights, and Oppo doesn't quite pull it off here. Samsung does a noticeably better job at managing light. Look at the subject's white clothing -- the S25 Ultra retains texture and definition, while the Oppo shot blows out some of those details. The same goes for the red flowers in the bottom left. Both are solid shots, but Samsung takes the lead here with better detail retention and more controlled contrast. Oppo Find X8 Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: 30x zoom test This is where the Find X8 Ultra pulls ahead. At 30x zoom, the Oppo flagship captures a noticeably sharper image. You can clearly make out the textures on the door as well as the walls. You can even clearly see the trees behind the shed. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra holds up surprisingly well, but loses sharpness when you zoom in. The walls and doors of the shed start to blur, and you lose definition around the grass in front. Indoor lighting In well-lit indoor conditions, both phones put in solid work, but they approach color and exposure differently. The Find X8 Ultra tends to go for a warmer, slightly more saturated look. The images have a bit of extra vibrance, just look at the mugs and books in the shot above. The Galaxy S25 Ultra leans towards a more neutral color tone. The image ends up looking a bit flat and less engaging. There's also slightly less clarity around the book labels and the mugs when you zoom in. Similarly, in the second shot above, the difference lies in the tone. Oppo goes for a warmer tone, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra keeps things cooler. The shot from the Galaxy S2 Ultra is sharper as well. The texture of the fabric and the sharpness of the beads on the hairpiece are better maintained here. Night/Low-light When it comes to low-light and night-time shots, the Find X8 Ultra clearly pulls ahead. It delivers a cleaner, more balanced night shot — lighting is more evenly distributed, highlights are better controlled, and the image looks brighter overall without overexposing any part of the frame. On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 Ultra produces a warmer-toned image, but it feels overprocessed. Lights appear blown out, and there's more noticeable noise in the shadows. The shot lacks the natural dynamic range that Oppo manages to retain, especially around the bright string lights. SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Display 6.9-inch RAM 12GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Battery 5,000mAh Rear camera f/1.7 200-megapixel wide, f/1.9 50-megapixel ultra-wide, f/2.4 10 megapixel 3x telephoto, f/3.4 50-megapixel 5x telephoto The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the most refined flagship from the brand yet. It comes with a big 6.9-inch edge-to-edge AMOLED panel, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a quad-camera setup with up to 5x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. Similarly, here as well, the Find X8 Ultra again shines with better exposure and more accurate color tones. Details on the couch, wall textures, and decor appear crisp and evenly lit, without dark patches or overly bright highlights. The Galaxy S25 Ultra leans toward a contrast-heavy look, which also results in some loss of detail. Areas like the left side of the couch and the wood paneling appear muddier. The overall scene feels darker and lacks the warmth that Oppo delivers. Which camera is better? So, which camera is better? Well, that depends on what you value more. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra continues to deliver excellent consistency, especially in daylight, with its natural color science and excellent dynamic range. It also performs well in indoor lighting, maintaining neutral and natural tones without making images overly warm. That said, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra makes a compelling case. Its ultra-wide camera produces livelier, more balanced shots, and both zoom and low-light photos are exceptionally good. If I had to pick one, I'd lean toward the Oppo Find X8 Ultra. You get better zoom performance, superior low-light shots, and daylight image quality that's nearly on par with Samsung. [ad_2] Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

[ad_1] Many cordless vacuums come with anti-tangle brushrolls better suited for pet hair. Getty Images/Amy Kim/CNETEurekaEureka ReactiSense 440 (Out of stock): This cordless vacuum would be our best overall pick if it was in stock. It has some of the highest scores of any cordless vacuum we've tested, with 97.53% sand pickup from hard flooring. Carpet performance was also some of the highest we've seen, with 98.53% from low-pile carpet and 92.16% from mid-pile. Battery runtime was one weakness, with 33 minutes being on the shorter side, but the ReactiSense makes up for it with price, costing just $180. Unfortunately, it's currently out of stock at all retailers, so until that changes, it keeps it off our main list. DysonFor a deeper dive into Dyson as a brand, take a look at our tested list of the best Dyson vacuum cleaners. Dyson V8 Absolute: The V8 Absolute is one of the more affordable Dyson vacuums you can buy. Normally $519.99 at full price, it's currently on sale for $349.99. While the price isn't bad, the performance doesn't live up to expectations. While it did great on hardwood, removing nearly 98% of sand, it didn't do as well on carpet. The Absolute was able to remove 68.3% of sand from low-pile and 52% from mid-pile carpets, falling short of many competitors, including the Levoit LVAC-200 and Shark Stratos. Dyson V11 Torque Drive: With a motor that automatically adapts to the type of floor it's cleaning and a fancy LCD screen, the Dyson V11 Torque Drive might feel like an upgrade. It typically retails for about $600 but you can often find it on sale closer to $475. While the Dyson V11 lived up to the hype with highly consistent cleaning power across all of CNET Lab testing, it was, however, outperformed by newer models like the Dyson V15 Detect and other competitors on our best list.Dyson Gen5 Detect: The Gen5 Detect is one of Dyson's latest and greatest cordless vacuums. It's also one of the most expensive at $949.99, although you can currently get it on sale for $749.99. The performance you get is fairly good, with 95.4% of sand removal from hardwood, 65.3% from low-pile carpet and 66.7% from mid-pile carpet. Unfortunately, this performance falls short of our current best overall, the Shark Stratos, which offers even better scores for less than half the price. If you like the dust detection feature, we're also partial to the Dyson V15 Detect, which offers stronger performance on carpet and hardwood, and the Dyson Detect Submarine V15S, which has all-in-one capabilities, including mopping. The Dyson V8 is an affordable model and one of the more popular ones in Dyson's lineup. DysonDreameDreame R10 Pure: The Dreame R10 Pure is the company's more affordable entry-level cordless vacuum, priced at $200 full price (currently $140 on sale). It comes in an attractive white color, is notably lightweight at 3.64 pounds, and offers decent performance. It scored 86.42% on sand pickup for hard flooring, 67.16% from low-pile carpet, and 65.69% from mid-pile carpet. The carpet performance isn't particularly impressive, so it'll be a better option for those with hard flooring. Battery life was solid at 41 minutes, but not as long as the 60 minutes claimed by Dreame. Generally, for the price, you can get better performance from competitors like Levoit and Shark. Dirt DevilDirt Devil BD5700V: For those with primarily hardwood flooring, the Dirt Devil BD5700V delivered one of the highest scores we've seen on a cordless vacuum, removing nearly 100% of sand from a hardwood floor. Most impressive of all, it only costs $149.99 at full price. The only thing holding it back from being our best budget pick is middling carpet performance compared with the Levoit LVAC-200. The Dirt Devil BD5700V is notable for its classic bright red accents and remarkably lightweight body. At just 7 pounds, it's easy to maneuver around the home but it doesn't compromise on suction strength. It did incredibly well on our test that measures the ability of a cordless vacuum to remove sand from a hard floor, removing 99% of sand. It did quite well removing pet hair from hardwood, leaving no traces, but struggled more with carpet, leaving traces of fur despite a few swipes. The Dirt Devil is also freestanding and has LED headlights on its primary cleaning head, a nice feature not always found on more affordable cordless vacuums. There isn't a HEPA filter, but it is washable. The big selling point here is the price. Without any sales or discounts, the DirtDevil start at $150, making it $50 cheaper than the LVAC-200 when it's not on sale. If you have a lot of carpeting at home, the BD5700V isn't for you. It didn't do too badly on carpet, scoring 69% removal on less plush low-pile carpet and managing 70.1% on more plush mid-pile, but you can do better for the price. For $50 more at full price, the Levoit LVAC-200 outperformed it in both categories with 80% and 74%, respectively, while still hitting a 98.7% score on hardwood. Dustbin size could also be bigger; it's only 0.48 liters, meaning more frequent emptying during cleaning sessions. The battery lasted 23.5 minutes during our testing, which is shorter than many competitors and it's also not user replaceable. SamsungSamsung Jet 75: Nearly identical to the Jet 90, the Samsung Jet 75 offers comparable cleaning power, a similarly attractive build, the same 60-minute battery life, the same HEPA filtration and the same 200 air watts of suction. The main difference is that the docking station needs to be drilled into the wall while the Jet 90 uses a freestanding dock. The Jet 75 didn't perform as strongly as the Jet 90 in the CNET Testing Labs mid-pile sand test but because it's at a lower price point, that might be worth the deal for some consumers.Samsung Jet 90 (Update: Out of Stock): Our former best cordless vacuum for carpets, the Samsung Jet 90 is no longer in stock. One of the toughest cordless vacuum cleaning challenge is the mid-pile sand test, where we see how much sand each vacuum can suck out of the thick, plushy carpet. Only three of the 15 cordless vacuums we've tested in recent years have been able to average pickup percentages better than 80% in that test: the Dyson V15 Detect, the Tineco Pure One S15 Pet and the Samsung Jet 90, which led the way overall with an outstanding mid-pile sand pickup percentage of 98%. The Samsung Jet 90 is one of the lighter models we tested and sports a sleek, futuristic look. It's a splurge at a retail price of about $600 but it's the best HEPA cordless vacuum option if you have a lot of thick carpets in your home.SharkFor a deeper dive into Shark as a brand, take a look at our tested list of the best Shark vacuums. Shark Rocket Pet Pro: Typically retailing for less than $350, the Shark Rocket Pet Pro remains a solid budget option provided you can find it in stock. It offers excellent cleaning performance with crumbs and other small bits of debris on hardwood floors and satisfactory pickup power on carpets and with dust. It features HEPA filtration and a self-cleaning, anti-tangle brush head (helpful for preventing pet hair clogs) and converts to a convenient handheld cleaner when needed.Shark Pet Plus: We still recommend this one for those who want a good vacuum without spending more than $400. It boasts strong suction on all our test surfaces, has HEPA filtration, and comes with Shark's generous five-year warranty. The Pet Plus excelled on hard flooring, removing 94% of sand. It was no slouch on carpet either, tackling 90% of sand from low-pile and 84.3% from mid-pile carpets. The scores put it right up there with some of our top performers, like our current best overall, the Shark Stratos, and our previous best overall, the LG CordZero A949. There's no dock or mopping functionality but the vacuum is freestanding, which is a nice feature we look for because you can leave it in a corner if something calls your attention. It's also easy to maneuver, weighing a little less than eight pounds, putting it on par with the lightweight Dirt Devil BD5700V. Battery life is middle of the pack at 42.3 minutes, which is less than the 60 minutes we got on the Stratos but the battery is removable. The Pet Plus comes with several useful cleaning tools. You get a multi-angle dusting brush, pet multi tool and wide upholstery tool. If you're more sensitive to allergies, you'll be pleased to know that the Pet Plus does have a HEPA filter and an anti-allergen seal. Last, but not least, we get to the price. The Pet Plus falls firmly in the middle of the pack, costing $329.99 at full price but it's currently on sale for $249.99 on Shark and at other retailers. This makes it quite the steal and one of the few high-performing cordless vacuums you can get for less than $300. However, there are a few things that keep it off our main list. The Shark Pet Plus didn't do as well at removing pet hair. While it did fine sucking it up from hardwood, it left quite a bit of pet hair on our low-pile and mid-pile test carpets. The dustbin is also quite small at just 0.32 liters. It's actually one of the smallest capacities we've seen on a cordless vacuum that didn't come with a self-empty dock. Shark Vertex IZ492H: The Shark Vertex is a capable mid-price cordless vacuum ($380 at full price and currently $300 on sale). It offers strong hardwood floor sand pickup, at 97.53% and does fairly well on carpet with 78.43% on low-pile and 80.39% on mid-pile. While these are good scores, it's outperformed by both the Shark Stratos and Shark Clean & Empty, making them better picks for roughly the same price. On the plus side, it does have one of the longer battery lifespan's we've tested, at 63.6 minutes. Shark Pet Pro: The Pet Pro is one of the better Shark vacuums for under $300. It has fairly consistent performance, with 91% sand pickup on hardwood, 81%T on low-pile carpet and 80% on mid-pile, making it good for all types of surfaces. Battery life is decent, though nothing special at 45 minutes, but the dustbin is larger than average at 0.78 liters. What keeps it off our main list is that the Shark Stratos offers superior performance for $100 to $150 more, making it hard to justify the Pet Pro unless it's on a steeper sale, bringing the price down to closer to $250 ( it's $268 currently). Shark Pet IX141H: The most basic Shark model, it offers solid performance at just $180 (this seems to be a perma-deal, though on paper full price is $300). It scored 89% sand pickup on hardwood, 84% on low-pile carpet, and 86% on mid-pile carpet, making it a better choice than the Pet Pro and one of the most affordable options in Shark's lineup. The 45-minute battery life and 0.78-liter dustbin isn't anything to scoff at either. What keeps it off our main list is that there are plenty of cheap vacuums to choose from that can cost as little as $100-150 while offering similar or better performance. The Shark Rocket Pet Pro Cordless Vac offers a lot of powerful cleaning features for a decent price. AmazonRoborockRoborock Ace F25: This expensive wet and dry vacuum will cost you $650 at full price, though it's currently on sale for $600. It exists in the same category as the Dyson Submarine, letting