Meet CampaignsGPT, a ChatGPT-powered tool designed to break down different types of business campaigns into tasks and subtasks, then assess each one’s exposure to AI. Continue reading “The AI Tool for Business Planning”
Meet CampaignsGPT, a ChatGPT-powered tool designed to break down different types of business campaigns into tasks and subtasks, then assess each one’s exposure to AI. Continue reading “The AI Tool for Business Planning”
September is a big month for The Legend of Zelda, with Echoes of Wisdom, the Hyrule Edition Nintendo Switch Lite, and the first Zelda Lego set all scheduled to release. But those aren’t the only imminent Zelda releases to look forward to. A box set collecting all 11 volumes in the superb manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess launches September 24, just two days before Echoes of Wisdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Complete Box Set preorders are discounted from $130 to $117 at Amazon and $104 at the Crunchyroll Store. With Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, you’ll pay the lowest offered price until your order is shipped. It’s wouldn’t be surprising to see Amazon match Crunchyroll’s 20%-off deal, which is the best discount yet since the collection went up for preorder in February.
The Twilight Princess Complete Box Set features all 11 volumes of the popular manga in a decorative slipcase display box. You’ll also get an exclusive double-sided poster. Clocking in at 2,040 pages total, the Twilight Princess manga adaptation tells the tale of both the Twilight Realm and the World of Light, taking an extensive look at Midna and her role in keeping the two worlds safe. If you are a fan of the game and like manga, we’d highly recommend reading this series.
If you don’t want to commit to the whole set, you could always check out a couple of the individual volumes first. List prices are $10-$12, though you can get some of them for a few bucks less. Buying all of them individually today (August 30) would cost around $110, though Volume 3 is only available through third-party sellers. Individual volumes routinely go out of stock at Amazon.
The Twilight Princess manga was written and illustrated by Akira Himekawa, a pen name for A. Honda and S. Nagano. Prior to writing the Twilight Princess series, the pair created a bunch of other adventures adapted from popular games in the Zelda series. You can save on those Zelda manga at Amazon, too.
Both of the lists below contain the same stories, but the Legendary editions have higher-quality paper and covers–and just overall have a more premium look. The Legendary edition box set, which is on sale for $79, comes with all five Legendary edition books (two volumes per book) and is packaged inside a collectible treasure chest box with an exclusive poster. Alternatively, you can buy the books individually for $15 to $20 each.
Legendary editions:
Meanwhile, there are 10 standard editions sold separately and a box set compiling all of them that is on sale for $76–the Legendary set is certainly the better value right now.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, meanwhile, releases September 26 on Nintendo Switch. If you haven’t preordered a copy yet, Best Buy has an adorable acrylic display stand preorder bonus. For the first time in the mainline series, Princess Zelda is the main playable character. To commemorate the new game, Nintendo is launching a gold special-edition Switch Lite bundled with a 12-month Nintendo Switch Online subscription for $210.
If you’re looking forward to Echoes of Wisdom, it’s worth noting that multiple Zelda Amiibo figures are re-releasing alongside the game, including the Link’s Awakening figure that matches his appearance in the new game and Zelda from The Wind Waker. Speaking of reprints, The Legend of Zelda’s 1989 animated series is getting a fresh DVD release in October, and preorders are super cheap.
As for the aforementioned Lego set, a 2-in-1 Great Deku Tree building kit releases September 1 for $300 and is exclusive to the Lego Store.
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Apple Music and Google’s YouTube Music have partnered to offer their users a hassle-free experience, including the ability to transfer saved playlists across music streaming platforms.
Previously, transferring playlists from one streaming platform to another wasn’t that convenient, as it involved third-party apps like Soundiiz and Tune My Music. Such apps also required a fee to transfer songs/ playlists without any restrictions. It might soon change with the newly announced ability for Apple Music and YouTube Music users (via MacRumors).
Users who wish to transfer their playlists from Apple Music to YouTube Music or vice versa can now do so, as both streaming giants have shared the respective step-by-step process through their support pages. Apple account holders can head to their Data and Privacy page and request to “Transfer a copy of your data.” Users can then select Apple Music playlists to be transferred to YouTube Music.
