All posts tagged: Studio

Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buyer’s Guide: 20+ Differences Compared

Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buyer’s Guide: 20+ Differences Compared

Published by skeptic

In 2025, Apple updated the Mac Studio with the M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips. Apple last year refreshed the Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips, meaning that the ‌Mac Studio‌ faces a formidable competitor that offers “Pro” capabilities at a substantially lower price point. There are now two desktop Macs and four Apple silicon chip options for users who do not need the expandability of the Mac Pro. The ‌Mac Studio‌ starts at $1,999, overshadowing the $599 starting price of the M4 Mac mini and even the $1,399 starting price of the M4 Pro ‌Mac mini‌, so do you need the performance of the ‌Mac Studio‌, or is the humble ‌Mac mini‌ sufficient for your needs? Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two desktop Macs is best for you. The ‌Mac mini‌ and the ‌Mac Studio‌ share some fundamental features, including a familiar, boxy silver aluminum design, two front-facing USB-C ports along with HDMI and ethernet on the rear, and Apple silicon chipsets. …

Pokemon Go Studio Niantic Sold to Scopely in .5B Deal

Pokemon Go Studio Niantic Sold to Scopely in $3.5B Deal

Published by skeptic

In a deal that reshapes the mobile video game landscape, Scopely is acquiring the gaming business of Niantic for $3.5 billion, bringing franchises like Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now into its portfolio. Scopely is the studio behind a number of major mobile games, including IP-driven franchises like Monopoly Go!, Star Trek Fleet Command, and Marvel Strike Force. Now it will have Niantic’s gaming stable, including the ever-popular Pokémon Go, in its portfolio. In addition to the games, Scopely will also acquire Niantic’s companion apps and services Campfire and Wayfarer. The companies say that Niantic’s gaming division has more than 30 million monthly active players, and had more than $1 billion in revenue in 2024. Still, there is no doubt that Pokémon Go is the star attraction of the deal. One of the most popular mobile games of all time, and based on one of the mast famous pieces of intellectual property of all time (in addition to the classic Nintendo games, there are multiple TV shows and movies available), the game has …

Ryan Reynolds Buys Back Maximum Effort Marketing Firm, Merges Studio

Ryan Reynolds Buys Back Maximum Effort Marketing Firm, Merges Studio

Published by skeptic

Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey’s Maximum Effort businesses have been reunited. The Maximum Effort film and TV studio is re-merging with the brand marketing company that was previously sold to the advertising platform MNTN in 2021, a source familiar with the transaction tells The Hollywood Reporter. The deal will see MNTN and Maximum Effort continue to work together via a services agreement, and Reynolds will continue to work as chief creative officer for MNTN. “4 years ago when Maximum Effort Marketing became a part of MNTN, we along with MNTN always contemplated a day when our marketing arm would rejoin Maximum Effort Productions as an independent entity,” a spokesperson for Maximum Effort says. “The original agreements were drafted specifically with this in mind because it’s important for us to maintain our creative freedom. So while we’re structurally going forward as separate entities, the reality is MNTN and Maximum Effort have grown together and will continue our amazing creative partnership. We will remain in lock step with Ryan Reynolds maintaining his role as Chief Creative Officer …

A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Saturday Night Live’s Iconic Studio

A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Saturday Night Live’s Iconic Studio

Published by José

To help cel­e­brate SNL’s 50th anniver­sary, Archi­tec­tur­al Digest has released a new video fea­tur­ing Hei­di Gard­ner, Chloe Fine­man, and Ego Nwodim giv­ing a tour of the Sat­ur­day Night Live set. The show has been broad­cast­ing live from Stu­dio 8H, locat­ed at 30 Rock­e­feller, since SNL first pre­miered in 1975. In this 22-minute tour, you’ll vis­it Stu­dio 8H itself, the Make­up Lab, the wardrobe and hair sta­tions, the dress­ing rooms, and the NBC Page Desk, all while meet­ing some of the crew that makes the show run behind the scenes. Enjoy! If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newslet­ter, please find it here. It’s a great way to see our new posts, all bun­dled in one email, each day. If you would like to sup­port the mis­sion of Open Cul­ture, con­sid­er mak­ing a dona­tion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your con­tri­bu­tions will help us con­tin­ue pro­vid­ing the best free cul­tur­al and edu­ca­tion­al mate­ri­als to learn­ers every­where. You can con­tribute through Pay­Pal, Patre­on, and Ven­mo (@openculture). Thanks! Relat­ed …

SNL host appears stunned as Luigi Mangione is cheered by studio audience

SNL host appears stunned as Luigi Mangione is cheered by studio audience

Published by skeptic

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Saturday Night Live host Colin Jost appeared stunned after Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was cheered by the studio audience. Mangione, 26, who is now facing federal charges in addition to the New York state murder indictment already brought against him, was mentioned as part of the “Weekend Update” segment on Saturday’s show (21 December). When Jost, who is the husband of Scarlett Johansson, mentioned Mangione’s name, it was received with rapturous applause by the studio audience, which took the 42-year-old comedian by surprise. Looking around, unsure how to react to the applause, Jost said, with a hint of confusion: “Yeah… definitely woo.” “You’re wooing for justice, right?” he then awkwardly asked. Continuing the joke, Jost quipped: “Luigi Mangione dropped his extradition fight and was flown from Pennsylvania to New York to face multiple charges. In related news, Bumble exploded.” open …