you vacuum your floors, but also clean up spills. As far as vacuuming goes, it does well on hard flooring, with 93.06% sand pickup. Carpet is a mixed bag, with 73.33% pickup from low-pile and 60% from mid-pile. We're still evaluating the mopping abilities of the Ace F25, so until then, we're withholding judgment, but there are a few features that may put it above the Dyson, including its 194 degrees Fahrenheit hot air flash drying and hot water self-cleaning. Bissell Bissell PowerClean FurFinder: We had high hopes for the Bissell PowerClean FurFinder since it's one of the brands that earns top marks in our list of the best carpet cleaners. As a cordless vacuum, the FurFinder is just ok, scoring 71.6% on sand pickup from hard flooring. Most cordless vacuums, even the cheapest ones, excel in this category, picking up 90% or higher, so this was disappointing. Carpet performance is average at 69.12% low-pile and 64.71% mid-pile. Most cordless vacuums we've tested can usually manage closer to 80% and above. Battery life was also subpar at 25.6 minutes. Most disappointingly, it didn't perform well at extracting pet hair from carpet either. At $230 full price and $180 on sale, you can do better. TinecoTineco A11 Hero (Update: Out of stock): The Tineco A11 Hero is no longer available but it was a solid and reasonably affordable cordless vacuum when we tested it. It scores 98.5% removing sand from hardwood, 82.5% from low-pile and 72.5% from mid-pile carpets. It's traded spots with the Tineco Pure One S11 and S15 Pet in terms of performance and value. Tineco Pure One S11: The Tineco Pure One S11 is a high-performing cordless vacuum with impressive suction power on hard floors and carpets. Versatile attachments, HEPA filtration and a dirt-detection feature add to its value. The design is basic and battery life is moderate and its excellent cleaning performance makes it a great choice.Tineco Pure One S15 Pet (Update: Currently unavailable): This is our former pick for the best cordless vacuum for pet hair. Tineco does great work with cordless vacs and the Pure One S15 Pet is fantastic. A 500-watt motor and cyclonic dust collection system creates 120AW of suction power. This adds up to a solid cleaning experience. When cleaning up the smaller sand particles, the vac did a wonderful job of getting them all off the hardwood. As expected, pulling the sand from carpets was tougher. The Pure One S15 Pet still got more than 88% from low-pile carpets and more than 81% from mid-pile carpets. Tineco's specially designed brush did a good job of removing hair from the brush as it cleaned, resulting in nearly zero tangles. You'll also find LEDs on the front of the brush head to help see what you're cleaning up and an iLoop Smart Sensor built in. This sensor helps the vacuum to automatically ramp up its suction power when it detects more debris on the floor. You can see its progress on the LED display on top of the handle. Cordless vacuums can work on both hard flooring and carpet. Getty Images/Amy Kim/CNETOther cordless vacuumsMiele Triflex HX2: Priced at about $1,100, we had high hopes for the Miele Triflex HX2. The three-in-one stick vac performed poorly in the sand test with low- and mid-pile carpets bringing down its overall performance score.Greenworks 24V Cordless Vacuum: This vacuum is a true contender, able to match the performance of some $500 or more hand-held stick vacuums while coming in around $320. In addition to all the tools it includes, it touts a fast 30-minute recharge time and a solid 45-minute runtime.Moosoo XL-618: It wasn't a strong performer in our toughest tests, but the Mooso XL-618 proved perfectly capable of basic cleaning, particularly with crumbs and on hardwood floors. It also converts to a handheld vacuum that you can use to clean your car or furniture. Frequently on sale for less than $80, the XL-618 is about as inexpensive as cordless vacuums get. If you're willing to sacrifice some cleaning power to save some cash, it's worth a look.Black & Decker PowerSeries Extreme Max: The Black & Decker PowerSeries Extreme Max is a budget-friendly cordless vacuum that offers strong cleaning performance and a long runtime. Its ability to convert into a handheld vacuum adds to its versatility, making it a standout option for its price.Lubluelu 23Kpa cordless KB-H009 (Update: Out of stock): It was mouthful, but the Lubluelu KB-H009 was a solid, if unexceptional, cordless vacuum. Priced about $400, it did great in our testing on hardwood, scoring nearly 98% sand removal. It did decently on low-pile carpet, removing 68.3% of sand, but had middling performance on mid-pile at 52%. Bissell IconPet Turbo: Designed for tackling pet hair, the Bissel IconPet Turbo offers solid overall performance for a reasonable $199. It did reasonably well in testing, scoring 89.7% in sand removal from hardwoood, 66% from low-pile and 54% from mid-pile carpets. However, despite the reasonable price and decent performance, it was outperformed by our value picks, the Levoit LVAC-200 and Dirt Devil BD5700V. Eureka RapidClean Pro: The RapidClean Pro from Eureka is another affordable cordless stick vacuum that you can get for less than $200. It offers generally solid performance, removing 94% sand from hardwood, 64.8% from low-pile and 60% from mid-pile carpets. However, like many vacuums in this price range, it's edged out in performance by other picks that earn a spot on our best list. (function() window.zdconsent = window.zdconsent )(); [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] On July 22, 2025, the European police agency Europol said a long-running investigation led by the French Police resulted in the arrest of a 38-year-old administrator of XSS, a Russian-language cybercrime forum with more than 50,000 members. The action has triggered an ongoing frenzy of speculation and panic among XSS denizens about the identity of the unnamed suspect, but the consensus is that he is a pivotal figure in the crime forum scene who goes by the hacker handle “Toha.” Here’s a deep dive on what’s knowable about Toha, and a short stab at who got nabbed. An unnamed 38-year-old man was arrested in Kiev last month on suspicion of administering the cybercrime forum XSS. Image: ssu.gov.ua. Europol did not name the accused, but published partially obscured photos of him from the raid on his residence in Kiev. The police agency said the suspect acted as a trusted third party — arbitrating disputes between criminals — and guaranteeing the security of transactions on XSS. A statement from Ukraine’s SBU security service said XSS counted among its members many cybercriminals from various ransomware groups, including REvil, LockBit, Conti, and Qiliin. Since the Europol announcement, the XSS forum resurfaced at a new address on the deep web (reachable only via the anonymity network Tor). But from reviewing the recent posts, there appears to be little consensus among longtime members about the identity of the now-detained XSS administrator. The most frequent comment regarding the arrest was a message of solidarity and support for Toha, the handle chosen by the longtime administrator of XSS and several other major Russian forums. Toha’s accounts on other forums have been silent since the raid. Europol said the suspect has enjoyed a nearly 20-year career in cybercrime, which roughly lines up with Toha’s history. In 2005, Toha was a founding member of the Russian-speaking forum Hack-All. That is, until it got massively hacked a few months after its debut. In 2006, Toha rebranded the forum to exploit[.]in, which would go on to draw tens of thousands of members, including an eventual Who’s-Who of wanted cybercriminals. Toha announced in 2018 that he was selling the Exploit forum, prompting rampant speculation on the forums that the buyer was secretly a Russian or Ukrainian government entity or front person. However, those suspicions were unsupported by evidence, and Toha vehemently denied the forum had been given over to authorities. One of the oldest Russian-language cybercrime forums was DaMaGeLaB, which operated from 2004 to 2017, when its administrator “Ar3s” was arrested. In 2018, a partial backup of the DaMaGeLaB forum was reincarnated as xss[.]is, with Toha as its stated administrator. CROSS-SITE GRIFTING Clues about Toha’s early presence on the Internet — from ~2004 to 2010 — are available in the archives of Intel 471, a cyber intelligence firm that tracks forum activity. Intel 471 shows Toha used the same email address across multiple forum accounts, including at Exploit, Antichat, Carder[.]su and inattack[.]ru. DomainTools.com finds Toha’s email address — toschka2003@yandex.ru — was used to register at least a dozen domain names — most of them from the mid- to late 2000s. Apart from exploit[.]in and a domain called ixyq[.]com, the other domains registered to that email address end in .ua, the top-level domain for Ukraine (e.g. deleted.org[.]ua, lj.com[.]ua, and blogspot.org[.]ua). A 2008 snapshot of a domain registered to toschka2003@yandex.ru and to Anton Medvedovsky in Kiev. Note the message at the bottom left, “Protected by Exploit,in.” Image: archive.org. Nearly all of the domains registered to toschka2003@yandex.ru contain the name Anton Medvedovskiy in the registration records, except for the aforementioned ixyq[.]com, which is registered to the name Yuriy Avdeev in Moscow. This Avdeev surname came up in a lengthy conversation with Lockbitsupp, the leader of the rapacious and destructive ransomware affiliate group Lockbit. The conversation took place in February 2024, when Lockbitsupp asked for help identifying Toha’s real-life identity. In early 2024, the leader of the Lockbit ransomware group — Lockbitsupp — asked for help investigating the identity of the XSS administrator Toha, which he claimed was a Russian man named Anton Avdeev. Lockbitsupp didn’t share why he wanted Toha’s details, but he maintained that Toha’s real name was Anton Avdeev. I declined to help Lockbitsupp in whatever revenge he was planning on Toha, but his question made me curious to look deeper. It appears Lockbitsupp’s query was based on a now-deleted Twitter post from 2022, when a user by the name “3xp0rt” asserted that Toha was a Russian man named Anton Viktorovich Avdeev, born October 27, 1983. Searching the web for Toha’s email address toschka2003@yandex.ru reveals a 2010 sales thread on the forum bmwclub.ru where a user named Honeypo was selling a 2007 BMW X5. The ad listed the contact person as Anton Avdeev and gave the contact phone number 9588693. A search on the phone number 9588693 in the breach tracking service Constella Intelligence finds plenty of official Russian government records with this number, date of birth and the name Anton Viktorovich Avdeev. For example, hacked Russian government records show this person has a Russian tax ID and SIN (Social Security number), and that they were flagged for traffic violations on several occasions by Moscow police; in 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2014. Astute readers may have noticed by now that the ages of Mr. Avdeev (41) and the XSS admin arrested this month (38) are a bit off. This would seem to suggest that the person arrested is someone other than Mr. Avdeev, who did not respond to requests for comment. A FLY ON THE WALL For further insight on this question, KrebsOnSecurity sought comments from Sergeii Vovnenko, a former cybercriminal from Ukraine who now works at the security startup paranoidlab.com. I reached out to Vovnenko because for several years beginning around 2010 he was the owner and operator of thesecure[.]biz, an encrypted “Jabber” instant messaging server that Europol said was operated by the suspect arrested in Kiev. Thesecure[.]biz grew quite popular among many of the top Russian-speaking cybercriminals because it scrupulously kept few records of its users’ activity, and its administrator was always a trusted member of the community. The reason I know this historic tidbit is that in 2013, Vovnenko — using the hacker nicknames “Fly,” and “Flycracker” — hatched a plan to have a gram of heroin purchased off of the Silk Road darknet market and shipped to our home in Northern Virginia. The scheme was to spoof a call from one of our neighbors to the local police, saying this guy Krebs down the street was a druggie who was having narcotics delivered to his home. I happened to be lurking on Flycracker’s private cybercrime forum when his heroin-framing plan was carried out, and called the police myself before the smack eventually arrived in the U.S. Mail. Vovnenko was later arrested for unrelated cybercrime activities, extradited to the United States, convicted, and deported after a 16-month stay in the U.S. prison system [on several occasions, he has expressed heartfelt apologies for the incident, and we have since buried the hatchet]. Vovnenko said he purchased a device for cloning credit cards from Toha in 2009, and that Toha shipped the item from Russia. Vovnenko explained that he (Flycracker) was the owner and operator of thesecure[.]biz from 2010 until his arrest in 2014. Vovnenko believes thesecure[.]biz was stolen while he was in jail, either by Toha and/or an XSS administrator who went by the nicknames N0klos and Sonic. “When I was in jail, [the] admin of xss.is stole that domain, or probably N0klos bought XSS from Toha or vice versa,” Vovnenko said of the Jabber domain. “Nobody from [the forums] spoke with me after my jailtime, so I can only guess what really happened.” N0klos was the owner and administrator of an early Russian-language cybercrime forum known as Darklife[.]ws. However, N0kl0s also appears to be a lifelong Russian resident, and in any case seems to have vanished from Russian cybercrime forums several years ago. Asked whether he believes Toha was the XSS administrator who was arrested this month in Ukraine, Vovnenko maintained that Toha is Russian, and that “the French cops took the wrong guy.” WHO IS TOHA? So who did the Ukrainian police arrest in response to the investigation by the French authorities? It seems plausible that the BMW ad invoking Toha’s email address and the name and phone number of a Russian citizen was simply misdirection on Toha’s part — intended to confuse and throw off investigators. Perhaps this even explains the Avdeev surname surfacing in the registration records from one of Toha’s domains. But sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one. “Toha” is a common Slavic nickname for someone with the first name “Anton,” and that matches the name in the registration records for more than a dozen domains tied to Toha’s toschka2003@yandex.ru email address: Anton Medvedovskiy. Constella Intelligence finds there is an Anton Gannadievich Medvedovskiy living in Kiev who will be 38 years old in December. This individual owns the email address itsmail@i.ua, as well an an Airbnb account featuring a profile photo of a man with roughly the same hairline as the suspect in the blurred photos released by the Ukrainian police. Mr. Medvedovskiy did not respond to a request for comment. My take on the takedown is that the Ukrainian authorities likely arrested Medvedovskiy. Toha shared on DaMaGeLab in 2005 that he had recently finished the 11th grade and was studying at a university — a time when Mevedovskiy would have been around 18 years old. On Dec. 11, 2006, fellow Exploit members wished Toha a happy birthday. Records exposed in a 2022 hack at the Ukrainian public services portal diia.gov.ua show that Mr. Medvedovskiy’s birthday is Dec. 11, 1987. The law enforcement action and resulting confusion about the identity of the detained has thrown the Russian cybercrime forum scene into disarray in recent weeks, with lengthy and heated arguments about XSS’s future spooling out across the forums. XSS relaunched on a new Tor address shortly after the authorities plastered their seizure notice on the forum’s  homepage, but all of the trusted moderators from the old forum were dismissed without explanation. Existing members saw their forum account balances drop to zero, and were asked to plunk down a deposit to register at the new forum. The new XSS “admin” said they were in contact with the previous owners and that the changes were to help rebuild security and trust within the community. However, the new admin’s assurances appear to have done little to assuage the worst fears of the forum’s erstwhile members, most of whom seem to be keeping their distance from the relaunched site for now. Indeed, if there is one common understanding amid all of these discussions about the seizure of XSS, it is that Ukrainian and French authorities now have several years worth of private messages between XSS forum users, as well as contact rosters and other user data linked to the seized Jabber server. “The myth of the ‘trusted person’ is shattered,” the user “GordonBellford” cautioned on Aug. 3 in an Exploit forum thread about the XSS admin arrest. “The forum is run by strangers. They got everything. Two years of Jabber server logs. Full backup and forum database.” GordonBellford continued: And the scariest thing is: this data array is not just an archive. It is material for analysis that has ALREADY BEEN DONE . With the help of modern tools, they see everything: Graphs of your contacts and activity.Relationships between nicknames, emails, password hashes and Jabber ID.Timestamps, IP addresses and digital fingerprints.Your unique writing style, phraseology, punctuation, consistency of grammatical errors, and even typical typos that will link your accounts on different platforms. They are not looking for a needle in a haystack. They simply sifted the haystack through the AI sieve and got ready-made dossiers. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Silicon Motion's program at the ongoing Future for Memory and Storage (FMS) conference was packed with announcements. The company offered a glimpse at controllers for PCIe 6.0 SSDs for consumer and data center applications, shared details on the evolution of its MonTitan SM8300-series PCIe Gen5 platforms for enterprise SSDs, and discussed next-generation Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) implementations with a 16K codeword.PCIe 6.0 SSDs for data center applicationsThe pinnacle of Silicon Motion's SSD controllers is its upcoming MonTitan SM8466 controller for data center SSDs, sporting a PCIe 6.x x4 host interface. The NVMe 2.0-compliant controller features 16 NAND channels, enabling SSDs with capacities of up to 512 TB, as well as unprecedented sequential performance of 28 GB/s and random performance of 7 million 4K IOPS.(Image credit: Silicon Motion)In addition to offering very high raw performance, the MonTitan SM8466 platform also features controller-level and firmware-level architectural enhancements that the company says reduce latency, increase real-world bandwidth, and enable predictable QoS-compliant performance in various workloads. You may like One is called Separate Command Architecture (SCA), which separates command and address transmission paths within the NAND interface. This enables it to transmit data in parallel (rather than sequentially), reducing latency and improving throughput.Another is named Performance Shaping (which might be a new name for PerformaShape on existing enterprise-grade controllers, with some upgrades), which appears to be a method designed for SSDs to regulate their behavior to deliver stable, predictable, and QoS-compliant performance even under complex, burst-like workloads. Performance Shaping can also be tuned for specific tasks, depending on requirements.(Image credit: Silicon Motion)The MonTitan SM8466 is designed to meet the requirements of NVMe 2.0+ and the OCP NVMe SSD Specification 2.5, aligning it well with the demands of cloud-scale and hyperscale environments. To offer maximum reliability with upcoming generations of NAND.The controller also supports an LDPC ECC with a 4KiB codeword and 16KiB Collaborative Codeword (CoCo), which is a breakthrough for Silicon Motion, which we will explain in further detail below.The platform supports virtualization technologies such as SR-IOV and MPF, alongside SMART diagnostics and comprehensive data protection. On the security front, the drive features Secure Boot, AES-256 encryption, TCG Opal compatibility, and firmware attestation—providing a robust suite of protections for mission-critical enterprise data.Wallace Kou, chief executive of Silicon Motion, expects partners to begin shipping SM8466-based SSDs in late 2026 or early 2027, aligning with the rollout of next-gen AI servers using Nvidia's Rubin GPUs. SMI sees AI as the primary early use case for PCIe Gen6 SSDs, while broader storage adoption in general-purpose servers is not expected until 2026 or 2027. PCIe 6.0 SSDs for consumer PCs are unlikely to appear before 2030.PCIe 6.0 SSDs for consumer applications aren't coming soonSilicon Motion formally introduced its first controller for SSDs with a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface a couple of years later than its rival Phison, which certainly affected its position in the market for enthusiast-grade drives. With next-generation PCIe 6.0 SSDs, the company is acting completely differently, so it gave a sneak peek at its new controller, codenamed "Neptune," at FMS 2025.Image 1 of 1(Image credit: Silicon Motion)Silicon Motion's Neptune controller is the first announced PCIe 6.0 x4 SSD platform aimed at consumer PCs; it features eight NAND channels with interface speeds up to 4800 MT/s to support upcoming 3D NAND generations with over 400 active layers. The controller promises to enable sequential read speeds exceeding 25 GB/s and random performance of 3.5 million IOPS, far surpassing today's best PCIe 5.0 consumer SSDs. Additionally, the controller also incorporates Separate Command Architecture (SCA) to reduce latency and increase bandwidth.Despite its performance gains, SMI says Neptune will still trail the enterprise-grade SM8466 in sequential reads and offer half the random IOPS, as the latter uses 16 NAND channels and additional optimizations for sustained throughput.The exceptional performance of PCIe 6.0 x4 SSDs will come with a premium. PCIe Gen6 SSD controllers need significantly more processing power to enable compatibility with the next generations of 3D NAND memory. PCIe Gen6 SSD controllers will also need to work with upcoming 3D NAND at higher interface speeds without performance degradation.Additionally, PCIe 6.0 controllers and PHY are harder and more expensive to implement than PCIe 5.0 counterparts.Mass production of Silicon Motion's Neptune is scheduled for 2028, with drives likely hitting the market in 2029 or 2030, which aligns with earlier remarks by Silicon Motion CEO Wallace Kou."You will not see any PCIe Gen6 [solutions] until 2030," said Kou in an interview with Tom's Hardware. "PC OEMs have very little interest in PCIe 6.0 right now — they do not even want to talk about it. AMD and Intel do not want to talk about it."16KiB Collaborative Co LDPCIn addition to performance and capacity gains promised by enterprise-grade MonTitan SM8466, there is a crucially important capability that enables extreme performance, high capacities, and exceptional reliability required by data center solid-state drives: Silicon Motion's 16KiB CoCo LPDC ECC technology.Image 1 of 1(Image credit: Silicon Motion)As 3D NAND devices gain more layers, their cells get physically smaller, and the number of bits stored per cell increases from one in SLC to four in QLC. Such advancements enable higher density and lower cost per terabyte, but they also make it harder to retrieve data reliably, especially over prolonged retention periods.Smaller cells store less charge per bit, which makes them more susceptible to retention loss, program/erase wear, or read disturb. For enterprise SSDs that must meet multi-year endurance and retention requirements, stronger error-correction codes (ECC) are crucial.Traditional Low-density Parity-check (LDPC) designs use a fixed codeword length — for example, a 4 KiB LDPC, where each 4 KiB of NAND data is encoded and decoded independently. Typically, the longer the codeword, the better the SSD's error-correction strength and endurance.However, this is at the cost of decode latency, compute requirements, and power consumption. Moving to a 16 KiB LDPC increases the number of parity bits available per unit of data, which significantly improves error-correction strength. This is required for long-term retention and reliability targets in 3D TLC NAND and 3D QLC NAND-based enterprise SSDs. However, while a 16 KiB LDPC ECC is very good, it is costly in terms of compute (i.e., die size and costs), latency, and power, so Silicon Motion opted to utilize a different technique.The 16 KiB Collaborative Codeword (CoCo) LDPC technique aims to capture most of the reliability benefits of 16 KiB LDPC without significant penalties, according to the company.In CoCo, a 16 KiB NAND page is divided into four independent 4 KiB LDPC codewords, so each chunk is decoded separately, and most reads behave like a rapid, standard 4 KiB LDPC. If one or more chunks fail to decode, the successful chunks provide 'helper' information that is fed back into the LDPC decoder for the failed chunks. Depending on the CoCo configuration, the system can recover from one up to all four chunks failing, with reliability approaching that of a true 16 KiB LDPC, according to Silicon Motion.This hybrid design enables Silicon Motion to build an enterprise-grade SSD controller for ultra-high-capacity 3D QLC NAND SSDs with enterprise-grade endurance, while keeping decoder complexity and power usage close to a 4 KiB design. The solution also preserves small-IO latency for random reads (which is critical in mixed workloads) while also delivering the stronger error-correction needed for high-capacity drives.To sum things up, SMI's 16 KiB CoCo LDPC delivers a near-equivalent to a 16 KiB LDPC, but with the performance, cost, and efficiency of a 4 KiB LDPC. Initially, Silicon Motion's clients will use 16 KiB CoCo LDPC technology for high-performance, high-capacity drives based on the MonTitan SM8466 controllers.If they do not need extreme capacity or high-density 3D QLC NAND, they will be able to stick to regular 4 KiB LDPC. Eventually, 16 KiB CoCo LDPC ECC will likely move to mainstream enterprise drives and perhaps even consumer drives, but it's simply too early to tell.256 TB PCIe Gen5 SSDsOver the past few weeks, we saw a number of companies announcing 245TB or 256TB SSDs based on custom controllers. This week, Silicon Motion announced that its proven MonTitan SM8366 controller now supports capacities up to 256TB using the latest generation 2Tb 3D QLC NAND devices, which is a twofold increase compared to existing SSDs based on the same controller.Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Silicon Motion)(Image credit: Silicon Motion)Of course, makers of enterprise SSDs will have to qualify 2Tb 3D QLC NAND devices with the SM8366 platform, so 256 TB SSDs based on a standard controller are not expected to be released soon. Nonetheless, these high-capacity drives are expected to become more widespread several quarters from now, which will create competition and inevitably affect pricing.Next-gen devices are almost hereSilicon Motion used Future for Memory and Storage (FMS) conference too unveil its PCIe 6.0 SSD controller roadmap, led by the MonTitan SM8466 for data centers with up to 512 TB capacity, 28 GB/s reads, 7 M IOPS, and new features. However, the most crucial announcement was the 16 KiB CoCo LDPC ECC, on the MonTitan SM8466. This offers a near-equivalent to the correction power of a 16 KiB LDPC ECC, but with the performance, cost, and efficiency of 4 KiB LDPC. This will be particularly useful for 512TB SSDs based on 3D QLC NAND memory.While consumer PCIe 6.0 controllers are not expected for some time to come, the announcements present breakthroughs that are anticipated to land in the months and years ahead.Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. [ad_2] Source link

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Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and Wicked 2 perfume…Included in today��s issue: Ariana Grande, Cyklar, Dr. Dennis Gross, Derma E, Elizabeth Arden, Everyday Dose, Fazit, Formulary 55, Glossier, Goody, Half Magic, Ipsy, Kimchi Chic Beauty, Kosas, La Mer, Lancôme, Lolavie, Mediheal, Melanie Martinez, Neutrogena, Peter Thomas Roth, Rare Beauty, RMS Beauty, Sabrina Carpenter, Sacheu, Shark Ninja, Therabody, Ursa Major, Virtue, Wet Brush and Ursula the Sea Witch.But first… Visit the “body hair care” brand Flamingo’s homepage this August, and the first thing you’ll see is marketing copy blaring “hot days and smooth bikini lines” next to a photo of razors at the beach. It’s fun and flirty; it makes me want to buy their stuff. And yet, it’s also gnawing my guts.That’s because while I’m seeing product photos of juicy watermelon hunks alongside “I shaved for this” stickers and spray-on body gel, I’m hearing from the Mammoth Brands-owned label about “empowerment” among school-age girls. That’s their goal with a Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) partnership, which was announced in 2023 but kicks off its first big activation, a program called Camp Confidence, on August 12. The event happens on Governor’s Island in New York City, an idyllic hunk of land floating between the Financial District and the Statue of Liberty where colonial barracks still stand and rock bands like Empire of the Sun used to play until 2 am. (It’s where the Governor’s Ball music festival got its name.) Next week, it’ll host Flamingo and GSUSA as they debut a “body appreciation program” for Scouts in kindergarten through high school. “Our research showed us that girls and their families were interested in programming that allowed them to talk about their values and develop confidence,” GSUSA vice president of experience Sarah Keating told The Business of Beauty. “What girls and families were saying is that the ability to act confidently and feel confidently and be empowered is a life skill that they want.”Flamingo approached GSUSA three years ago to build a partnership, said Mammoth Brands (formerly Harry’s Inc.) head of social impact Maggie Hureau, and together, they developed a “research-backed body appreciation program [that] helps girls build confidence, practice self-care and develop lifelong positive habits.” Keating explains that for GSUSA’s youngest kids — the Daisies, aged five to seven — that means learning how moving your body can be fun, and also help your mind. Middle school Cadettes are subject to more targeted conversations about beauty standards and mental health. Teen Girl Scouts are encouraged to ask, “How does my mindset and attitude impact what my body can