Likewise, YouTube Music users will be able to transfer their playlists through the Google Takeout feature. They can similarly follow the onscreen instructions to transfer playlists from YouTube Music to Apple Music. While the process appears hassle-free, there are a few things to keep in mind before transferring.
To make playlist transfer more swift, users must have an active subscription to the aforementioned music streaming platforms. While playlists are transferred quickly, they won’t be deleted once the transfer is done. Also, transfers are only possible between Apple Music and YouTube Music, not even Spotify. Users would still have to rely on the above-mentioned third-party services for any music transfer.
The latest transferring feature doesn’t support other songs in the library except from the playlists. It is also dependent on song availability across both platforms, meaning that when a song from a playlist isn’t available on the other platform that is being shared, users can still be out of luck.
While it is an exciting start to see transferring music to an extent between Apple Music and YouTube Music, it will be more beneficial if other major players in the music streaming industry also collaborate with each other to bring users a unified experience and easy switching between streaming platforms.
As artificial intelligence (AI) carves more pathways to improve students’ overall performance in the classroom, students can now further equip themselves outside the classroom using Gemini.
Also: 5 free AI tools for school that students, teachers, and parents can use, too
To help students get started, Google rounded up five Gemini features that students 18 years and older can start using today.
In partnership with OpenStax, a nonprofit initiative out of Rice University, Gemini can access all of the academic textbooks and educational materials in OpenStax’s library.
To activate OpenStax within Gemini, users can type in a prompt such as “@OpenStax explain [insert subject here]?”Then, the responses will reference OpenStax’s content library, including concise explanations with links referencing the textbook content.
Gemini can help you test your knowledge of various subject matters by providing you with practice quizzes. Gemini can walk you through each question and provide feedback and hints to help you get through the quiz.
Also: 4 ways my favorite study app Quizlet just got even better (and it’s still free)
All you have to do is type, “quiz me on [insert subject here],” and Gemini will deliver interactive quizzes and collaborative responses on topics ranging from the biological sciences to history and even pop culture.
Gemini Advanced users can upload up to ten documents of learning materials at a time, such as a class syllabus or notes, and you can ask Gemini to explain the material or create custom study guides from it. Gemini can also analyze your materials to summarize key concepts, provide relevant practice questions, and more.
Also: ChatGPT vs. Microsoft Copilot vs. Gemini: Which is the best AI chatbot?
Gemini Advanced is Google’s Premium AI tier that is accessible via the Google One AI Premium, which costs $20 per month. Other perks of the plan include access to Google’s most capable AI models and 2 TB of storage.
Gemini Advanced subscribers also have access to Gems, which are customized versions of Gemini for tackling particular tasks. In addition to creating their own custom Gems, users can access the premade Gem Learning coach to help them create a tailored learning plan for their specific academic needs.
Also: Google’s Gemini just got two popular ChatGPT Plus features – and one is free to use
For example, if you want to prepare for upcoming exams, you can use the Learning Coach Gem and specify what you need to study and review. Then, the Learning Coach would create a learning plan that covers key subtopics and outlines essential topics.
Gemini can simplify any topic in a digestible way by using videos, images, and real-life examples that demonstrate what you’re learning. All you have to do is ask Gemini to provide you with an explanation or more resources on a specific topic. For example, you can ask Gemini for follow-up questions, video recommendations, and more.
These Gemini features are only available for students 18 and older. School admins who manage Google Workspace for Education in their schools can turn access to Gemini on or off for educators and students.
As someone inveterately tepid on GTA 5, I was shocked by how much I loved Red Dead Redemption 2 when it finally hit PC five years ago. But how could I not? Arthur Morgan is a triumph of a character: Nuanced and heartfelt and clearly written with a great deal of love, and voiced perfectly by his actor Roger Clark.
