Thursday 23rd May 2024

Acing Value-Based Sales

The spring 2024 issue’s special report looks at how to take advantage of market opportunities in the digital space, and provides advice on building culture and friendships at work; maximizing the benefits of LLMs, corporate venture capital initiatives, and innovation contests; and scaling automation and digital health platform.

The spring 2024 issue’s special report looks at how to take advantage of market opportunities in the digital space, and provides advice on building culture and friendships at work; maximizing the benefits of LLMs, corporate venture capital initiatives, and innovation contests; and scaling automation and digital health platform.

Imagine that burst of enthusiasm when a senior executive unveils a plan that promises a significant and lasting impact on the organization’s financial performance. “Our new product creates more value for our customers than anything else on the market, and we should get paid accordingly,” they proudly declare. “If we measure and communicate that value precisely, then we can finally get the return we deserve.”

Continued here

The Truth About Suncreen And Vitamin D Production

It’s all kicking off on social media again. This time it’s about wearing sunscreen. The argument began when Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, raised concerns that daily sunscreen use could lead to vitamin D deficiency.

While Spector’s post gained a lot of attention, it isn’t the first time an argument against using sunscreen has been brought to social media – with countless posts discussing the matter. Most of these concerns stem from the fact that sunscreen blocks ultraviolet (UV) radiation – which our body needs to synthesize vitamin D in the skin. Fortunately, research shows us that this is probably not an issue for most people.

Continued here

Someone Made a DIY Version of Google's Most Exciting AI -- and You Can Use It Right Now

Now that Google Glass could be back on the menu, we’re eager to see if Project Astra, Google’s new supercharged computer vision AI, can finally make smart glasses work. For now, however, Google hasn’t committed its prototype AI assistant to anything yet, much less a piece of hardware.

To scratch that itch in the interim, a designer created their own version that’s built using Google’s Gemini generative AI. Pietro Schirano, who’s previously worked at Uber and Facebook, introduced his take on a Google chatbot with vision capabilities called DIY-Astra. It’s not as capable as when compared to Google’s own Project Astra or even OpenAI’s GPT-4o demo, but it is a sneak peek into the potential of these improved AI chatbots.

Continued here

A New Study Found Microplastics In Every Testicle It Sampled --

Microplastics are omnipresent. These small pieces of plastic, which are leftover from all sorts of consumer products, have been detected in oceans, historic soil samples, and virtually everywhere on the planet. Naturally, they’ve also been found in almost every human organ: In lung tissue, blood, breastmilk, and more. And now, a recent study published in Toxicological Sciences has shown a light on yet another body part they’re ending up in: testicles.

An earlier study had previously assessed the presence of microplastics in human testes and semen. Animal studies have also looked at the interactions between microplastics and fertility, in mice specifically. But in the recent study, a group of researchers at the University of New Mexico collected samples from both human and canine testes. The 23 human testes were taken from men who died in 2016, and the 47 dog testes came from neutering.

Continued here

2024's Biggest Blockbuster Flop Confirms a Dark Truth About the Modern Movie Industry

There’s been a lot of doom and gloom surrounding the theatrical movie experience ever since the streaming age began, but lately it seems like we’ve all but chiseled the movie theater’s tombstone. As ticket prices rise and movies hit the home market faster than ever, casual viewers have more reasons to stay home than go out. But Hollywood, of course, hasn’t abandoned the theater, and one recent movie’s failure reveals the path forward.

Universal Pictures surprised everyone when it announced that its latest Ryan Gosling vehicle, The Fall Guy, would be available to rent or buy digitally just two weeks after its theatrical release. As of today, you can catch the movie in theaters or watch it from your couch for about the same price.

Continued here

'Elden Ring' DLC Drops Tantalizing New Details Only Lore Weirdos Will Understand

There’s no DLC as exciting as From Software DLC. The Dark Souls developer already has an outstanding track record of releasing some of the most beloved games of the past few decades, but just as impressive is its ability to improve on what seemed like perfection with its expansions. We won’t know if Shadow of the Erdtree, the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, holds up against the likes of Bloodborne’s acclaimed The Old Hunters, but based on its latest trailer, we know it’s gonna be brutal and it’s gonna be weird.

So far, we’ve seen quite a bit of the lore of Shadow of the Erdtree, but little gameplay. The latest trailer continues that trend, focusing entirely on story told through pre-rendered cutscenes. This being a From Software game, the trailer doesn’t come right out and say too much, instead hiding its meaning in oblique references, but for players who are already well-versed in the history of Elden Ring’s world, there’s a lot to chew on.

Continued here

Nintendo Fans Will Likely See More Big Games Ported to the Switch 2

Nintendo is the latest gaming publisher to save a development studio from the clutches of Embracer Group, and the purchase may provide a look at what Nintendo has in store for the near future.

Shiver Entertainment, perhaps best known for their work on the surprisingly stable Nintendo Switch version of 2023’s Hogwarts Legacy, and the less impressive handheld port of Netherrealms’ Mortal Kombat 1, has been purchased by the legendary Japanese game maker just two and a half years after it was scooped up by Embracer.

Continued here

Max Just Quietly Added the Biggest Sci-Fi Movie of the Year

Hot take: It doesn’t actually matter where you watch Denis Villeneuve’s Dune saga. Sure, IMAX will always be the ideal format — it’s the only place where the sheer scale of Villeneuve’s world can truly be felt. Villeneuve himself has been pretty outspoken about catching his films on the largest screen humanly possible, and he’s not the only filmmaker with a preferred viewing format.

But the merits of Dune and its sequel, Dune: Part Two, aren’t beholden to a big-screen experience. You can, in fact, appreciate Villeneuve’s sci-fi duology from the comfort of your couch, or even (controversial as it sounds) on a smart phone. A good movie will hold your attention no matter how you find it — especially Villeneuve’s movies, which specialize in sheer immersion and propulsive storytelling.

Continued here

21 Years Later, a Forgotten Sci-Fi Movie is Getting Remade By the Perfect Director

Yorgos Lanthimos is a restless filmmaker. After his coming-of-age Victorian sci-fi Poor Things helped Emma Stone earn an Oscar, he moved on to a triptych of shorts, Kinds of Kindness, which also features Stone. Now, while Lanthimos shows off Kinds of Kindness at the Cannes Film Festival, his next project has landed a distributor (and, yes, Emma Stone is in it too).

According to Variety, Lanthimos’ next movie, Bugonia, will be released by Focus Features, a departure after Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness were distributed by Searchlight. It’s also written by Will Tracy, a Succession alum and showrunner of the recent HBO series The Regime, instead of Lanthimos’ usual collaborators, Tony McNamara and Efthimis Fillipou.

Continued here

'Deadpool 3' Is Skewering an Infamous Marvel Tradition

Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool has always been Marvel’s black sheep. As the fourth-wall-breaking Merc with a Mouth, the character exists on the fringes of Marvel storytelling. He’s just self-aware enough to poke fun at the absurdity of his world, and he puts his own spin on the tropes that define superhero cinema. That’s part of what makes his films so entertaining, and as Deadpool officially makes his way into the true MCU, it’s safe to expect a few surprises.

Deadpool & Wolverine might be Marvel’s most anticipated project in years. It’s also one of the most important, as it’s embracing and possibly fixing the multiverse. Reynolds will team up with X-Men star Hugh Jackman on a romp through Marvel’s multiverse, and fans are already expecting a few cameos from other members of defunct Marvel franchises. Many also expect Deadpool & Wolverine to deliver a satisfying set-up for Secret Wars, the upcoming crossover event that could reset the MCU for good.

Continued here