do?” For each program, there’s a merit badge. (E.g., Cadettes can earn the “Outside the Mirror” badge “through creative activities like exploring personal style, trying playful makeovers, or creating campaigns that champion authenticity,” according to GSUSA.) Sadly, they don’t have flamingos on them, but they do feature cats doing yoga, pandas with hula hoops and high-fiving hands. (The patch graphics are both finely embroidered and wonky. If Alessandro Michele put them on a Valentino denim jacket, nobody would blink an eye.) An exercise accompanying the 'Outside the Mirror' badge, pictured, might help middle school-aged Cadette scouts "through creative activities like exploring personal style, trying playful makeovers, or creating campaigns that champion authenticity," according to Flamingo. (Girl Scouts of the USA) This isn’t Girl Scouts’ first foray into self-care. The beloved organisation licensed their cookie flavours to Lipsmackers in 2011 and made Hard Candy makeup, like a Coconut Crush eyeshadow palette, in 2024. Around the same time, Native launched deodorants and body lotions that smelled like Thin Mints. But this is the first time a beauty brand has sponsored a merit badge program, which adds extra responsibility for GSUSA — and extra opportunity for Flamingo to introduce its brand to Gen Alpha shoppers at a personal level. As part of Camp Confidence, Flamingo has made a $1 million donation to the Girl Scouts of the USA, which Keating hopes will “really empower girls and provide support to the adults around them. It’s not just girls who are influenced by the program. The adult leaders are so important. The families of the girls are so important. It’s a widening circle.” Flamingo’s mission when it comes to hair removal, said Hureau, is “all about choice — you can do it or not.” This sentiment feels totally genuine, but it chafes against Flamingo’s online messaging that calls its body-hair products “essential”— the very opposite of optional. The website’s models are all wrinkle and cellulite-free. And when Hureau explained Flamingo’s point of difference and alignment with GSUSA, she noted that “unlike others, we won’t talk about your bikini line at the beach.” When asked to reconcile that sentiment with its beachy summer campaign about “pubic care” Hureau clarified that a smooth body is about a feeling, not a look. It’s undeniable Flamingo makes quality products and donates real money to great organizations. It’s also tricky to navigate a “body neutrality” lesson when ‘smooth’ bodies are so central to the company’s mission.Does this mean the whole program is a wash? Absolutely not. Donating a substantial amount of money to the Girl Scouts is amazing. Being willing to confront and adjust body standards is necessary and cool. Flamingo and the GSUSA are doing necessary work— and they’re certainly doing it better than the hundreds of brands that claim to “empower” girls just by selling them a random lip gloss that supposedly helps boost mental health awareness. And it is a small, real relief to see girl-focused organisations admitting that some young women enjoy the excitement of shaving, waxing and scrubbing, without falling into a blind moral panic about girls (gasp) enjoying the feel of their bodies, and the agency to alter them.Girl Scouts, after all, are some of our most brilliant young Americans. They can handle the duality of wanting to shave their legs while acknowledging it’s important to support people who don’t want to shave their legs. And they can manage the knowledge that anyone trying to sell them a product — yes, even a great mission-based brand like Flamingo — will center their own idea of desire in order to achieve success. Ad messaging may be “empowering,” after all, but money? That’s real power. Fortunately, girlhood has real power, too. Acknowledging it early, instead of trying to scrub it away with platitudes about self-esteem, is how beauty brands can move forward with integrity and success. And, if they choose, with smooth bikini lines at the beach.What Else Is New...SkincareLa Mer is getting into academia. On Aug. 2, the Lauder-owned luxury skincare label announced a partnership with the Salk Institute in California “fund a three-year postdoctoral position focused on foundational research on human aging at the molecular level,” plugging La Mer into the “longevity” conversation while also, perhaps, encouraging skincare studies that confirm various product results. Does the buzzy new ingredient PDRN kinda look like “porn?” Yes. Is this middle school humour exacerbated when I tell you that K-beauty brand Mediheal’s PDRN toner pads are soaked in “vegan salmon sperm?” Also yes. Yet salmon sperm facials have become such an Aniston-approved thing that I will dutifully report you can now buy their plant-based “poly-deoxy-ribo-nucleotides” for $24 on Amazon. Enjoy.Derma E says they “partnered” with Joe Jonas on a TikTok video where he put the brand’s Vitamin C eye patches on his nipples. On Aug. 4, the company began touting its stick-ons as “the skincare equivalent of chicken cutlets.” Wonders. Ceasing. This is clever: Formulary 55 just debuted a solid soap disc with an exfoliating side and a smooth side. The formula includes fine-ground walnut shells, aloe and hempseed oil. It’s $14, and as a reminder, bar soap uses 25% less energy to produce than liquid soap. (Plus, no plastic!) Steam facial, meet steamy content. On Aug. 4, Neutrogena released two spicy short stories with influencer Serena Kerrigan to hype its new vitamin C serum. Cyklar’s Lactic Acid Foaming Body Polish launched on Aug. 5 with the rare feat of having a tube the exact same colour as the formula — both are a Kardashian-worthy greige. The formula retails for $32.On Aug. 5, Dr. Dennis Gross introduced Alpha Beta pH Balance Replenishing Cream, a $64 jar with a light gel texture that promises to reduce redness and help with “late summer skin recovery” from sun damage and chlorine. Lancôme made Gemma Ward look like a cyborg for its Génifique Ultimate campaign on Aug. 6. I don’t think the $135 serum can make me or anyone look like the 37-year-old runway goddess, but nevertheless: Wow. Put this shot on billboards everywhere. Ursa Major might be taking a page from Ursula the Sea Witch: Don’t underestimate the importance of… boooody language! On Aug. 6, the Vermont-based brand launched a body trio based on its best-selling Golden Hour face cream, including a dry oil, serum and moisturising butter. The brand’s messaging around the launch is especially admirable: “Founder Emily Doyle is intentional about simplicity: She doesn’t believe customers need all three products — just the one that feels best to them.” Right on. First Vacation, then the world. After the Aussie holiday brand hit the jackpot with its clever whipped sunscreen, Peter Thomas Roth embraced the texture for its Water Drenched Whipped Cream Cleanser. The can debuted on Aug. 7, with a $34 formula including apple extract and coconut acid.Elizabeth Arden’s Hyaluronic Acid + Peptides Ceramide duo — a capsule jar and a rich cream — hit Ulta Beauty on Aug. 8. Both formulas contain plant-based phytoceramides meant to mimic the fat in our skin’s outer layer, which is often depleted by GLP-1 drugs. MakeupIn May, we reported that Fazit was working on temporary eyeliner tattoos. On Aug. 6, they happened, along with glimmery shadow patches. Each pack costs $16 online, with store rollouts happening this fall, and a promise to last three days. Will test and report back.Soulgazer is a new Kosas mascara that dropped July 31. The $28 formula claims “visibly longer, fuller and stronger lashes in just 6–8 weeks” and comes in a metallic tube with puffy purple font that’s basically Gen-Z bait. Half Magic claims its Glitterpuck Pressed Fairy Dust has sold out at Ulta Beauty five times. On Aug. 4, they augmented that supply with a new champagne-coloured shade called Glimmer Pop. The brand says the secret to its success is infusing the eyeshadow with water to minimize fallout and smearing. I think the names — like Dopamine Sparkle?! — help, too, though I can’t imagine spending $29.50 for eyeshadow as a teen.In the midst of the athlete beauty boom, Ipsy is releasing a campaign called “I Play Beauty,” comparing beauty enthusiasts to recreational sports players. The commercial features a roller derby team, a burlesque dancer and a bunch of bodega girls adjusting their lip gloss in the security mirrors (#dead).Glossier Skylight highlighter is one of those things that just makes you go, “Ohhhhh, pretty” when you see it. It’s a shimmery but sheer formula in a bigger-than-expected tube the diameter of a poker chip. The six shades retail for $24 each; they debuted on Aug. 7.Kimchi Chic Beauty debuted Puff Puff Pass mini-compacts on Aug. 8. Each one is $12 and filled with the brand’s signature face-baking powder.HaircareSharkNinja is coming for… well, everyone. This month, the brand with the easiest hair dryer I’ve ever used hired Hilary Neve, the former global head of influence at Google who helped launch Zara in the States. She’ll be leading partnerships and communications as the Massachusetts-based brand dives further into hair and skincare tools. Amy Pellicane, Clinique’s former PR powerhouse in the Tavi Gevinson days, is already there. Look out (or buy stock).Overnight Scalp Elixir is a formula from Virtue that promises “beauty sleep” for your strands. It’s infused with keratin and ceramides and debuts Aug. 1 at Ulta. It’s $60.Lolavie’s Powder Perfect Dry Shampoo debuted on Aug. 4 at Ulta Beauty with colloidal oat flour and crushed rose quartz, emerald and topaz dust. This is amazing to me — essentially, a tiny ground tiara on your head! It’s kind of a bummer that founder Jennifer Aniston didn’t make some gemology content for her Insta, but maybe next time. On Aug. 6, Goody announced the Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez as its newest campaign face; she’ll be supporting the new line of Goody Sport hair ties and clips. Cute!Wet Brush introduced a limited-edition Tutti Frutti collection that’s basically their classic brushes covered in cherries, oranges and lemons. It’s a little goofy, but as someone who always loses my plain gray brush in the morning primp panic, a neon yellow one would probably be useful. Fragrance (All Celeb Edition)Glinda’s colour palette in Wicked 2 has shifted from pink to purple. Naturally, so has Ariana Grande’s perfume. On July 31, her namesake scent brand released Lovenotes Plush Vanilla, a lilac-tinted fragrance with puffy white hearts on the bottle. Grande wears a witchy lavender dress by Vera Wang in the ads.Melanie Martinez’s Cry Baby Perfume Milk is back after five years. The fragrance has strawberry, milk, powder and wood notes, and comes in a pink and white bottle. It relaunched on Aug. 4 with backing from Flower Shop Perfumes Co.Sweet Tooth got a passport. The Sabrina Carpenter fragrance franchise hit Europe and the UK on Aug. 5, four months after she finished her European Short n’ Sweet tour. Smelling Rare probably won’t be rare after Aug. 7, when Selena Gomez’s close-watched beauty brand dropped its first-ever eau de perfume. It includes notes of caramel, pistachio and pink pepper, and comes in a bottle that looks like a jar of jam. Meghan Markle, call SG for some packaging ideas…Retail NewsEveryday Dose is a coffee that is also a supplement? I think? It says its $15 instant coffee packs come with “skin support” ingredients like collagen and chaga mushrooms, and hit 1,500 Target doors on Aug. 4. Take that, matcha latte lip balms. Welcome to Ulta Beauty, RMS! The beauty brand from makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift entered 200 stores with a new product launch, Revitalize Hydra Concealer, a formula available in 26 shades. You can now get a Theragun Mini at Ulta Beauty, along with the gizmo company’s Depuffing Wand, Sleep Mask and SmartGoggles for sleep and headache help. The gadgets hit Ulta’s website on Aug. 5, and will roll into 300 stores this fall. And Finally...How mad is Skindinavia that it’s no longer making Urban Decay’s setting spray? You know it’s serious when they pin the tea to the top of their Instagram grid.Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day’s most important beauty and wellness news and analysis. Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

[ad_1] Knowing the big internal changes coming to our phones with iOS 26, we're getting excited to see how Apple has revamped its newest smartphones: the iPhone 17 lineup. We still have to wait over a month to find out — assuming Apple sticks to its usual release schedule — but for now, we can speculate what the new phones will look like. As with most unreleased iPhone models, rumors and leaks have trickled in about the hardware side ahead of the official introduction. Here's what we're expecting and what we can reasonably assume we'll get from Cupertino in September.What are the latest iPhone 17 rumors and reports?Surprisingly, the latest rumor isn't about the actual iPhone 17 details themselves, but rather when they'll finally be showcased. MacRumors highlighted a story originally reported by iphone-ticker.de that the Apple iPhone 17 event could be Tuesday, September 9, according to information gleaned from German mobile phone providers.While the iPhone events typically take place around the second week of September, we won't know the actual date until Apple makes the official announcement.How much will the iPhone 17 cost?Apple's announced plan to expand US-based manufacturing partners seems to give it at least some shielding from the steepest Trump administration tariffs that have already triggered price increases on everything from Switch consoles to high-end cameras to Sonos speakers. But given that President Trump's trade policies can change from week to week, and Apple's continuing reliance on Asia-based supply chains, price shocks remain an ongoing possibility. The bigger question is: Will Apple absorb any higher costs, or pass them on to consumers?If prices do creep up, Apple may choose to pair it it with an "upgrade." Consider this recent rumor posted by MacRumors from a leaker known as "Instant Digital," suggesting that the default storage of the iPhone 17 line may start at 256GB, doubling the current 128GB baseline. While that could be accompanied by a price increase of $50, Apple could at least pitch it as a "better value." That said, the company doubled the default RAM of its Mac computers from 8GB to 16GB at no extra cost in 2024 — but that was before the current Trump tariff cycle started.When will the iPhone 17 series be announced?Most years, the flagship smartphones are introduced in September. It's a little early to have the specific dates; some years, Apple only gives a week or two of lead time between sending invites and hosting the event. But years of past precedent show that sometime in September should be when the 17 models make their debut. This family of smartphones may be the last to follow that trend, however. There have been hints that the introduction of the iPhone 18 collection in 2026 will be split into a pro-tier announcement in the fall and a standard model announcement the following spring.What will the new iPhone 17 lineup include?Design leaks suggest that Apple is building an ultra-thin smartphone, likely to be named the iPhone 17 Air to match Apple's ultralight laptop designation. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, often a solid source of advanced intel about Apple, reported in January that the iPhone 17 Air will be equipped with a basic A19 chip and will only have a single camera lens. It may also use Apple's new in-house modem, which was introduced in February on the iPhone 16e. More details about this development may leak ahead of September, but that's what we know for now.An investor note from Apple analyst Jeff Pu indicated that the Air will have a titanium frame. If his reports are accurate, the lightweight smartphone will be the only entry in the iPhone 17 lineup to use that metal; the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to be made of aluminum, which is oddly a lighter material than titanium. Other speculation had suggested that the Air would use a blend of aluminum and titanium, so the exact materials may not be known until the official announcement.Additionally, an August 4 MacRumors report says the internal battery pack of the iPhone Air is just 2.49mm thick — half the thickness of the iPhone 17 Pro battery. The leak was posted on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, where they show the alleged batteries of the iPhone 17 Air and 17 Pro side by side. The same account claimed the 17 Air's battery capacity was a mere 2,800 mAh, MacRumors notes. (That's below the battery capacity of current iPhone 16 models.)Each new roster includes a base model, but over the years, Apple has shaken up the variety of phones it offers. Most likely there will be an iPhone 17 and an iPhone 17 Pro. Apple has also committed to the size matters philosophy, and has been building an iPhone Pro Max option with an even bigger screen and better battery life; the 17 roster will almost certainly have one as well.The new Pro iPhones are said to have a full-width "camera island" on the rear, which would mark the first time an Apple model opted for that design. This feature can be seen in the purported iPhone 17 "spotted in the wild." The pics, highlighted on MacRumors, show a black cased iPhone (17 Pro?) with the distinct back panel. Is it the real deal? The dual angles lend a degree of credibility in a social media landscape increasingly polluted with AI-enhanced fakes, but your guess is as good as ours.The iPhone 17 Air seems primed to take the place of a potential iPhone 17 Plus. Since the iPhone 16e was only just introduced in February at a surprisingly high price point, it seems unlikely that there will be a new addition to that lower end of the spectrum, the models that were previously called SE.At the very least, it sounds like the iPhone 17 Air won't take away the charging port and rely only on wireless connectivity. Bloomberg said that while Apple had investigated making the iPhone 17 Air without a single port, the company (fortunately) changed plans. He also says that the rumored phone will have a 6.6-inch screen and include the Dynamic Island and Camera Control button. Finally, the price is rumored at $900 — likely more than the standard iPhone 17 but less than the Pro.We've also gotten what seems to be a reliable look at what the color lineup will be for the new smartphones. Macworld reported that the iPhone 17 will be available in black, white, steel gray, green, purple and light blue. The iPhone 17 Air will reportedly have four color options: black, white, light blue and light gold. While the Air colors will be less saturated, the visuals for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will go bold. The options for the Pro models are expected to be black, white, gray, dark blue and orange.On July 30, Tom's Guide highlighted an X post from Sonny Dickson — a longtime and generally reliable leaker of unreleased iPhone information — showing "dummy" iPhone 17 models in the new colors that were the source of the aforementioned Macworld story. While these are literally just mock-ups — not real, leaked iPhones — it's interesting to see how the design and color rumors translate into a real-world look and feel.What will iOS 26 be like?Apple upended its numbering conventions with WWDC 2025, and will match the name of each new operating system to the year it's released. So when the next wave of iPhones hits, they'll be running on iOS 26.On the design side, the smartphone OS introduced during the big developer showcase took a contentious approach dubbed Liquid Glass. Apple has been scaling down the amount of transparency effects in the subsequent beta tests of iOS 26, but it will still have a glass-like visual.The feature list includes big and small updates. On the more impactful side, the Phone and Photos apps have been redesigned. There will be several features leveraging artificial intelligence, such as live translation capabilities coming to Phone, FaceTime and Messages. Apple is also currently testing a sensitive content warning for child accounts that will freeze FaceTime video if nudity is detected by on-device machine learning tools. And the company is also launching Visual Intelligence, which will use AI to search for elements in an image.iOS 26 also has a litany of minor, quality of life improvements. Group texts are getting support for polls. And for the slow risers out there, iOS 26 will finally let you escape the tyranny of the nine minute snooze alarm.The next iOS is now available as a public beta. Here are our initial impressions of the Liquid Glass design and other new features. iOS 26 is compatible with all models back through iPhone 11.Update, August 8, 2025, 4:43PM ET: Added new speculations and reports about iPhone 17 pricing.Update, August 6, 2025, 4:05PM ET: Added latest details about the potential iPhone 17 event date.Update, August 4, 2025, 5:23PM ET: Added latest battery leaks about the iPhone 17 models.Update, August 1, 2025, 8:15AM ET: Added new photos showing potential iPhone 17 colors.Update, July 30, 2025, 11:08AM ET: Added latest leaks and rumors about the iPhone 17, and updated information on the iOS 26 public beta.Update, July 17, 2025, 4:40PM ET: Added latest information about iOS 26, possible materials for the Air, and the color options for the different models.Update, March 17, 2025, 2PM ET: Added details about the rumored price and features of the iPhone 17 Air.Update, April 11, 2025, 3:45PM ET: Added details from Front Page Tech's new video that claims to reveal details from a leaked iOS 19 build.Katie Teague contributed to this story. 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[cleverhottubmiracle]

[ad_1] In this tutorial, we’ll explore the new capabilities introduced in OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-5. The update brings several powerful features, including the Verbosity parameter, Free-form Function Calling, Context-Free Grammar (CFG), and Minimal Reasoning. We’ll look at what they do and how to use them in practice. Check out the Full Codes here. Installing the libraries !pip install pandas openai To get an OpenAI API key, visit and generate a new key. If you’re a new user, you may need to add billing details and make a minimum payment of $5 to activate API access. Check out the Full Codes here. import os from getpass import getpass os.environ['OPENAI_API_KEY'] = getpass('Enter OpenAI API Key: ') Verbosity Parameter The Verbosity parameter lets you control how detailed the model’s replies are without changing your prompt. low → Short and concise, minimal extra text. medium (default) → Balanced detail and clarity. high → Very detailed, ideal for explanations, audits, or teaching. Check out the Full Codes here. from openai import OpenAI import pandas as pd from IPython.display import display client = OpenAI() question = "Write a poem about a detective and his first solve" data = [] for verbosity in ["low", "medium", "high"]: response = client.responses.create( model="gpt-5-mini", input=question, text="verbosity": verbosity ) # Extract text output_text = "" for item in response.output: if hasattr(item, "content"): for content in item.content: if hasattr(content, "text"): output_text += content.text usage = response.usage data.append( "Verbosity": verbosity, "Sample Output": output_text, "Output Tokens": usage.output_tokens ) # Create DataFrame df = pd.DataFrame(data) # Display nicely with centered headers pd.set_option('display.max_colwidth', None) styled_df = df.style.set_table_styles( [ 'selector': 'th', 'props': [('text-align', 'center')], # Center column headers 'selector': 'td', 'props': [('text-align', 'left')] # Left-align table cells ] ) display(styled_df) The output tokens scale roughly linearly with verbosity: low (731) → medium (1017) → high (1263). Free-Form Function Calling Free-form function calling lets GPT-5 send raw text payloads—like Python scripts, SQL queries, or shell commands—directly to your tool, without the JSON formatting used in GPT-4. Check out the Full Codes here. This makes it easier to connect GPT-5 to external runtimes such as: Code sandboxes (Python, C++, Java, etc.) SQL databases (outputs raw SQL directly) Shell environments (outputs ready-to-run Bash) Config generators from openai import OpenAI client = OpenAI() response = client.responses.create( model="gpt-5-mini", input="Please use the code_exec tool to calculate the cube of the number of vowels in the word 'pineapple'", text="format": "type": "text", tools=[ "type": "custom", "name": "code_exec", "description": "Executes arbitrary python code", ] ) print(response.output[1].input) This output shows GPT-5 generating raw Python code that counts the vowels in the word pineapple, calculates the cube of that count, and prints both values. Instead of returning a structured JSON object (like GPT-4 typically would for tool calls), GPT-5 delivers plain executable code. This makes it possible to feed the result directly into a Python runtime without extra parsing. Context-Free Grammar (CFG) A Context-Free Grammar (CFG) is a set of production rules that define valid strings in a language. Each rule rewrites a non-terminal symbol into terminals and/or other non-terminals, without depending on the surrounding context. CFGs are useful when you want to strictly constrain the model’s output so it always follows the syntax of a programming language, data format, or other structured text — for example, ensuring generated SQL, JSON, or code is always syntactically correct. For comparison, we’ll run the same script using GPT-4 and GPT-5 with an identical CFG to see how both models adhere to the grammar rules and how their outputs differ in accuracy and speed. Check out the Full Codes here. from openai import OpenAI import re client = OpenAI() email_regex = r"^[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\.[A-Za-z]2,$" prompt = "Give me a valid email address for John Doe. It can be a dummy email" # No grammar constraints -- model might give prose or invalid format response = client.responses.create( model="gpt-4o", # or earlier input=prompt ) output = response.output_text.strip() print("GPT Output:", output) print("Valid?", bool(re.match(email_regex, output))) from openai import OpenAI client = OpenAI() email_regex = r"^[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\.[A-Za-z]2,$" prompt = "Give me a valid email address for John Doe. It can be a dummy email" response = client.responses.create( model="gpt-5", # grammar-constrained model input=prompt, text="format": "type": "text", tools=[ "type": "custom", "name": "email_grammar", "description": "Outputs a valid email address.", "format": "type": "grammar", "syntax": "regex", "definition": email_regex ], parallel_tool_calls=False ) print("GPT-5 Output:", response.output[1].input) This example shows how GPT-5 can adhere more closely to a specified format when using a Context-Free Grammar. With the same grammar rules, GPT-4 produced extra text around the email address (“Sure, here’s a test email you can use for John Doe: [email protected]”), which makes it invalid according to the strict format requirement. GPT-5, however, output exactly [email protected], matching the grammar and passing validation. This demonstrates GPT-5’s improved ability to follow CFG constraints precisely. Check out the Full Codes here. Minimal Reasoning Minimal reasoning mode runs GPT-5 with very few or no reasoning tokens, reducing latency and delivering a faster time-to-first-token. It’s ideal for deterministic, lightweight tasks such as: Data extraction Formatting Short rewrites Simple classification Because the model skips most intermediate reasoning steps, responses are quick and concise. If not specified, the reasoning effort defaults to medium. Check out the Full Codes here. import time from openai import OpenAI client = OpenAI() prompt = "Classify the given number as odd or even. Return one word only." start_time = time.time() # Start timer response = client.responses.create( model="gpt-5", input=[ "role": "developer", "content": prompt , "role": "user", "content": "57" ], reasoning= "effort": "minimal" # Faster time-to-first-token , ) latency = time.time() - start_time # End timer # Extract model's text output output_text = "" for item in response.output: if hasattr(item, "content"): for content in item.content: if hasattr(content, "text"): output_text += content.text print("--------------------------------") print("Output:", output_text) print(f"Latency: latency:.3f seconds") I am a Civil Engineering Graduate (2022) from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and I have a keen interest in Data Science, especially Neural Networks and their application in various areas. [ad_2] Source link

[cleverhottubmiracle]