Who, it turns out, is still very happy to sit down and chat about RDR 2. In a recent interview with Gamology, Clark responded to a bunch of fan questions about his time on the game, including what it was like to do mocap (very involved, sounds like) and if he’d ever play Arthur in a live-action adaptation (“Danny Devito or we riot,” says Clark).
But most interesting to me are his answers to two other questions. Namely, if there was a scene in the game he struggled with and whether he would change anything about the game’s story or his own performance. His answer to the first prompted him to talk about RDR 2’s endings—spoilers ahead, naturally—and specifically, which one he considered his own personal “canon.”
“There’s a high and low-honour version of going to help John, and there’s a high and low-honour version of going back for the money,” Clark says, describing each of the game’s possible endings. “I never see much point of going back for the money, you know, Arthur’s days are numbered. What’s money gonna do [for] him anyway? You might as well help John.”
Which is completely true. By that point in the game, poor Arthur is absolutely riddled with terminal tuberculosis and, even if he wasn’t, has had his heart and worldview irrevocably shattered anyway. Life doesn’t have much left for him at that point, and it’s difficult to see what he’d get out of returning to the gang’s camp to try to loot its fortune.
“So I think going back to help John, with high honour, for me is my canon ending.” Mine too. In fact, I’ve never played the game on a low-honour run. It just wouldn’t feel right for Arthur.
The thing he would change, meanwhile, is how he said Colm O’Driscoll’s name. Clark is an Irish-American actor, and he’s fully aware that the proper pronunciation of Colm sounds more like “Column” than “Comb,” but Rockstar insisted Clark pronounce it the latter, incorrect way while voicing Arthur (after all, the character wouldn’t have much reason to know the proper pronunciation of Irish names).
“The only thing I regret is saying Colm O’Driscoll incorrectly. Rockstar made me say it wrong. I told them it was wrong. They didn’t care,” says Clark. In fact, the Gamology video even shows off a scene from the gang’s camp—which I’ve never encountered—of Irish character Sean Macguire aggressively correcting Kieran’s pronunciation of the name. He clearly never told Arthur (or, just as likely, he did and Arthur didn’t care).
Oh, and yes, someone asked the obvious question. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Well what’s [RDR 3] gonna be?'” said Clark, “Well, I have no idea. And even if I did, I would tell you that I have no idea.” With Rockstar focused on GTA 6 right now, I’m gonna guess we’re all gonna have no idea for the foreseeable future.
Never Stop Blowing Up was always going to be one of Dimension 20’s most outrageous series.
The homebrew game designed for the occasion combined Kids on Bikes with a simple yet compelling dice game. It was a starting place that guaranteed hijinks — the system encourages players to go for ridiculous checks, on the chance that they “blow up” their dice and instantly get stronger.
Then you have the over-the-top ’80s action movie setting, embracing the excesses of a genre where just about anything goes — cars that reach 5,000 miles per hour, gangs that travel via super fast backflipping, a White House that takes off like a jet plane, a talking jaguar named Tony.
Throw in six of Dropout’s funniest cast members, each of whom seems to be trying to top the rest in their efforts to do The Most Ridiculous Thing Possible? Pure gold.
The trials and tribulations of the employees of Dave’s Video Store who got pulled into the ridiculous, fast-paced world of the fictional movie Never Stop Blowing Up entertained Dropout fans for the past two months, with a 10-episode season that earned its place in the pantheon of Dimension 20’s greatest hits.
Polygon caught up with game master Brennan Lee Mulligan about the season. Mulligan went deep with us about the cast, the themes of the season, whether you can expect to play Never Stop Blowing Up at home anytime soon, and the chances of a second season. We also talked to the cast of the show — you can expect that chat later this week.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
[Ed. note: We talk about major plot points from Never Stop Blowing Up, including the ending.]
Polygon: Well, Brennan, what a fun season of Dimension 20, and what an incredible cast. What was it about the makeup of the cast that you were most excited about?
Brennan Lee Mulligan: We wanted to find a group of people that had a love for this genre, had the ability as improvisers to take fearless, bold, enormous swings, and people who can fully jump the tracks in terms of tone and comedy and mood, and pirouette 20 times in midair, and then land on another set of tracks somewhere else. And so we just found these six improvisational all-stars who are just deeply beloved at Dropout, and it was a joy and a privilege to work with all of them.
