Jersey City joins a growing list of cities that are banning algorithmic rent-setting software provided by RealPage that tenant advocates say artificially raises rents.

As Jared Brey explains in Governing, “Services like RealPage use data shared by property owners, including information about apartment sizes and nearby rents and vacancy rates, to recommend a lease rate. Sometimes, those recommendations result in drastic swings in rent, often much higher than what a landlord or property manager might charge in a traditional setting.” According to  Jersey City Councilmember James Solomon, “the algorithm ‘magnifies’ the harm done by landlords sharing non-public data about their properties.”

Efforts to ban the software at the state level have failed in Washington and Colorado. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, vetoed a law passed by the state legislature, citing existing laws against price fixing and calling for a bill that offers more clarity on “non-collusive uses of nonpublic competitor data.” However, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Berkeley have all recently passed bans on the software, and other cities are considering similar legislation.

• Jersey City
• Rent Setting
• Rent Fixing
• Algorithms
• RealPage
• Landlords
• Rent
• Housing Costs
• Tenants

We don’t have flying cars, jetpacks haven’t replaced walking, and I have not seen a single sign that we’re all pivoting to wearing matching silver jumpsuits. The future is kind of lame. But there’s one thing about living in the future that’s pretty rad: you definitely don’t need that old scanner anymore.

SwiftScan VIP is a scanner tool that basically replaces half of your old office equipment with an app that works on iOS and Android devices. It’s also a lot cheaper than some desktop scanners, and you don’t need to replace it every few years. During this limited-time sale, you can get a SwiftScan VIP Lifetime Subscription for only $41.99 (it’s usually $199.99).

If someone slapped a desktop scanner on the lid and said it would last forever, you’d ship them to the circus because that’s clown talk. With SwiftScan, the lifetime license is just part of the package, and it’s not even the best part.

SwiftScan is fast, intuitive, and designed to handle everything from simple one-page receipts to full-on PDF documents with annotations, signatures, and even redacted sections. You can scan, edit, and organize your files right on your phone, and then send them via email, fax, or upload them straight to your cloud storage of choice.

It even supports multi-page scans, so you can scan a whole stack of notes or paperwork and turn them into a single file in just a few taps. Optical character recognition (OCR) means your scanned text becomes searchable, and smart file naming helps keep everything organized.

Whether you’re dealing with work documents, receipts for taxes, or your kid’s field trip form that’s due tomorrow, SwiftScan makes it ridiculously easy to scan and send with no extra hardware.

Use code TAKE30 to get a SwiftScan VIP Lifetime Subscription for $41.99.

StackSocial prices subject to change

_

SwiftScan VIP: Lifetime Subscription

See Deal

The post The best part of the future is finally having a permanent replacement for this annoying technology appeared first on Popular Science.

• Volume/brightness overlays – The traditional large overlays that appear when you adjust volume and brightness are gone, and have been replaced with smaller, oblong overlays that appear in the top-right of the screen under the menu bar, notification-style.



• Background apps – macOS now notifies you via a new popup when apps attempt to run a daemon after they have been closed. You can "Always Allow" the background process to run or you can deny it permission.



• Unified Safari URL Bar – Safari no longer offers the option to unify the tab bar and the address bar (the Compact tab layout setting), perhaps because it wasn't popular with users. Apple could always reinstate it in a later beta version.



• Spotlight Clipboard Access – Spotlight can now search clipboard history, including items from Universal Clipboard.



• Finder icon – Apple has flipped the color of the classic Finder icon in Tahoe. The blue is now on the right side of the face instead of the left, and it has been given a glassy cast in the Liquid Glass style.



• Clear Look – Apple has added a third "Clear" system appearance to go alongside the existing Dark mode and Light mode options. Clear Look adds a glassy translucent appearance to app icons and widgets. There are also colorful new light and dark tint options for icons and widgets, similar to iOS.



• Menu bar items – Users now have more granular control over which apps can add menu bar items, with toggles in settings to turn off menu bar items for individual apps.



• Games App – Apple's new Games app lists all the games installed on your Mac, even if they weren't downloaded from the App Store.



• PS5 controller options – A new Game Controllers settings menu lets you remap and customize PlayStation controllers, right down to the level of haptic feedback and even the lightbar color.



• Lock Screen Clock – In Wallpaper settings, you can now change the style of the Lock Screen clock, just like in iOS 18.



• Control Center – Like iOS, you can now customize the layout of Control Center, with the ability to add third-party app controls, including apps installed on your iPhone (which launch iPhone Mirroring when clicked). These controls can also appear in the menu bar.