By the time your toddler has dumped their breakfast, rejected two outfits, and climbed the bookshelf—before 8 a.m.—you’ve already logged a full day. Planning a birthday party for young kids comes with a minefield of timing questions: What works around naps? When will they be too tired? How do we avoid sugar crashes or late-night chaos? Add the pressure of coordinating with other families’ schedules, and suddenly a celebration can feel more like a carefully balanced science experiment. That’s exactly what inspired mom and content creator Kelsey Lucas (@motherspeak) to try something different—and wildly early. When she invited guests to an 8 a.m. birthday breakfast, she wasn’t sure how it would land. But the idea quickly went viral on Instagram, drawing over 1.3 million views and thousands of enthusiastic responses. Why? Because it solved a problem many parents didn’t even realize could be solved. The problem with afternoon parties Most kid birthday parties fall in the same window: somewhere between lunch and dinner, when adults can squeeze them in between soccer games, errands, and nap schedules. But for families with toddlers, that timing often backfires. By mid-afternoon, many young kids are running on low batteries—either fighting sleep or freshly woken up and cranky. Even something fun, like a party, can tip them into overstimulation territory. Toddlers are particularly prone to becoming overwhelmed in busy, high-energy environments, especially when they’re already tired or off their routine. For parents, the stress can start hours before the actual party. There’s the scramble to prepare food or decorations, negotiate outfits, get everyone out the door, and still show up on time and in one piece. Add in a sugar rush or an unexpected tantrum, and the whole experience starts to feel more chaotic than celebratory. This was the exact pattern Kelsey had experienced for three years in a row—until she decided to shift everything earlier. Related: ‘No plastic, no noise, no color’: Mom’s viral birthday party rules spark backlash online Why an 8 a.m. party actually works Kelsey kept the party simple. What changed everything was the timing—and how naturally it fit into a toddler’s world. And that small shift turned out to be a surprisingly elegant solution to a long list of toddler-parent struggles. There was no elaborate theme or itinerary, just a plan that respected how families with young kids actually move through their day. Everything that’s usually hard about parties—overstimulated toddlers, cranky siblings, overtired hosts—softened in the morning light. Here’s why this unconventional timing became such a hit: Why mornings beat meltdowns every time Mornings align with toddlers’ natural rhythms. Most toddlers wake up with the sun—and by mid-morning, they’re still alert, rested, and ready to play. Hosting a party before nap time avoids the overstimulation and mood crashes that often come later.Many parents find that mornings are when their toddlers are happiest—rested, regulated, and ready to play—making early parties a surprisingly natural fit. Parents are already up—so why not gather early? Early parties meet families where they already are: awake and active. The early party time didn’t feel burdensome to guests. In fact, many families were grateful to have something fun to do because they were already awake. As Kelsey says in the caption, “…most parents are up at dawn & have lived nine lives by that time…We’re all up early anyway; why not just get started and head straight out the door to a breakfast party?” Breakfast food is simple and budget-friendly Simple food = less stress. Instead of catering lunch or prepping elaborate snacks, Kelsey served an easy spread: mini bagels and cream cheese, donut holes, fruit, and pre-made quiches. Coffee and juice rounded things out. No hot food trays, no midday meltdowns over pizza choices. Guests could come and go as needed A flexible window = lower pressure and easier logistics. The open “8 a.m. to noon” window gave families flexibility. Some dropped in for an hour, others stayed the whole time—but no one felt rushed or obligated to stick around. That ease was especially helpful for families juggling other weekend plans. Everyone was home by nap time No meltdown zone: kids stayed on schedule, and parents got a break. By wrapping things up by midday, kids could stay on schedule, and parents got their afternoon back. No post-party meltdowns, no bedtime chaos. Just a smooth transition back to calm. Related: This hilarious reenactment of a kid’s birthday party invitation will make you feel so seen Why this idea struck a nerve with so many parents The reaction to Kelsey’s 8 a.m. party was instant—and deeply relatable. Parents saw that quiet, morning setup and thought, Yes. That’s what we’ve been missing. In the comments, some shared they’d already landed on similar routines: Argmerlo: “We do all our parties from 10 – noon and the food is always a fruit and pastry bar. 8 years and three kids later. Still our best idea 😂 sometimes we do it at home and sometimes a local park.” Jawdanawesome: “From 9, absolutely! We’ve done this before and it works well. It also means families get the afternoon to themselves rather than a party plonked right in the middle of the day” Kathleen.wright: “I love this so much! Our girl is up at 6am and if she isn’t napping again by 10am, god help us all…so 8am is a sweet spot!” Mamavollblutpoesie: “Perfect! We are awake at 5.30, ready to start our day at 7 and your party would be at the perfect time 😍😍😍😍” Others were instantly converted—or humorously unconvinced: Lilgoolsey: “Can we start doing this for adult parties, too? And concerts?? Everything starts too late for my liking 😂” Meganribelin: “Yep. We are definitely “that one friend” 😂 there is no one I like enough to be up and ready to party by 8 am on a weekend.” But the real reason this struck a chord goes beyond scheduling—it’s about permission.Permission to skip the chaos of a 3 p.m. sugar-fueled free-for-all.Permission to protect nap time without sacrificing joy.Permission to make things easier—not just for kids, but for parents, too. The point isn’t to make early parties the new standard—it’s to make parenting work on your own terms. Related: The parents who wrote this hilarious birthday party invitation deserve a gold medal Making memories without the meltdowns There’s no one right way to throw a birthday party—only what works for your family. Kelsey’s 8 a.m. bash resonated because it honored what toddlers (and parents) actually need: rest, routine, and connection without chaos. Whether that means an early breakfast, a park picnic, or skipping the big party entirely, the goal is the same—make celebrations joyful, not exhausting. Would you RSVP to an 8 a.m. birthday—or are you team afternoon chaos? Source link

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[ad_1] Are your Instagram posts struggling to gain traction? With over 2 billion monthly active users, standing out on the platform requires strategy and content planning. A content plan is an essential blueprint to help you keep your posts aligned with your strategy and your overall marketing goals. Posting without a plan can just be a wasted effort without clear direction. To support your brand’s conversion and success, this guide has a free Instagram content plan template and helpful tips that you can customise for your brand. So, let’s try to capture some of those users. 1. Create Your Content Calendar A well-structured plan is your roadmap to guide your path, help you meet your goals, and schedule campaigns effectively. For this purpose, our template comes with an Overview tab and monthly planning tabs with flexible weekly layouts to give you a bird’s-eye view of your content. It will help you know when you’ve met your goal and can readjust and analyze ways to improve your content strategy for your next one. Plus, an Instagram content plan can keep ideas, budgets, themes, and marketing initiatives categorized. It also helps you identify any content gaps and build consistency – a key to Instagram success. Start by downloading your Instagram content plan and make a copy for yourself. Screenshot by author, July 2025 Begin with the Overview tab by outlining campaign cycles, including key conversion goals, strategic themes, and content pillars with associated budgets. Move to the main weekly sheet to refine execution. Decide topics and post type, craft appropriate captions, align with campaign types, and define CTAs that support your marketing funnel objectives. Finally, after you have the above laid out and initial captions, you can move to the next step: Create or assign the necessary key visuals or assets. Breaking content planning into smaller, actionable steps makes it easier to create a content calendar. Bonus Tip: Sync With Existing Marketing Initiatives With a helpful overview or dashboard (included in our Instagram Content Plan), you can map out your seasonal themes, align your topics with days you’re posting, and have your captions and hashtags ready to easily copy and paste when you’re ready to schedule your content. Screenshot by author, July 2025 If you already have some marketing initiatives, it’s the perfect time to incorporate them into your marketing campaign. For example, maybe you have a new product release. You can then build a content series around it. Tease the product release with a few posts, run a giveaway, feature an influencer using the product in a video, and highlight key benefits throughout. Events and holidays offer opportunities to boost engagement and attract new customers. They are another fun and positive way to get customers talking about your brand. Holiday giveaways or deals are another way to grow brand awareness and gain followers. If you have an event coming up, you can create a campaign hyping the event and discussing the speakers involved, products that will be there, or awesome grab bags you’re giving away at the event. We recommend pairing our Marketing Calendar for 2025 when creating your Instagram content plan to tie in your creative campaigns with holidays and seasonal themes for the week, month, or even quarter. 2. Define Your Goals Once you have your content template and before you plan your posts, what you want to do is create your Instagram goals. What do you want to accomplish? Is it to grow your audience, drive more engagement, or increase product sign-ups? Once you know this, you can set the key performance indicators (KPIs) to mark different points of analysis you want to observe along with your Instagram campaign. For example, you want to grow your audience by 20% by the end of the campaign cycle, or you wish to increase your engagement rate to at least 0.43%. After you select your conversion goals, it’s beneficial to break down your goal into milestones you would like to reach. This way, you can map out the type of content needed for each and track your progress using the KPIs you’ve set above. Screenshot from author, July 2025 Ask yourself: What milestones can you mark to achieve that goal along the way? What types of content, topics, or content series can you create to increase engagement? Write down all the goals you think your brand can reasonably achieve (Pro tip: the trick is to make it SMART). 3. Keep Your Theme And Tone Consistent If you want to keep your posts engaging, ensure visual and tonal consistency by developing a brand guide. You’ll also want to maintain a cohesive theme across all posts, including style, typography, and color palette. For inspiration, you can look at your website, content, and logos to help create the proper tone and theme for your posts. Think about the look of your content for both pictures and videos, and consider a consistent angle or filter to set the right tone and look for your content. It’s also vital to create standard operating procedures (SOPs) about your messaging, whether for captions, comments, or responses to direct messages, because chances are, multiple people are managing the account. How you respond to consumers on Instagram matters, especially if you have multiple people responding to comments and messages, to ensure it’s within the brand’s tone. 4. Showcase Your Creativity: Instagram Post Types (With Examples) Instagram is more than just an aesthetic photo-sharing app. It’s a significant platform that can showcase your product in different formats to entertain, engage, and educate audiences. There are various ways to create content for Instagram that can highlight your brand and increase engagement. Let’s talk through them for best practices for each use case: Photos Pictures are a great way to showcase products’ USPs, share thought leadership quotes, relatable memes, or announce new feature updates. It’s also great for posing questions that you can answer in your image caption, or promoting deals or giveaways through the use of compelling captions. Example: HubSpot’s AI-generated meme of its customer service rep as a toy figure catches attention and serves as a conversation starter. Carousels What can your company do when you have multiple photos from your high-end photoshoot but don’t want to post them into a grid or oversaturate your feed? Try beautifully crafted carousels to ensure return on investment (ROI). Carousels have been a mainstay on Instagram since 2015. It is a collection of 10 photos you can post all at once, now expandable up to 20.   To entice your audience, make it interesting to swipe right with chronological storytelling, collage/magazine cutout elements, text overlays, or a narrative. Example: Clickup’s photo of its new AI calendar features text overlay, seamlessly transitioning between both static and dynamic photos and tutorial short videos. Reels Next, videos are an excellent way to show sneak peeks of something coming up or create product teasers. You can also use videos for behind-the-scenes content to build product hype. Consider using Instagram Reels, or short videos, to showcase products, share stories, and grow your audience. By the way, Instagram discontinued IGTV, or Instagram TV, back in 2021, but you can post longer videos in-feed. Brands use these to go more in-depth into describing a particular topic. Stories Meanwhile, Stories are photos or videos that last 24 hours (unless you add them to your highlights on your profile), where you can share posts from your profile or post new content. It’s a popular way to gain more followers and engage with consumers. Example: Even if Stories expire after 24 hours, they still remain valuable. Sprout Social curated its Stories into its “Trending” highlights, showcasing key events and social media insights, such as the Oscars, Coachella, and Art Basel. User Generated Content (UGC) User-generated content, or content created by influencers, customers, or other users, is a great way to extend your reach to different audiences and further promote your products. People are more intrigued to learn about a new product if it’s promoted by someone they already follow. Likewise, it can help build trust with consumers new to your brand if they see a post by a customer who already loves it. Example: Slack featured its No. 1 “Slacker,” Rox (a senior social media manager at Gozney), as a fun UGC post, where she apparently sent the most Slack messages in a year. But what content goes viral? It can be beneficial to look at what your competitors are posting on Instagram and put your brand’s unique twist on it. 5. Craft Compelling Captions And CTAs While it’s great to have high-quality pictures and engaging videos, the captions and call to action still matter. If you hooked the consumer with your picture or video, you still want to reel them in with your caption and CTA. Screenshot by author, July 2025 It’s essential to craft the right CTA to ensure consumers follow your page, engage with your post, or purchase your product. Consider A/B testing to identify the right approach for your campaigns. A compelling call-to-action is clear, concise, and written in an active voice. 6. Choose The Correct Hashtags Researching and choosing the right hashtags is crucial to ensure your posts reach the intended audience and some new ones that might be interested in your niche and brand. Hashtags allow your content to reach users beyond your profile’s following as you create content for specific hashtags. Note which posts perform particularly well. That way, you can create future posts for specific hashtags that will increase your content’s visibility to a broader audience, helping you achieve more brand awareness. 7. Know The Best Time To Post Planning posts ahead of time can help alleviate some stress from social media strategy. You can use Meta Business Suites to schedule posts for Facebook and Instagram and set posts for a week or a couple of weeks. If you’re unsure when to post, here are suggested days and times where analysis points to where you’ll get the most engagement and views. It would be beneficial to do some research specific to your industry to see the best time and day for you to make your posts. One important thing to keep in mind when you’re planning your content is the upcoming holidays. Are you going to post celebrating the holiday, use the holiday to do a promotion or give away, or choose not to post on that day altogether? No matter what you pick, keeping holidays in mind is crucial. 8. Measure Results And Adjust Instagram Insights, both on the app and through Meta Business Suites, can show how many views a post gets and statistics on the engagement with the posts to help you see which types of content are working best. You can see your content’s likes, shares, comments, and saves. Brands can also use Insights to get metrics on the paid activity. Insights are a great way to see trends so that you can adjust your content strategy. You’ll also be able to see metrics about your followers to see how many you’re receiving, the age of your followers, and information on when they are most active online. This way, you can adjust your post times to ensure you are better at reaching your audience. Aside from Instagram Insights, explore methods for measuring social media impact beyond vanity metrics to gain deeper insight into customer sentiment and overall brand performance. Wrapping Up If your Instagram isn’t getting results, it may be due to a lack of planning. Don’t miss the opportunity to tie your conversion goals, marketing campaigns, trends, holidays, and creative campaigns together and give it the well-planned, in-advance budget it deserves. It can only help, not hurt, to create a proactive content plan for your social media team to stay aligned, maintain consistency, and deliver measurable results. Achieving your goals by developing an Instagram-specific content calendar guided by current marketing objectives and data-driven themes will help your brand engage on the platform. Download our Instagram content plan and start being more effective with your Instagram strategy. More Resources: Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal [ad_2] Source link