Everyone in the cast had at least some experience with a Dimension 20 season besides Jacob Wysocki. What did Jacob bring to the dome in his first time?
It’s very fun to be blown away by somebody and then also be like, Of course, of course you’re this. You know, Jacob’s reputation precedes him. He is such a brilliant performer in a season that was all about big swings and goofiness. What really stuck out to me about Jacob was for someone whose training is very [much in] long-form improv comedy, he locked in to the heart of his character in so many ways. Dang stays as this emotional core of the season who is, in many ways, the most affected and grows as a character throughout the season. That scene with Wolfman Ann, which Jacob very much called for — Jacob was like, I am having an emotional low point now — I just thought was so special, and I was very grateful for his dedication to not only the big comedic swings, but having this point of view, an emotional North Star that kept his character’s journey grounded even while the most outrageous stuff was happening around him.
He’s obviously very funny, but Jacob’s also a very gifted physical actor as well. And I was struck by how much he was able to work that into the season, despite it being a setting where you’re all sitting around a table.
That monologue where he’s like, “My mind is not deep. Wide, not deep. There’s 15 governments, and they’re bad.” [Mulligan does Jacob’s hand motions while quoting this.] To see the joy of someone struggling with the convoluted action movie plot of, The people that hired us are betraying us. It was a double blind but they’ve been betrayed by the betrayers. And you’re like, What the hell? Like, it seems like you’re just trying to set up a car chase in Monte Carlo. That’s fine. He played that so well from that character point of view.
You brought it full circle there with the extra copy of the Never Stop Blowing Up VHS under his chair. How’d that come together, and was it always going to be Jacob’s chair?
It was always gonna be his chair. That was from [producers] Rick Perry, Carlos Luna, Michael Schaubach, and me talking. We’re an incredibly collaborative set. So at some point that VHS is floating in the ether. I think Schaubach had already maybe shot the mini or the insert of it. And then we went, “Rashab! Him! Under the chair.” And he pulled it out. It was just such a fun moment for Jacob, as a character who, in some ways, it was like his life had been so stalled out. And then to be like, “You were right!”
You talked about the big comedic presences this season. How would you describe trying to wrangle this group as a GM? Because there were a lot of situations where things went a little off the rails, and sometimes you leaned into it.
That’s a very funny thing. There’s different strategies, right? I enjoyed seeing the moments where I had to pull up and be like, We are moving on. What’s so funny is if I’m looking at my own boundaries, what I realized was I fully surrendered as GM Brennan, and then producer Brennan was the one who had to come in. GM Brennan was like, I’m in the craziness with you! We’re not going down the rabbit hole. We’re being fired from a cannon through the rabbit hole at top speed. I’ll be just as crazy as you! Backflipping Sidewinders, let’s go! I was so ready to meet them there. And then every once in a while, a version of Brennan would lock in and be like, We have to leave this scene, this scene we’ve been in for 40 minutes. It’s time to go. And that was the one who came in, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, and told my (at the time) pregnant wife to shut up, on camera. A real low point for me. Izzy was laughing through it, but I look back at myself and I’m like, Well, when I have my soul weighed against a feather at the end of my life, this is going to be one of the lowlight moments for sure. So that was a fun moment.
The point was not to wrangle anybody. I think that the fact that the cast is feeling limitless joy and is in that place of play is a success of the show. And if that means I need to be the one to load everyone back on the tour bus and go to the next place, so be it, right? Like, great. Everyone’s having such a ball that no one’s got an eye on the clock but me. Cool, that’s perfect. That’s exactly where we need to be. That is my job, right?
In terms of making the decisions about how far people can go, you had some tough choices in terms of DC checks for some of the more ridiculous things that happen. Thinking back on it, how do you weigh Usha’s attempt to throw G13’s oily shirt in front of the car to speed it up versus Kingskin’s manual brain surgery on G13? How do you make those decisions of what is possible if the dice roll the right way?