• Safari – Safari now has a transparent address bar, and colors from webpages shine through the browser's main toolbar.



• Spotlight – Suggested apps listed in Spotlight include iPhone apps, which are opened with iPhone Mirroring. Spotlight can also now search through an active app's menu bar items.



• Live Activities – macOS Tahoe can display an iPhone's Live Activities directly in the menu bar.



• Game app – The new Game app comes with a Game Overlay that appears onscreen while you play. The overlay offers social features like friend invites and chat, along with quick access to system settings such as Low Power Mode.



• Image Playground – Image Playground can now use ChatGPT to create more realistic pictures based on your prompts.



• Folder icon customization – You can now customize the look of individual folders with the use of emojis and other select glyphs.



• Quick Keys – You can assign Quick Keys to individual actions, allowing you to add a reminder by typing "ar" into Spotlight, for example.

L’ebook realizzato da ASSOBIM, con il contributo di un gruppo di lavoro altamente qualificato, rappresenta un'importante risorsa per comprendere e promuovere l’integrazione tra BIM e GIS nel contesto della progettazione, gestione e digitalizzazione del costruito.

Il testo si distingue per un taglio pratico e formativo, pensato per operatori tecnici, progettisti, pubbliche amministrazioni e professionisti della digitalizzazione.
Un contributo significativo dell’ebook è aver posto la georeferenziazione al centro del discorso sull’interoperabilità tra BIM e GIS. È questo l’elemento tecnico e concettuale che permette ai modelli BIM – nati in ambito edilizio – di dialogare con i dati territoriali propri del GIS.

Il documento sottolinea con chiarezza che:
• la collaborazione tra BIM e GIS è possibile solo se entrambi operano in un sistema di coordinate comune;
• ciò che è scontato in ambiente GIS (l’uso di riferimenti spaziali precisi) è ancora carente in molti workflow BIM verticali, soprattutto in ambito architettonico e impiantistico;
• le infrastrutture, per loro natura “territoriali”, sono invece già più compatibili con il linguaggio del GIS.
La georeferenziazione diventa così la base necessaria per costruire Digital Twin, integrare rilievi, predisporre simulazioni ambientali, valutare alternative progettuali e monitorare il ciclo di vita dell’opera pubblica. Un aspetto oggi reso ancora più strategico dalle richieste normative, dai CAM e dalla crescente attenzione alla sostenibilità ambientale.
Norme e strumenti

Il documento fornisce un utile aggiornamento sulle norme UNI 11337 (in particolare le parti 6 e 12) e sul nuovo Codice dei Contratti Pubblici (D.Lgs. 36/2023), che sancisce il ruolo del GIS nella redazione del DOCFAP e del PFTE.
Fondamentale anche il richiamo al formato IFC 4.3, finalmente in grado di supportare pienamente la georeferenziazione nei modelli BIM.

Oltre agli aspetti normativi e concettuali, l’ebook presenta:
• un catalogo delle principali banche dati GIS open in Italia,
• una panoramica delle applicazioni software (ArcGIS, QGIS, Civil 3D, InfraWorks, ecc.),
• indicazioni chiare sulle procedure di interoperabilità e sui formati da adottare.

ASSOBIM riesce in un intento ambizioso: rendere la georeferenziazione non un dettaglio tecnico, ma la leva culturale e operativa per un vero dialogo tra il mondo della progettazione e quello del territorio.
Questo ebook è un riferimento essenziale per chi intende superare i silos tecnologici e abbracciare pienamente il paradigma della digitalizzazione aperta e integrata.

Può essere  scaricato dalla seguente pagina:

https://www.assobim.it/assobim-pubblica-le-book-bim-e-gis-integrazione-e-collaborazione/

Archeologists have spent over a decade excavating an ancient graveyard in western Iran known as Chegla Sofla. The Copper Age site contains a trove of skeletal remains, offering insight about regional life approximately 6,200 years ago, and even contains the oldest-known tomb constructed from brick. 

However, one of the most recent finds isn’t a feat of engineering, but of body modification: the skull of a young girl with distinct evidence of cranial modification. And according to the team’s conclusions recently detailed in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, she died from head trauma—but it’s unclear what or who caused it.

The practice of artificial head elongation has been documented across cultures around the world dating back millennia, including societies in Eurasia, Africa, South America, and the Americas. The desired results were typically accomplished by tightly binding a child’s head with cloth bandages for years in order to mold their pliable cranial bones into the desired conical shape. Some of the earliest examples date to 9th millennium BCE proto-Neolithic groups living in present-day Iraq. But based on discoveries at Chegla Sofla, similar traditions extended well into the 5th millennium.