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Dry, dull complexion? It’s never too late to try the best microdermabrasion machines to gently slough away dead skin cells. “Microdermabrasion is a non-invasive skin resurfacing treatment that exfoliates the outermost layer of dead skin cells using abrasive materials (such as fine crystals or a diamond-tip device) combined with suction,” board-certified nurse practitioner Vanessa Coppola tells Vogue. “Think of it as a high-performance polish for your skin: stimulating cellular turnover while unclogging pores and improving texture.”Aside from total complexion rejuvenation, with every microdermabrasion treatment, you’re also clearing the way for better skin-care absorption. While you can take a trip to your dermatologist or esthetician for a professional grade treatment, you can also get similar (albeit, more subtle) results from at-home devices—which pay off, when used correctly.Vogue’s Favorite Microdermabrasion MachinesFeatured in this articleBest MultipurposeForeo Kiwi Derma Diamond MicrodermabrasionJump to reviewWhether you’re prepping for a special event, or adding to your daily skin-care routine, a home microdermabrasion machine can have a place in your beauty arsenal. Scroll to discover the top six best tools, for smoother skin in seconds. Plus, the experts share insights on how (and how not) to use you very own exfoliating wonder.In This StoryBest Overall: PMD Beauty Personal Microderm ClassicPMD BeautyPersonal Microderm ClassicWhy We Love It: PMD’s microderm devices are no rinky-dink tools—in fact, this facial machine was developed by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mark Taylor, in collaboration with a slew of estheticians. Speaking of board-certified derms, Dr. Azadeh Shirazi gives this bestselling device her seal of approval: “The PMD features a diamond tip for gentle exfoliation, and multiple disk levels to customize your exfoliation level” she tells Vogue, noting there’s options for sensitive skin. “It’s widely-used and generally safe when directions are followed.” Though a word of caution, Dr. Shirazi warns against overdoing it. She recommends avoiding going over the same area of skin repeatedly, and only using once weekly. “Never forget to finish off with hydrating skin-care products after use,” she adds.Type: Portable, plug-in deviceWhat’s Included: Training disk, six different skin-type specific disks (three for face, three for body), body cap, face cap, plug-in adapterSpecs: 1 speed setting; suction and exfoliation modesMore to Know: 20-year warrantyRecommended Use Per Week: OnceHow to Use: Only ever use your PMD device on freshly washed, dry skin. The brand recommends first testing the device on your arm and leg with the provided training disc. Once comfortable, pick the disc appropriate for your skin type, gliding the device in an upward motion while holding the skin taut. As with all devices, clean the cap and filter after each use.Best Multipurpose: Foreo Kiwi Derma Diamond Microdermabrasion & Pore VacuumForeoKiwi Derma Diamond MicrodermabrasionWhy We Love It: With a super sleek design and multipurpose functionality, this hand-held device comfortably fits into the palm of your hand. Shirazi notes the diamond tip is beneficial for exfoliation, though only beauty aficionados comfortable with more advanced features should attempt the pore vacuum mode—sorry, novices! “Devices with pore vacuum functions require caution. While they may be okay for blackheads on congested noses, remember overuse of suction power and improper techniques has its consequences (think: broken capillaries, bruising, or hyperpigmentation) on delicate skin areas,” she says.Type: Portable, wire-free, and rechargeable deviceWhat’s Included: Three diamond microdermabrasion tips, pore vacuum cap, USB recharging cableSpecs: Six intensities, three massage settingsMore to Know: Multi-function (microdermabrasion, pore vacuum, and T-sonic massage), Foreo smartphone appRecommended Use Per Week: OnceHow to Use: Start by cleansing your face and neck. Attach your preferred microdermabrasion tip to the device, and press the universal button to turn on the device. The brand recommends starting on the lowest intensity level and adjusting as needed. Next, hold skin taut and glide across your face in an upward motion. Never pause in one area or glide over the same section more than once. Avoid applying additional pressure while using the device.Best Portable: Microderm GLO Diamond Microdermabrasion MachineMicroderm GloDiamond Microdermabrasion Machine & Suction ToolWhy We Love It: “The Microderm GLO is a more sophisticated at-home device that brings a clinic-level touch to your skin-care ritual,” says Coppola, who approves of this pick for its FDA-registered status. “It’s thoughtfully engineered for regular use, though users should be aware that visible improvements are gradual and diamond tips require periodic replacement.” Best of all, this device offers a wire-free experience, meaning you can exfoliate without the fuss of finding a nearby outlet—just pop it on its rechargeable port to re-up on power.Type: Cordless, rechargeable deviceWhat’s Included: Diamond fine tip, flat diamond tip, cleaning brush, 20 filter replacements, charging base, USB charging cable, carry pouch, user manualSpecs: Three speed levelsMore to Know: FDA registered, waterproof, one-year warrantyRecommended Use Per Week: OnceHow to Use: Apply to freshly washed, dry skin. Start with the lowest power level and place the tip flat against your face—glide in gentle even strokes. Follow with hydrating skin care after each use.Best Ergonomic: NewDermo 2-in-1 Microdermabrasion MachineNewDermo2-in-1 Microdermabrasion MachineWhy We Love It: Unlike some other devices on the market, this pick has a slender, ergonomic design— that means, no need to contort your wrist to get the perfect angle for application. “The NewDermo is a compact, user-friendly microdermabrasion device. With five interchangeable tips and wire-free it offers flexibility for a variety of skin types,” says Coppola. “While it lacks the precision and refinement of more advanced tools, it delivers a noticeable glow with consistent use.” As Coppola notes, some reviewers dislike that the suction can be uneven but appreciate its overall lightweight build. Plus, it boasts over four thousand positive reviews on Amazon.Type: Rechargeable deviceWhat’s Included: Five replacement tips, one pack of filter disk and rubber ring replacements, cleaning brushSpecs: Three speed settingsMore to Know: Requires lithium batteriesRecommended Use Per Week: OnceHow to Use: Start with the lowest power level—to adjust speed, press once for low, twice for medium, and three times for fast. Hold skin tout and glide gently against skin working outwards. Wash tips after each use and follow with hydrating skin care after each use.Best Affordable: True Glow by Conair Microdermabrasion ToolConairTrue Glow Microdermabrasion ToolWhy We Love It: Sure, it’s not the fanciest or most sophisticated of all microdermabrasion tools, but it’s certainly the most affordable of the bunch. If you want to dip your toes into microdermabrasion gadgets without spending more than $30, this is your best bet. Plus, you won’t be beholden to a plug in, and can recharge this tool whenever needed. Conair offers the basics with their microdermabrasion kit, with two abrasive tips and two pore vacuums—but remember to heed Dr. Shirazi’s waring and don’t go crazy with the pore sucking.Type: Rechargeable deviceWhat’s Included: Four metal replacement filters, one microdermabrasion tip, two suction tips, USB charging cordSpecs: Three speed settingsMore to Know: Nothing more to see here! This is a no-fuss option.Recommended Use Per Week: One to three times (but remember, less is more).How to Use: You know the drill by now—start with clean, dry skin, followed by holding skin tout and gentle gliding motions. Don’t forget to clean your devise tips after!Best for Beginners: Revlon Microdermabrasion WandWhy We Love It: Not quite ready to level up to a fast-spinning electric device? Consider this mini Revlon microdermabrasion wand your training wheels. Less than eight inches in length, you can pop it in any makeup pouch with ease. Notice that silver quarter-sized circle at the top? That’s medium fine diamond grit, which sloughs off dead skin effectively—pick your exfoliation intensity by putting as much or as little pressure when swiping the teeny wand across your face. Plus, the curved handle makes it ergonomic to hold. All this for less than the price of a smoothie in New York!Type: Handheld, flat surfaced wand (non-electric)What’s Included: One reusable wandSpecs: 2.66 x 1.06 x 7.46 inchesMore to Know: Medium fine diamond grit, portable, reusable, ergonomic handleRecommended Use Per Week: One to three times (but remember, less is more).How to Use: First, wet the wand with water. Next, place it your dominant hand, using the other to hold your skin taut. Starting with one side of your face, gently swipe using short continuous strokes from the center of the face outward (then repeat on the other side). To avoid irritation, remember to never—we repeat, never—use a back and forth swiping motion. Finish off by using soap and warm water to clean your wand after each use.Everything You Need To KnowWhat is microdermabrasion?AccordionItemContainerButtonAccording to triple board-certified dermatopathologist Dr. Gretchen Frieling, there are two types of microdermabrasion you’ll find either in-office or at-home. “Microdermabrasion gently exfoliates the outermost, and driest layer of skin, using either tiny crystals (crystal microdermabrasion), or a diamond-tipped wand (diamond microdermabrasion),” Dr. Frieling tells Vogue, noting that it’s not to be confused with regular ol’ exfoliation. The more apt description would be a “a non-invasive, superficial skin resurfacing procedure.”The Benefits of MicrodermabrasionAccordionItemContainerButton“Microdermabrasion has a number of benefits, especially for patients looking for a gentle, non-invasive refresh for even skin tone. It helps improve overall texture and tone, reduces dullness, and softens the appearance of fine lines and mild acne scarring,” says board-certified nurse practitioner Nat Rufalo, adding that results are subtle and temporary. “Like anything else, it needs to be done properly and at the right intervals.”Dr. Frieling notes temporary redness and sensitivity often result after treatment. She also adds that it’s not suitable for those with rosacea and eczema flare-ups, or active blemishes as it can spread—so don’t even think about using one until your complexion calms down and any open wounds are healed. In addition, Rufolo reminds us to set our expectations accordingly—microdermabrasion won’t address deeper wrinkles, significant scarring, or advanced pigmentation issues.What is the difference between in-office and at-home microdermabrasion?AccordionItemContainerButton“Professional microdermabrasion is performed using medical-grade technology that combines precise suction with a variety customizable exfoliation tips allowing professionals to tailor the depth and intensity based on skin type, concerns, and treatment goals,” says Coppola. “At-home devices can mimic the process, but they simply can’t match the precision, power, or consistency of professional treatments. They also lack real-time clinical guidance.”Are at-home microdermabrasion tools worth it?AccordionItemContainerButton“At-home microdermabrasion machines can be a valuable maintenance tool, but they’re not a replacement for clinical expertise,” says Coppola. “I always say skin-care routines should support your complexion’s ecosystem, not fight against it.”Rufolo agrees, noting she always recommends working with a professional to create a personalized at-home plan that complements in-office treatments. “This helps ensure you're getting the most out of both without over-exfoliating or compromising your skin barrier,” she says. “With the right guidance, these tools can be a safe and effective part of your routine.”AccordionItemContainerButtonDr. Vanessa Coppola, DNP, FNP-BC, is a board-certified nurse practitioner and founder of Bare Aesthetic MedSpa and Bare Soul Wellness, where she is reshaping the narrative around aging, beauty, and hormone health.Dr. Gretchen Frieling, MD, is a Harvard-trained, triple board-certified dermatopathologist with practices in Boston and Cape Cod, with over 18 years of experience in medicine, dermatopathology, and aesthetics.Nat Rufolo, FNP, NP-C is a board-certified aesthetic injector, PDO thread specialist, and founder of INJX BY NAT Aesthetics.Dr. Azadeh Shirazi, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist based in La Jolla, California. 