There’s a very funny ongoing game that me and Rekha Shankar have with each other. What’s funny is a lot of Rekha’s choices that I will set an impossibly high DC for, once you’re going 5,000 miles per hour in a car, what is logic or consistency? It’s more about a fun character game that I think me and Rekha have about tone and moments of Rekha having a gremlin energy, of wanting to introduce a component into the genre of the world that I have to balk at. So in other words, if Rekha had gone like, “I want to make the car faster, I’m going to find a hidden button that, like, splits an atom made out of other split atoms, and it creates a super atom,” I would probably set that DC at, like, a 20. But it’s the fact that Reika goes like, “Can I get my shirt off like a Donkey Kong banana?” …Pete, correct me if I’m wrong. Even in cartoon logic…
I don’t think Roadrunner would get away with that.
I don’t think Roadrunner would get away with that! What I’m saying is, in what cartoon does taking a slippy thing and throwing it in front of a car make it go uncomplicatedly faster? You know what I’m saying? That’s like, I hit you in the face with a banana cream pie, and you’re cleaner than you were a second ago. Let me just fully describe to your readers. I move away from the camera, shake my fists and go “Rekha!!!!” That’s the relationship that me and Rekha have. It’s the fun of Rekha doing things that feel like an active fun butting of heads in the genre about the choices that are being made.
What did you enjoy the most about the setting of the over-the-top ’80s action movie, as a GM?
I think that there is a freedom and a joy. The last episode of Never Stop Blowing Up is our 250th episode of Dimension 20. And I think you want to set new creative challenges for yourself all the time, just to keep things fresh. And looking at the programming slate, you know, we were coming off Fantasy High: Junior Year, which is our first threequel. It’s our first third installment in a core season. And you know that Junior Year, of course, has totally outlandish things. I mean, my god, Blimey, you know? But it also was dealing with these themes of stress and rage, and there’s a groundedness to Elmville and the Aguefort Adventuring Academy.
Especially shooting the season with Izzy being eight months pregnant, I was preparing. We shot 50 episodes of Dimension 20 in nine months because I was trying to shoot out before my paternity leave. So I think that from a programming level, it’s like a photographer being like, “All right, do a fun one, do a crazy one,” right? And for me as a GM, I was gearing up for this sprint before paternity leave. As a creative challenge, let’s set ourselves up for something that embraces chaos and fun and honoring as many huge swings as possible, for the timing, for the production team’s bandwidth. Let’s not do a tactical mini season. Let’s do a season where we’re doing hand props and makeup and these fun looks. And so there are the creative choices that go into selecting a concept for a season that are made holistically within the umbrella of the entire show, to present new things to our audience, to keep the anthology fresh, to give people a flavor they’ve never had before. That was really a lot of what went into Never Stop Blowing Up.
One of the season’s more surprising mechanics was the ability for players to jump in the GM chair. What sparked that idea, and how do you feel about the result?
I loved the result! The players were so generous and exciting, and I couldn’t ask for a better leader of that vanguard than Ify — his contributions were so fun, and he’s such an exciting storyteller. Also a dream to have Rekha and Izzy, and our unborn child, sit in the hot seat! What a dream!
The players made a lot of big choices throughout the season, but were there any that particularly surprised you?
Every player surprised me! From Ify’s establishing of Vic as a guardian spirit, to Rekha elaborating on that with the menace of G13 — Jacob’s emotional depth with Dang and Wolfman Ann, to Alex’s awesome turn with Liv wanting to do her own thing! Was such a joy to watch Ally take the lead as a plot hound, and Iz to run both the divorce storylines side by side!
What would you adjust with the Never Stop Blowing Up system for the 2.0 you talked about throughout filming, and will there be a release of the game itself?