Archeologists including experts at Iran’s Tarbiat Modares University analyzed the remains to better understand their subject after excavating the skull of a young woman estimated to be under 20 years old. To do this, the team used computing tomography (CT) scanning to assess both her cranial bones and diploe—the spongy part of bones that function as shock absorbers. They determined her skull was thinner than usual—a feature indicative of cranial binding.

CT scans also revealed a fracture extending from the front of the skull all the way to the rear with no signs of healing. The injury’s severity is particularly prominent in the form of a triangular fracture along the left parietal bone’s sagittal border.

Further examination made it clear the injury was inflicted by a blunt object that did not penetrate the cranial vault. But beyond these findings, it’s hard to know the circumstances surrounding her death.

“We know this woman experienced the fracture in the final moments of her life, but we don’t have any direct evidence to say that someone intentionally struck her,” study lead author Mahdi Alirezazadeh told Live Science.

While cranial elongation resulted in thinner bones more prone to fracturing, it seems clear that even a naturally developed skull wouldn’t have fared well against the injury.

“It should be noted that the blow was so severe that it would have fractured a normal, unmodified skull as well,” explained Alirezazadeh.

Unfortunately, there’s little else currently available that might clarify the woman’s final moments. Although her skull has been recovered, the same can’t be said for the rest of her skeleton. Her remains were found in a mass grave at Chegla Sofla, so it may be a while before experts match the skull to other bones.

The post Ancient cone-shaped skull shows signs of fatal trauma appeared first on Popular Science.

• Enable Significant Locations & Routes in Location Services.


• Set Weather app location access to “Always”.


• Turn on Severe Weather notifications in the Weather app settings.

1. A new Liquid Glass design with shimmery app icons and a translucent interface that reflects and refracts the surrounding colors


2. There is a redesigned tab bar in apps


3. A new "Clear" option for Home Screen app icons and widgets, alongside the existing "Light" and "Dark" options


4. On the Lock Screen, the clock dynamically adapts to fill empty space


5. On the Lock Screen, there is an option to view full-screen album artwork


6. Polls in group chats in the Messages app


7. Add a custom background to any conversation in the Messages app


8. You can now send and receive Apple Cash in group chats in the Messages app


9. Typing indicators are now visible in group chats in the Messages app


10. There is a new "Add Contact" button in group chats in the Messages app


11. A new "Select" option in the Messages app lets you select a portion of text within a message bubble


12. Messages app can screen messages from unknown senders, placing them into an Unknown Senders folder


13. Messages app has gained natural language search


14. Hold Assist can wait on hold for you during a phone call, and notify you when the live agent is ready for you


15. Call Screening automatically answers unknown callers, and asks for their name and the reason for their call, before your iPhone rings


16. Live Translation for calls and texts across the Phone, FaceTime, and Messages apps


17. A preinstalled Apple Games app lets you discover games, in-game events, and compete with friends with new challenges


18. A preinstalled Preview app lets you create, edit, annotate, markup, and export PDFs, plus crop, flip, rotate, and resize images


19. Photos app is now split into Library and Collections tabs


20. Relevant video thumbnails are now shown in search results in the Photos app


21. In the Photos app, you can create 3D spatial versions of photos, which was previously only possible using the Apple Vision Pro


22. Camera app has a simpler design with Video and Photo tabs


23. In the Camera app, you will receive an alert if a camera lens needs to be cleaned, so long as "Lens Cleaning Hints" is toggled on in the Settings app


24. The screenshot editing interface has been slightly redesigned


25. In the Settings app, you can now turn off CarPlay screenshots under General → Screen Capture, so that taking a screenshot on your iPhone does not also generate a CarPlay screenshot while the device is connected to CarPlay


26. In the Settings app, can now turn off iCloud Drive syncing via cellular data


27. Phone app now has an optional all-in-one layout that combines Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails


28. Phone app now supports screen sharing and SharePlay during phone calls


29. Phone app offers new Monogram styles for contacts


30. A new Focus mode lets you silence an individual SIM


31. Journal app now lets you create multiple journals


32. Journal app entries can now be viewed on a map


33. Journal app now lets images be added inline with text


34. Passwords app now shows password history


35. Safari now has three layouts: Compact, Bottom, and Top


36. Safari now offers advanced fingerprinting protection for all browsing by default


37. Tips app now offers step-by-step guides for troubleshooting common iPhone issues


38. You can now test AirPods beta firmware directly via the Settings app


39. You can start recording video in the Camera app by pressing and holding on the stem of AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro 2


40. AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 now offer studio-quality audio recording


41. AirPods can now detect when you fall asleep and automatically pause audio


42. You are now notified when your AirPods are fully charged


43. You can be reminded to charge your AirPods when their battery life is low


44. AirPods audio can now automatically switch to CarPlay as necessary


45. You can now set a custom snooze duration of 1 to 15 minutes in the Clock app


46. Visual Intelligence now works with on-screen content, so you can ask ChatGPT questions about what you are looking at


47. Visual Intelligence can now read aloud and summarize screenshots with text


48. Genmoji can now combine two standard emoji into one custom one


49. Image Playground offers new ChatGPT image styles, including Oil Painting, Watercolor, Vector, Anime, and Print


50. In the Shortcuts app, there is a new set of shortcuts powered by Apple Intelligence


51. Apple Music lets you pin playlists, albums, and artists at the top of the Library tab


52. Apple Music lets you create playlist folders


53. Lyrics translation for Apple Music songs


54. AutoMix for Apple Music can seamlessly mix from one song to the next like a DJ


55. Live Activities support for boarding passes in the Apple Wallet app


56. Wallet app now displays relevant information below the boarding pass, such as Apple Maps directions to the appropriate airport terminal, and a shortcut to the Find My app's baggage tracking feature


57. Create a digital ID in the Wallet app using your U.S. passport, for age and identity verification in supported apps, and at select stores and TSA checkpoints


58. In participating U.S. states, "Verify with Wallet on the Web" enables you to present your driver's license or state ID in the Wallet app to websites for age and identity verification, starting with Chime, Turo, Uber Eats, and U.S. Bank, as well as the Arizona MVD, Georgia DDS, and Maryland MVA


59. You can now manage AutoFill credit cards in the Wallet app


60. When toggled on, a new Adaptive Power mode can make small adjustments to extend battery life, such as by slightly lowering display brightness or allowing certain background activities to take longer


61. In the Settings app, you can see how long it will take for your iPhone's battery to achieve a full charge when the device is charging


62. The entire Battery section of the Settings app was overhauled


63. A new "Keep Audio in Headphones" setting prevents audio from automatically switching to newly connected devices, like car speakers or Bluetooth speakers, when you are already listening through AirPods or other headphones
    
64. You can now access a list of blocked contacts via the Settings app


65. Safety Check is now an option when blocking a contact


66. Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada can play a new Emoji Game


67. A new set of Background Sounds include Babble, Steam, Airplane, Boat, Bus, Train, Rain on Roof, and Quiet Night


68. The so-called Home bar at the bottom of the screen is now hidden more often


69. Weather via satellite will allow you to receive the latest forecast information while outside of Wi-Fi or cellular range


70. In the Notes app, notes can be exported as a Markdown file


71. With Apple Intelligence, the Reminders app can suggest tasks, grocery items, and follow-ups based on emails or other text on your device


72. Apple Intelligence can automatically categorize reminders in the Reminders app


73. You can now create reminders in the Reminders app via the Action button


74. Apple Maps can now learn your commute between home and work, and notify you if there are any significant delays along your typical route, and offer alternate routes if available


75. Apple Maps can intelligently detect and save the places that you frequently visit and spend time in, such as restaurants or stores


76. Apple Maps now lets you choose from additional types of incidents on the "Report an Incident" screen


77. You can use an iPhone as a wireless microphone for the Apple Music Sing feature on the Apple TV 4K (3rd generation)


78. In the Apple Podcasts app, there are now a wider range of playback speed options, from 0.5x to 3x


79. In the Apple Podcasts app, an Enhance Dialogue option lets you hear speech more clearly over background sounds


80. In the Apple Wallet app, Apple Intelligence can now automatically identify, summarize, and display order tracking details from emails sent from merchants or delivery carriers


81. Apple Pay now lets you use rewards and installments for in-store purchases


82. Custom Plans in Apple Fitness+ now automatically create a personalized schedule based on users' workout and meditation preferences


83. New accessibility features, such as Accessibility Reader and Braille Access


84. Personal Voice can now create a smoother, more natural-sounding replication of your voice in less than a minute, using only 10 recorded phrases


85. Vehicle Motion Cues has gained new options to further help reduce motion sickness


86. Parents can now create or move kids into Child Accounts even more easily


87. Parents can grant an exception for their child to download an app with an age rating that exceeds the app content restriction they set


88. Enhancements across Communication Limits, Communication Safety, and the App Store include parental approvals for contact requests from kids, and blurring out sensitive content in FaceTime calls and photos in Shared Albums