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Living with eczema often feels like you’re in a constant chase for comfort. One day, your skin seems calm; the next, it’s itching, burning, or flaring up without warning. For millions of people, this relentless cycle of inflammation and discomfort has transformed skincare into something far more than a routine. It’s become both a survival strategy and a form of self-care.Also known as atopic dermatitis, eczema affects people across all ages, skin tones, and backgrounds. And it’s not just about dryness. The condition compromises the skin barrier, leaving it vulnerable to irritation, infection, and chronic inflammation.As frustrating as it can be to manage, finding relief is rarely straightforward. Some products only aggravate the skin, prescription treatments often offer limited respite, and environmental triggers are nearly impossible to control. That’s why both dermatologists and eczema sufferers have increasingly turned to a remedy that sounds surprisingly simple: the bleach bath.Yes, bleach—and no, it’s not what you thinkYes, bleach. The very ingredient found in household cleaning products is being carefully diluted and used in therapeutic soaks to help reduce flare-ups and bacterial infections. But make no mistake, this isn’t about bleaching your skin. Rather, it’s about minimizing the presence of bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, which can significantly worsen eczema symptoms.Before you reach for the bottle and run a bath, it’s important to understand the science behind this method, why it’s gaining traction, and how to use it safely. This isn’t a DIY hack or a fleeting skincare trend—it’s a medically endorsed practice that requires precision, guidance, and realistic expectations.What is a bleach bath for eczema?A bleach bath is a carefully controlled soak that involves adding a small amount of household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) to bathwater to reduce inflammation and eliminate harmful bacteria on the skin. For people with eczema, especially those dealing with frequent flare-ups, this can be a game-changer. That’s because individuals with eczema often have elevated levels of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium known to trigger or worsen symptoms and, if left unchecked, cause serious skin infections.While the idea may sound harsh, bleach baths have been recommended by dermatologists for years, particularly for children and adults with moderate to severe eczema marked by recurring infections or chronic inflammation. Typically done a few times per week, the treatment is used in tandem with a prescribed skincare routine to manage symptoms more effectively.Crucially, when done properly, a bleach bath shouldn’t sting, burn, or bleach your skin. It’s not the same as soaking in full-strength cleaning bleach. The dilution is extremely low—usually between ¼ to ½ cup of unscented household bleach in a full bathtub of lukewarm water. The final concentration is comparable to chlorinated pool water, offering therapeutic benefits without the intensity of a harsh chemical soak.Why does this work?Photo: Alexander Grey/UnsplashEczema is more than just dry skin. It’s a chronic inflammatory condition linked to a weakened skin barrier and an overactive immune response. One of the biggest challenges? The overgrowth of harmful bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus. These bacteria don’t just cause infections; they also trigger inflammation, making eczema harder to treat with regular creams or moisturizers.This is where bleach comes in. When diluted properly, it helps lower the number of bacteria on the skin’s surface. As a result, it reduces the risk of infections and helps calm flare-ups. With fewer bacteria, the skin becomes more stable, allowing medications and moisturizers to work more effectively.In children, this approach has even been shown to cut down the need for oral antibiotics and hospital visits due to infected eczema patches. For adults, it can mean fewer flare-ups and more control, especially during seasonal changes or high-stress periods.How to safely take a bleach bath for eczema reliefPhoto: Clay Banks/UnsplashThe key to success when using bleach for eczema lies in both dilution and consistency. Dermatologists typically recommend adding ¼ to ½ cup of plain, unscented household bleach (around 6% sodium hypochlorite) to a full tub of lukewarm water, which holds about 40 gallons. For children or smaller tubs, the guideline is more precise—about 1 to 2 teaspoons per gallon of water.Once your bath is ready, soak for 10 to 15 minutes, ensuring that all affected areas are fully submerged. However, be careful to avoid contact with the eyes, mouth, or inside the nose. After soaking, rinse off with clean water, gently pat dry using a soft towel, and then immediately apply a thick, fragrance-free moisturizer. This helps seal in moisture and supports the skin barrier.As for frequency, bleach baths should be done two to three times per week at most, unless advised otherwise by a healthcare provider. Overuse can lead to dryness or irritation, so it’s important to observe how your skin responds and adjust accordingly.Who should (and shouldn’t) try bleach baths?Photo: Anita Austvika/UnsplashBleach baths tend to be most beneficial for those with moderate to severe eczema, particularly when flare-ups are accompanied by recurrent bacterial infections or inflamed, weeping skin. If you’ve battled frequent Staph infections or find that topical treatments just aren’t cutting it, adding bleach baths to your regimen may offer meaningful relief. In fact, many pediatric dermatologists recommend them for children with hard-to-manage eczema, especially when used under supervision and in tandem with a dermatologist-approved skincare routine.That said, bleach baths aren’t for everyone. People with open wounds, severely cracked skin, or a known sensitivity to bleach should steer clear of this method. Likewise, if your eczema is mild and easily managed with moisturizers and occasional steroid creams, a bleach bath likely isn’t necessary. Individuals with underlying respiratory conditions, psoriasis, or other forms of sensitive skin should consult a doctor before trying it. And of course, pregnant women or anyone with a weakened immune system should get the green light from a healthcare provider first.When used as directed, bleach baths are generally safe and well-tolerated. Still, it’s important to be cautious. Overuse, whether by soaking too often or using too much bleach, can lead to dryness and irritation, ultimately making eczema worse. To minimize risk, avoid “splash-less” or scented bleach formulas, which often contain additives that can further aggravate the skin. Stick to dermatologist-recommended dilution ratios and resist the urge to experiment with stronger concentrations. If you notice stinging, increased redness, burning, or tightness after a bath, discontinue use and consult a medical professional. Sometimes, what feels like a flare-up might actually be an allergic response or chemical sensitivity.Bleach baths: A gentle weapon in the long game of eczema careBleach baths aren’t a miracle cure. But they can be a powerful ally in the ongoing battle against eczema. When used consistently and correctly, many people report fewer flare-ups, reduced infection rates, and overall improvement in skin health within just a few weeks. Still, it’s important to view bleach baths as part of a broader treatment plan, not a standalone solution.For optimal results, they should be used in tandem with a dermatologist-guided routine that includes prescription topicals, gentle cleansers, and rich, fragrance-free moisturizers. This method is best approached as a long-term strategy, not something that yields overnight transformation or replaces other treatments. But for those who’ve faced relentless inflammation or repeated bacterial infections, this simple soak might deliver the kind of relief no steroid cream ever could.Managing eczema is about more than skin—it’s about reclaiming comfort, confidence, and control. Bleach baths may sound clinical or even intimidating, but when approached with care and guidance, they can become a surprisingly gentle tool in your healing arsenal. Like all meaningful progress in health and skincare, the key is consistency, education, and professional support.Featured image: Youngoldman/iStockMedical DisclaimerAll content found on the StyleRave.com website, including text, images, audio, video, and other formats, is created for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor, go to the nearest hospital, or call 911 immediately, depending on your condition.For the latest in fashion, lifestyle, and culture, follow us on Instagram @StyleRave—Read also!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', ' fbq('init', '496558104568102'); fbq('track', 'PageView');!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script',' fbq('init', '1453079628754066'); fbq('track', "PageView"); Source link

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Sunday Rose can’t exactly hide her seriously A-list origins. But Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s eldest daughter is already lighting up with a star power all her own. Last October, the 17-year-old went viral after making her runway debut for Miu Miu’s 2025 spring/summer collection and giving an interview that showcased her surprising accent: a mix of Southern twang (a product of her Tennessee upbringing) with a slight Down Under lilt (courtesy of her Australian parents). She’s since gone on to star in a campaign for Miu Miu as well as one for Omega Watches, but Sunday Rose’s aspirations aren’t limited to the catwalk. As she tells NYLON, she’s wanted to be a filmmaker since she was practically in kindergarten — she’s already made cameos on her mom’s shows Big Little Lies and The Undoing — and dreams of attending college in a big city like New York.Until then, she’s happy to hold onto a low-key life in Nashville, driving around blasting Billie Eilish and trading memes with her sister (14-year-old Faith, also a burgeoning model). Like with any teenager on the precipice of graduation and adulthood, the discovery is part of the fun. Below, she tells NYLON about raiding her mom’s closet, getting advice from Cara Delevingne, and juggling fashion week and homework.What made you want to pursue fashion and modeling to begin with?Something I’ve always loved about fashion in general is that every brand is so different. Just watching the shows, you can see how each designer expresses themself in a different way through the collection. Growing up, I went to my mom’s photo shoots a lot and got to observe, which definitely led to my interest in exploring the modeling world.You made your runway debut last year for Miu Miu at Miuccia Prada’s insistence, and you’ve also starred in the brand’s spring/summer campaign. What do you like about Miu Miu?The best part about Miu Miu is Mrs. Prada. She’s been so supportive of me from the very beginning, and I couldn’t be more grateful to her for giving me my first opportunity to experience modeling.That first runway show was star-studded: Alexa Chung, Cara Delevingne, and Willem Dafoe also walked the runway, and people like Addison Rae and Alix Earle were in the front row. Who were you most excited to see there?I actually got the opportunity to sit and talk with Cara Delevingne the night before the show — we have a mutual friend. I got to ask her questions and talk to her about her experience as a model. It was nice to get to know her as I’ve looked up to her for a long time, but even better was that then the next day at the show, I had a familiar face who could show me the ropes.Prada clothing and scarf, Paula Rowan gloves, Skydiamond jewelryHow do you mentally prepare for a runway show or photo shoot? What gets you in the zone?Honestly, the first show I had no idea what was happening. I really didn’t know what to expect at all, but the whole team at Miu Miu was so kind and excited to show the collection. Something I do is meditate because — especially before the runway — you definitely don’t want to be in your head too much while you’re walking.What’s on your mind when you’re going down the runway? Are you thinking about your physical walk or the energy you’re trying to convey?So at my first show, while I was walking, I was actually just thinking about the amount of schoolwork I was going to have to make up! I was really just hoping my teachers would let me have a couple days when I got back.What’s been the toughest thing for you to get used to about modeling?Fashion is so subjective, and everyone has an opinion about everything. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from my experience is to enjoy each moment as it comes, be grateful for the opportunities as I get them, and focus on bettering myself each time I get hired.What conversations about ground rules or boundaries did you have with your parents about entering the public eye?There are two big rules. The first was that I couldn’t explore any kind of fashion work until I was 16, and the second is that school always has to come first, which at first I hated, but I am actually really glad that I have these rules in place because it keeps me in a good mindset.Prada clothing and scarf, Skydiamond jewelryGiven that your parents are both public figures, do you feel like people have preconceptions of you when they first first meet you?When people my age meet me, they normally don’t know anything about my life, which is sort of wonderful because I am able to make a first impression based on who I am and not who my family is.What’s your favorite thing about growing up in Nashville?The city has changed so much over the years, but it’s been nice to grow up in more of a small town than a big city. I will have time to experience that in life, whether it’s during college or later, so I like that I’ve gotten to grow up in a city that has a bit of a slower pace. It also makes it really exciting to travel for work to places like Paris or New York.You’ve said you want to study psychology at New York University. What is it about that field that interests you so much?Yes, that was true at one point. I have several interests that I am interested in exploring in college. Filmmaking has actually been my dream career since I was 5, so I hope I’m able to study that in college.What are the movies that made you go “I want to do that”?Oh, I have so many movies that make me do that. One of my favorite movies that left me with that feeling would be Parasite. I’ve watched it at least four times and am just in love with the cinematography and how carefully crafted the story is.What are you most excited for about living in a big city?Something I love about a big city such as Los Angeles or New York is the amazing selection of food they have.What’s currently on heavy rotation in your wardrobe?My Nili Lotan jeans are a must for me at the moment. I wear them with everything.What’s the one thing you’re always trying to borrow from your mom’s closet?Oh gosh, if I had to pick one it would be impossible. I take everything from my mom’s closet. I sometimes joke with her that it’s my favorite store.What’s your favorite way to unwind?My favorite thing to do is drive in my car listening to music. It’s really relaxing and helps me think.What do you think will be on your Spotify Wrapped this year?Last year, my top artist was Billie Eilish. I’m thinking this year it will probably be Frank Ocean or Lady Gaga.What’s on your FYP or Explore page?I don’t have TikTok, but my Instagram reels consist of the most random things that my sister and I send back and forth to each other. Mostly cats.What can your group chat not stop talking about right now?Love Island. I don’t watch it but all my friends are obsessed.Top image credit: Prada clothing and scarf, Skydiamond jewelryPhotographer: Elliot James KennedyStylist: Sophie Orza CloarecEditor in Chief: Lauren McCarthyCreative Director: Karen HibbertHair: Ben CookeMakeup: Anna PayneStylist Assistant: Gillian WatsonPhoto Director: Jackie LadnerProduction: Lock StudiosFashion Market Director: Jennifer YeeFashion Market: Stephanie Sanchez, Ashirah CurrySocial Director: Charlie MockTalent Bookings: Special Projects Source link