We would love to. We’re exploring that right now. We would probably close the infinite token loophole that Ify found, tighten that up a little bit, clean up one or two other things, maybe clean up some of the group abilities a little bit. But probably we would want to release it to people. And then not do a full revamp until some playtesting. The funny thing about even running this stuff on camera is that actual plays are not a big enough sample size. Every game master, Dungeon Master, storyteller knows this, the balance required for your table actually does require way less scrutiny than the balance for published material.
As a case in point, you have two different character builds. One of them is more powerful than the other, but the more powerful one is being played by a newer player who has less ability to make optimal choices than a theoretically worse build being played by a veteran player. And so you don’t need to adjust that, you’re like, Actually, the balance of these encounters come out in the wash pretty even, people feel like they’re doing awesome stuff, people are really happy with their builds and their characters. So the standard for published material is just on a totally different level than the tomebrew that a GM or a DM is bringing to their table because of the sample size. How many encounters, even in a long home game, are you really going to play? We would probably want to do a full revamp, actually, after an alpha playtest where we released it to a lot of people and got feedback.
The ending leaves open the possibility of the characters returning to the world of Never Stop Blowing Up. Would you be interested in that for a future D20 season?
I love this world so much — would be delighted to play with everybody again as often as they’ll let me!
Never Stop Blowing Up is available to watch on Dropout.
I am writing a Class that is supposed to read a config file and fill a map that contains the configs, while writing the file reading algorithm a pointer to an enum class which contains different config names is throwing a access violation and the compiler complains that it is using uninitialized memmory, as a solution i turned the pointer to a simple variable but the results are the same, the compiler now complains that the variable is uninitialized!
Here is the function that reads the file:
std::map<const char*, Config> conf_str_table = {
{ "screen_size", Config::screen_size },
{ "window_name", Config::window_name },
{ "cam_mov", Config::cam_mov },
};
void FileManager::GetConfigFromFile()
{
std::ifstream* tmp = new std::ifstream(config_file_name);
std::string* current_line = new std::string;
std::pair<Config, std::string>* current_config = new std::pair<Config, std::string>;
if (tmp->is_open()) {
while (std::getline(*tmp, *current_line)) {
// ignoring comments
if (current_line->at(0) == '#')
continue;
bool is_reading_value = false;
std::string* tmp_conf = new std::string;
std::string* tmp_value = new std::string;
for (auto c : *current_line) {
if (c == ' ')
continue;
if (c == '=') {
is_reading_value = true;
continue;
}
if (is_reading_value) {
tmp_value->push_back(c);
} else {
tmp_conf->push_back(c);
}
}
Config* conf_ptr = new Config;
if (auto search = conf_str_table.find(tmp_conf->c_str()); search != conf_str_table.end()) {
*conf_ptr = search->second;
} else {
}
delete tmp_conf;
current_config->first = *conf_ptr;
current_config->second = *tmp_value;
delete tmp_value;
}
delete current_line;
delete current_config;
} else {
}
delete tmp;
}
and Here is the Class (most of these are not fully implemented yet)
#pragma once
#include "raywin.h"
#include <fstream>
#include <map>
#include <raylib.h>
#include <vector>
constexpr const char* config_file_name = "config.cfg";
enum class Config {
screen_size,
window_name,
cam_mov,
};
enum class Config_Error {
property_not_found,
config_file_not_found,
};
struct FileManager {
/*
CANNOT throw exceptions !
if an error occurs it will load
default settings and notify the user
*/
void GetConfigFromFile();
int GetInt(std::string& key);
std::string GetString(std::string& key);
double GetDouble(std::string& key);
Vector2 GetVector2(std::string& key);
void ErrorUseDefaultConfig(Config_Error& err);
private:
std::map<Config, std::string> values = {
{ Config::screen_size, "1920x1080" },
{ Config::window_name, "Untitled" },
{ Config::cam_mov, "0.05" },
};
};
the error occurs on conf_ptr
NASA is targeting Friday, September 6, for the return flight of Boeing Space’s troubled Starliner spacecraft, the agency revealed on Thursday.
The vehicle will come home from the International Space Station (ISS) nearly three months later than originally planned and without the crew that it arrived with. The flight, the outcome of which could determine the Starliner’s future, is expected to take about six hours, NASA said in a blog post on Thursday.