89. There is a new "Transfer From Android" option during eSIM setup


90. Wi-Fi Aware is now supported


91. You can now sync captive Wi-Fi portal login information across Apple devices


92. Arabic calculator


93. Multiscript keyboard for Arabic/English


94. You can now specify spelling while using the Dictation feature


95. Liquid Glass design extends to CarPlay when using an iPhone running iOS 26


96. CarPlay now can now show Live Activities on the Dashboard screen


97. CarPlay can now display widgets for things like calendar appointments and Home app accessory controls (previously CarPlay Ultra only)


98. CarPlay now has a compact view for incoming phone calls


99. CarPlay now shows pinned conversations in the Messages app


100. CarPlay now lets you respond to messages with the standard set of Tapbacks in the Messages app

The osprey didn’t get its “fish hawk” nickname by chance. The raptor is the only bird known to possess specially designed feet and claws for snatching prey from the water. Its talons curve more than other avians, and spines on the pads of its feet work like barbs to grab fish scales. The birds can even rotate their outer toes so that two digits face forward while the other two face in the opposite direction, allowing them to better clasp their prey while flying.

While they generally target prey less than 12 inches long, occasionally an osprey catches something a bit larger than it can handle. Take a situation last month in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There, a man playing through a disc golf course witnessed an osprey drop a sizable hammerhead shark after being beset by crows.

“It’s not uncommon to see an osprey carrying something, but you take note because it’s still really cool to see,” Jonathan Marlowe told Garden & Gun magazine.

As it flew above the course’s 11th hole, a pair of crows attacked the osprey in what’s known as “mobbing.” The aggressive, cooperative technique is utilized by birds to protect territory against predators during breeding season. Although the raptor escaped unscathed, it gave up its meal during evasive maneuvers.

Marlowe initially thought the hawk was carrying a “random fish” likely retrieved from the nearby Atlantic Ocean—but he was surprised by what he found after walking over to examine the lost prey.

“We couldn’t believe it and kept asking ourselves, ‘did that really just happen?'” he said.

The osprey had given up a hammerhead shark. Known for its distinctive head shape called a cephalofoil, there are 10 known species around the world, with several populating the southern US coasts along the Atlantic. Three species are known to roam the waters near South Carolina according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources—the bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo), scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), and great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran). As LiveScience notes, a new, rare species known as the Carolina hammerhead (Sphyrna gilbert) was also discovered around the same region in 2013.

It’s unclear which species plopped onto the disc golf course. Instead of retrieving it, Marlowe opted to leave it where it lay just in case the osprey returned for its meal.

The post Osprey drops hammerhead shark onto disc golf field appeared first on Popular Science.

Parks are far more than recreational amenities; they are essential public infrastructure that support health, safety, and community well-being. Despite this, they are often among the first services to face cuts during fiscal downturns. Research consistently shows that parks help prevent chronic disease, reduce crime, improve mental health, and foster social cohesion — outcomes that translate to significant cost savings and stronger communities. Programs like Los Angeles County’s Parks After Dark demonstrate how free, accessible recreation in underserved areas can lead to measurable health and safety benefits.

Parks also play a crucial role in climate resilience and environmental stewardship. With their cooling tree canopies, stormwater management functions, and capacity to improve air quality, parks serve as natural infrastructure helping communities adapt to climate change. Initiatives like the transformation of former brownfields into vibrant parks show how land restoration can provide environmental, social, and other benefits. These spaces also contribute to decarbonization efforts through native landscaping, renewable energy use, and promotion of active transportation.

Investing in parks yields high returns: for every dollar spent, up to four dollars in economic, environmental, and health benefits are generated. Moreover, equitable park investment advances racial justice and repairs long-standing disparities in access to green space. As communities face compounding crises — from climate stress to social fragmentation — parks emerge as a unifying and stabilizing force. The question is not whether we can afford to fund parks, but whether we can afford not to.

• Parks and Recreation
• Parks
• Parks Access
• Community
• Sustainability

Paws & Porchlight is a new housing concept from the Utah Manufactured Housing Coalition designed to meet the emotional and practical needs of older adults who want to age in place — with their pets and their dignity intact. The proposal features 12 small, energy-efficient cottage homes arranged along a walkable path, each with a porch, a yard, and access to communal spaces like a dog run and garden.

Built for speed, affordability, and community, these HUD-compliant manufactured homes can be installed in under 90 days at around $100,000 per unit. The goal isn’t high density—it’s high quality of life. The project responds to a growing crisis: aging adults being forced into housing that separates them from pets, community, and familiarity.

Paws & Porchlight envisions a village — not a facility — where people can grow old in place, keep their companions, and stay connected to the neighborhoods they helped build.

• Aging Population
• Aging in Place
• Pets
• Older Americans
• Manufactured Housing
• Senior Housing