Affordable Third-Party Mac Studio Storage Upgrades Coming in 2025

Affordable Third-Party Mac Studio Storage Upgrades Coming in 2025

Published by skeptic

French company Polysoft has successfully reverse-engineered Apple’s proprietary storage modules for the Mac Studio and plans to offer more affordable upgrade options starting in January 2025, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The company’s “Studio Drive” modules will be available in 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB capacities, with pricing starting at €399 ($420) for 2TB, €799 ($843) for 4TB, and €1,099 ($1,158) for 8TB – roughly half of what Apple charges for comparable storage upgrades at the time of purchase. Unlike traditional SSDs used in PCs, Apple’s storage modules require specialized engineering because the actual storage controller is built into the M1 and M2 chips rather than being part of the removable module. To develop compatible modules, Polysoft conducted extensive reverse engineering, sacrificing an original Apple module for detailed analysis. The company removed all its small components one by one using a laser station, inventoried them and measured their characteristics, then scanned every layer with a flatbed scanner. From this work, the company then made its own schematics and designed different boards, using the same Kioxia and …

Artist Jean Charles Blais Finds Roman Artifact Behind Studio Walls

Artist Jean Charles Blais Finds Roman Artifact Behind Studio Walls

Published by skeptic

After 35 years of use, Jean Charles Blais’ art studio in Vence, France, sprung a leak. As the painter tells it, a contractor removed a bit of the wall’s plaster coating in search of water, only to find a ghost of ancient Rome. Cradling the studio’s walls was a mosaic from the first or second century CE, when the Romans called this land Vintium. Vintium was a provincial but notable city in Roman Gaul; its legacy endures largely in the architecture of its old town—if you know what to look for—and a modest collection of artifacts, which has just increased in number by one (large bound). Related Articles During the summer maintenance, Blais and the contractor first spotted a Latin inscription. Chipping away the rest of the pale plaster revealed a hidden design, a series of faded, looping florets. “I would see this as the central part of a funerary inscription, probably carved on three of these stones one above the other,” Professor Roger Tomlin of Oxford University said in a statement emailed to ARTnews. Tomlin …

Appcharge raises M as studio demand for DTC platform increases

Appcharge raises $26M as studio demand for DTC platform increases

Published by skeptic

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform Appcharge revealed today that it has raised $26 million in its Series A round. The platform, which offers solutions in mobile games, has grown in popularity as a partner, especially as DTC becomes a viable revenue stream. According to Appcharge, it plans to use the funding to “hyper-scale [its] custom white-label offerings” to support increasing demand for an all-in-one payment solution that increases revenue and engages players. Appcharge allows studios to sell items and currency to players, by way of branded web stores, global payment systems and SDKs for in-app payments. According to the company, its solutions help studios scale paid user growth, increase user retention and maximize profits; Appcharge supports 500 payment methods and 80 currencies. Companies like Appcharge make for appealing partners to mobile game developers as their services spare the studio itself from having to create DTC solutions in-house. Creandum led the round, with Supercell, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Moneta Ventures participating with existing investors Play Ventures, Glilot Capital and angels. Carl Fritjofsson, Creandum general partner, said of the investment, …

Grab Microsoft Visual Studio Pro for – the lowest price yet

Grab Microsoft Visual Studio Pro for $28 – the lowest price yet

Published by skeptic

Amplify your dev work with this deal on Visual Studio Pro 2022 right now.  StackSocial Having in-house development is a massive advantage for many businesses. And having software on hand to help streamline workflows, amplify productivity, and keep projects on track is a must — especially when you can get it at a discount. Right now, Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 for Windows is on sale for only $28 (reg. $499), saving you 94%. Described as a “fully featured development environment,” Visual Studio 2022 is Microsoft’s first 64-bit IDE, and it became its best to date at working with complicated workloads and large-scale projects.  Microsoft Visual Studio Professional users can build across different languages and platforms, which greatly opens up the range of potential projects they can take on.  Visual Studio also comes with automated support systems like IntelliCode, which can understand the context of the code you’re writing, and help add variable names, functions, and more to enable users to code more while typing less. Similar to AI-driven writing assistants, IntellliCode can complete a …

IFPDA Foundation Sells Studio Visits to Raise Money for Grant Programs

IFPDA Foundation Sells Studio Visits to Raise Money for Grant Programs

Published by skeptic

A host of top tier New York-based artists are opening the doors to their studios to benefit the International Fine Print Dealers Association Foundation this November. Eleven artists, including Katherine Bradford, Leonardo Drew, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Jeff Koons, Vera Lutter, Joel Mesler, Marilyn Minter, Tschabalala Self, Joel Shapiro and Mickalene Thomas, are taking part in the STUDIO VISIT benefit sale, which runs live on the IFPDA Foundation’s website from November 9 thought 19.  In a world increasingly driven by events and experiences, selling visits to the studio of an artist that most people know only by articles and internet searches is a novel idea for a fundraiser.  Related Articles Jenny Gibbs, the executive director of the IFPDA and IFPDA Print Fair told ARTnews via email that she reached out to independent curator and publisher Sharon Coplan, who curated the selection of participating artists, because “because she has such a great track record developing projects for nonprofits like the suite of prints she produced to benefit The Metropolitan Museum of Art for their 150th anniversary. When we started talking …