“After undocking [at 6:04 p.m. ET], the Starliner will take about six hours to reach the landing zone at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico,” NASA said in the post. “The spacecraft will touch down about 12:03 a.m. on Saturday, September 7, descending under parachutes and with inflated airbags to cushion the impact.”
The Starliner has been docked at the ISS since early June after completing its first-ever crewed flight, with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore taking the ride.
But as it approached the ISS on June 6, issues emerged with some of the spacecraft’s thrusters. Several helium leaks were also detected.
The thrusters are key in guiding the Starliner toward its reentry point into Earth’s atmosphere for the trip home, and so NASA paused the return voyage to give it time to learn more about the issue and to confirm if it was safe to put Williams and Wilmore inside the capsule for the return journey.
After much research and deliberation, NASA announced last week that out of an abundance of caution, the two astronauts would instead fly home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in February 2025, with the Starliner returning empty.
And now we have a target date for what’s set to be a crucial flight for Boeing’s space vehicle.
In Thursday’s blog post, NASA said that all being well, the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft will perform a fully autonomous return overseen by flight controllers at Starliner Mission Control in Houston and at Boeing Mission Control Center in Florida.
It added that if the Starliner fails to perform as expected, teams on the ground will be able to remotely command the spacecraft through the necessary maneuvers for a safe undocking, re-entry, and parachute-assisted landing.
But clearly it’s not so confident that it’s willing to put Williams and Wilmore aboard the spacecraft for the journey home.
The current mission is the Starliner’s third flight to date. The first one in December 2019 ended in failure when the vehicle was unable to reach the ISS, though it returned safely. Its second test flight, in 2022, managed to successfully dock with the ISS and also return home.
The ever-increasing competition is firing up the world’s economy, and its effects are finding their way into numerous industries and fields. While the AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industries may seem less prone to these forces and the rising digital technologies because of their presence in the actual physical world, things are starting to change. Companies are beginning to realize the essence of outsourcing some of their needs. Your organization might gain an edge over your competitors by working with architectural millwork design and drafting services.
Architectural millwork, more popularly called architectural woodwork, refers to custom-made wood products featured in the exterior or interior of a commercial or residential building. However, there is more to it than what meets the eye. Architectural millwork is a creative process often involving manual designing, fabricating, and installing intricate structures, including trim, staircases, ornate moldings, casework, and wall paneling.
RELATED: Millwork drafting and design drawings: rates and costs for companies and firms
It is a comprehensive set of architectural shop drawings used to make the piece needed. This piece could be a room’s design element. It can also have a functional purpose, with woodwork typically serving both functional and aesthetic purposes. The users of the space, which can be a commercial or residential property, will see or use the piece. Architectural millworkers usually use fine wood to create stunning designs using intricate cuts. Seasoned millworkers know about various design techniques, practices, and cuts.
They will also use various powered and manual tools to develop semi-custom or custom-made attractive woodwork pieces. Most of the time, architectural woodwork is part of a building’s structure, which is why woodworkers are expected to have a good understanding of other trades. It’s often critical to know the locations and specifications of electricity and plumbing, for example, before woodworking begins. They also need to know the specifications for the build elements like flooring and framing.
Almost anything made of wood and either attached to or built into a building’s exterior can be considered architectural millwork. It can include ceilings, staircases, paneling, shelves, doors, moldings, trim, and cabinets, such as those in kitchens, closets, offices, storage, and bathrooms. A building’s structural elements, like beams and supports, are often classified as part of architectural millwork, although these are more often classified as general carpentry.
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Now that you know the basics of architectural millwork, it’s time to discover how architectural millwork design and drafting services can help your company succeed. Outsourcing these services can work wonders in scaling your business in more ways than you probably know and imagine. Here are the top benefits of working with millwork professionals so that you can focus on the core competencies of your business, enhance your efficiency, and eventually scale your company.
When you outsource your architectural millwork design and drafting needs to a reliable service provider, you can access specialized expertise that you might not have within your team. Many freelance millwork design and drafting services employ highly skilled drafters with proven and tested experience and knowledge in creating detailed and accurate millwork engineering shop drawings. Millwork design drafters are also familiar with the best practices and standards in the industry to ensure that you will be getting only the highest quality drawings.
Companies can also enjoy more savings if they outsource designing and drafting architectural millwork to a third-party provider. Outsourcing means you don’t need to spend large sums of money on pricey infrastructure, equipment, or software. It also means that you can save more money on overhead costs and gain access to top-of-the-line millwork shop drawings.
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Hiring architectural drafting professionals can also help you boost your productivity and efficiency levels. It gives your team more time to focus on their competencies. It will help you cut down lead times and finish projects faster, which will ultimately increase your profitability.
Scaling your business is also very much possible with the help of reliable architectural millwork design and drafting services. When you work with these professionals, adjusting your production capacity to cater to changing demands will be easier. It will help you accept more projects so your business can grow.
You can also access the newest tools and technology if you choose to work with service providers specializing in architectural millwork design and drafting. Architectural detailing experts use cutting-edge tools and software to develop detailed and accurate millwork drafting. It means that you also get to keep up with the industry’s newest best practices and standards to ensure that you will have the highest quality drawings.
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Expansions to new markets will also be easier and faster if you enlist the help of professionals. When you work with these service providers, you can tap into new markets and accept new projects that weren’t probably possible in the past. This will help you boost your profitability and diversify your revenue streams.
Your in-house staff can have more free time to give their all on their core competencies if you outsource architectural drawing services. Thanks to this, you can streamline most, if not all, of your operations and boost your productivity in general. Paying more attention to your company’s core activities will lower costs, increase efficiency, and further grow your business.
You can also become more flexible when you let someone else take on your architectural drafting and design needs. It’s because it will be easier for you to tweak the capacity of your production to cater to the ever-changing demands. As a result, you can take on projects during peak times and consequently cut down your capacity when business is slower. This improved flexibility can optimize your business operations and increase your overall profitability.
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If there’s one crucial thing you need to keep in mind, it’s the fact that not all architectural millwork design and drafting services are made equal. That’s why it’s necessary to be extra careful when choosing the architectural planning and design provider you will be working with. Below are just several of the factors you need to consider during your search for an architectural millwork service provider:
Choose a service provider that can communicate effectively and work closely with your in-house team. They need to collaborate with you to ensure that they will understand all your preferences and needs.
While the price doesn’t represent the quality of a service, it’s still recommended to work with a provider that offers top-notch millwork shop drawings at reasonable prices.
Look for a provider with time-tested expertise and experience in architectural millwork design and drafting services. It would be better if the provider has years of experience in offering their clients excellent millwork engineering shop drawing services.
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Make sure that your chosen architectural design provider can guarantee high-quality work. They should be skilled draftsmen with a steadfast commitment to developing detailed and accurate millwork drafting that can meet your requirements and specifications.
While it’s true that there are lots of benefits associated with working with architectural millwork services, there are also several potential risks you need to consider together with respective strategies to help mitigate them.
Communication barriers are among the primary downsides of outsourcing. The best way to mitigate this challenge is to work with a provider who has a straightforward communication process and is fluent in your language. Choose millwork design drafters with exceptional fluency in the English language and who can engage in effective communication with you.
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Quality concerns are a glaring risk of outsourcing, except if you work with a provider that follows a stringent quality control process.
Security issues are another possible downside of outsourcing. A reliable architectural drafting expert uses secure protocols for data encryption and transfers to ensure your information’s safety at all times.
Last but not least, see to it that you and your architectural millwork partner have an explicit contractual agreement. The agreement should indicate the project’s scope, deliverables, and timelines. They should work hand in hand with you to ensure comprehensive and transparent contractual agreements.
If you’re searching for the best architectural millwork design and drafting services to help your company succeed, Cad Crowd is undoubtedly the best place to be. Teaming up with the right millwork drawings experts for your company can go a long way in helping you grow the business.