Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A) was an American pioneering animation production company specializing in television commercials made with computer graphics. Founded by Robert Abel and Con Pederson in 1971, RA&A was especially known for their art direction and won many Clio Awards. Abel and his team created some of the most advanced and impressive computer-animated works of their time, including full ray-traced renders and fluid character animation at a time when such things were largely unknown. A variety of high-profile television advertisements, graphics sequences for motion pictures (including The Andromeda Strain and Tron), and work on laserdisc video games such as Cube Quest, put Abel and his team on the map in the early 1980s. The company was also originally commissioned to create the visual effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but were subsequently taken off the project for mishandling funds. The company was also notable on its work for The Jacksons' 1981 music video "Can You Feel It." RA&A was on the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Romaine in the heart of Hollywood, California. RA&A closed in 1987 following an ill-fated merger with now-defunct Omnibus Computer Graphics, Inc., a company which had been based in Toronto. Many people who worked at RA&A went on to other ground-breaking projects, including the founding of Wavefront Technologies, Rhythm & Hues and other studios. Many RA&A people went on to win Academy Awards.
Find It, Fix It
Find It, Fix It is a mobile app developed by the city of Seattle to report non-emergency issues. == History == The City of Seattle launched Find It, Fix It in 2013 for Android and iOS phones to let citizens report potholes, graffiti, and other problems they observe to the city. The app did not support Windows Phone, making it inaccessible to Microsoft employees in the city who used the company's then-supported mobile operating system. In 2015, Mayor Ed Murray led a Find It, Fix It walk with about 100 other people, including police officers, in the University District. Participants were encouraged to use the app to report problems they observed in the neighborhood. Later Find It, Fix It walks have taken place in neighborhoods including Crown Hill, First Hill, Belltown, Wallingford, and Highland Park. In 2020, Find It, Fix It added support for reporting issues with the dockless bicycle sharing systems in the city. Citing the success of Seattle’s app, the nearby city of Kent, Washington, announced that it would create a similar customer service app. == Usage == Users of Find It, Fix It can submit reports about graffiti, potholes, parking violations, broken street signs, and other issues. The app is designed to use a smartphone’s camera and GPS features to make it easier for users to file reports. The Atlantic reported in 2018 that Find It, Fix It was being used by neighborhood groups to report homeless encampments with the intention of having authorities remove them, citing examples of campaigns in Ravenna and Ballard. The executive director of Ballard Alliance, a local chamber of commerce for businesses in the neighborhood, used a private Facebook group to encourage business owners to use the app to report homeless encampments. In response to a poster campaign in the summer of 2019 with the slogan “See a tent? Report a tent”, a representative for the mayor’s office and two Seattle City Council members said that it was inappropriate to encourage use of Find It, Fix It to displace homeless people. As a backlash to these campaigns, people living far from Seattle filed hoax complaints using the app, such as by using photos of tents on display at REI stores. According to the Seattle Times, between January 1, 2020, and November 15, 2021, the city had received over 230,000 service requests, of which 77% were submitted via Find It, Fix It. The largest category of these, numbering over 55,000, concerned illegal dumping. Of complaints categorized as "parking", 3,000 had comments explicitly mentioning issues around homelessness. The ZIP code 98134, covering an industrial area south of Pioneer Square and north of Georgetown, had 5,559 service requests per 1,000 residents, by far the highest in the city.
SpreeAI
SpreeAI (stylized as SPREEAI) is an American fashion technology company headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada that develops artificial intelligence software for the apparel and retail industries, including photorealistic virtual try-on, AI-powered sizing recommendations, and digital model generation. Founded in 2022 by John Imah and Bob Davidson, the company achieved unicorn status in 2025 following a Series B round led by Davidson Group that valued the company at approximately US$1.5 billion. TechCrunch identified SpreeAI as one of the more than 100 new tech unicorns minted in 2025. Its board of directors includes supermodel Naomi Campbell and hospitality executive Larry Ruvo. == History == SpreeAI was founded in 2022 by John Imah and Bob Davidson with a focus on artificial intelligence applications in fashion retail. By 2024, the company had raised approximately US$60 million in venture funding. In May 2025, SpreeAI announced a Series B round led by Davidson Group; reporting at the time placed the company's valuation at approximately US$1.5 billion, making it one of a small number of fashion-technology companies to reach unicorn status. In January 2026, TechCrunch listed SpreeAI among the more than 100 new tech unicorns minted in 2025. == Technology == SpreeAI develops a suite of artificial intelligence tools for the apparel industry. Its consumer-facing platform allows shoppers to upload a single photograph or select a digital model and then visualize clothing items on that figure with photorealistic rendering, while a complementary sizing engine generates fit recommendations intended to reduce returns. The platform is designed for integration with online retailers so that shoppers can preview garments before purchase. The company has stated that its models were developed in part through research collaborations with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University. == Leadership and board == John Imah, a Nigerian-American technology executive who previously held roles at Samsung, Twitch, Meta Platforms, and Snap Inc., is co-founder and chief executive officer. Co-founder Bob Davidson, through Davidson Group, led the company's Series B financing. The company's board of directors includes supermodel Naomi Campbell, who joined in 2024, and Las Vegas hospitality executive Larry Ruvo. == Partnerships == SpreeAI has formed partnerships across both academia and the fashion industry. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). In 2025, SpreeAI entered a partnership with the CFDA to support American designers and brands with AI-driven tools; the CFDA described SpreeAI as "a fashion technology leader delivering innovative solutions to help designers and brands thrive." Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University. The company has cited ongoing research and talent collaborations with both institutions. Sergio Hudson and Kai Collective. In 2025, SpreeAI made what WWD described as its Met Gala debut through a custom collaboration with designer Sergio Hudson and Nigerian-British label Kai Collective; the collaboration paired Hudson's couture with SpreeAI's virtual try-on platform. == Recognition == In 2025, TechCrunch named SpreeAI among the new tech unicorns of the year. In 2025, SpreeAI was named an honoree in Inc.'s Best in Business awards, and CEO John Imah was included on Inc.'s list of 40 business leaders who "propelled their organizations to success." In 2025, Imah was named to the Observer's AI Power Index, a list of 100 leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence. In 2025, Imah was included in AfroTech's Future 50, recognizing Black innovators in technology. SpreeAI and Imah have been the subject of profile coverage in The Washington Post, Rolling Stone UK, WWD, Vogue UA, L'Officiel Arabia, GQ South Africa, and Inc..
Warframe
Warframe is a free-to-play action role-playing third-person shooter multiplayer online game developed and published by Digital Extremes. First released for Windows in March 2013, it was later ported to PlayStation 4 in November 2013, Xbox One in September 2014, Nintendo Switch in November 2018, PlayStation 5 in November 2020, Xbox Series X/S in April 2021, iOS in February 2024, Android in Canada on February 11, 2026 followed by a global release on February 18, 2026, and was released on Nintendo Switch 2 on March 25, 2026. Support for cross-platform play was released in 2022. Cross-platform save began in December 2023, rolling out in waves to different groups of players before becoming fully available to all players in January 2024. In Warframe, a player controls a member of the Tenno, a caste of ancient warriors who have awoken from centuries of suspended animation far into Earth's future to find themselves at war with different factions in the Origin System. The Tenno use their powered Warframes, along with a variety of weapons and abilities, to complete missions. While many of the game's missions use procedurally generated levels, it also includes large open world areas similar to other massively multiplayer online games, as well as some story-specific missions with fixed level design. The game includes elements of shooting and melee games, parkour, and role-playing to allow players to advance their Tenno with improved gear. The game features both player versus environment and player versus player elements. It is supported by microtransactions, allowing players to purchase in-game items with money, while also offering the option to earn them at no cost through grinding. The concept for Warframe originated in 2000 when Digital Extremes began work on a new game titled Dark Sector. At the time, the company had been successful in supporting other developers and publishers but wanted to develop its own game in-house. Dark Sector suffered several delays and was eventually released in 2008, incorporating some of the initial framework but differing significantly from the original plan. By 2012, in the wake of the success of free-to-play games, the developers took their earlier Dark Sector ideas and art assets and incorporated them into a new project, their self-published Warframe. Initially, the growth of Warframe was slow, hindered by moderate critical reviews and low player counts. However, since its release, the game has experienced significant growth. It is one of Digital Extremes' most successful titles, reaching nearly 50 million registered players by 2019. == Plot == Warframe is set in a far future version of the Solar System, now known as the Origin System. At the start of the game players are given control of members of the Tenno, warriors who have awoken from a millennia-long cryosleep on Earth by the Lotus, who acts as a guide for the player. They join an interplanetary war between the Grineer, a violent war-driven matriarchal race of militarized human clones; the Corpus, a cult-like megacorporation dedicated to profit; the Infested, disfigured victims of the Technocyte virus; the Sentients, a race of self-replicating machines made by a long-dead transhuman race known as the Orokin; and the Corrupted, brainwashed variants of the previous three factions' units defending ancient Orokin towers. All of the factions encountered in the game, including the Tenno, were created by or are splinter groups of the old Orokin Empire, which the Tenno learns was an ancient fallen civilization and former reigning power in the Origin System. Although virtually all of them are long dead by the time of the Tenno's awakening, their lingering presence can still be felt throughout the Origin System. Before their fall, the Orokin had realized the Origin System was becoming dangerously depleted of resources, and their solution to keep their empire alive was to colonize new star systems. The Orokin sent out colony ships through the Void, a trans-dimensional space that enabled fast travel between stellar systems. They had also sent out the Sentients beforehand, to arrive in the Tau system first, and terraform it, so the colonists would arrive to garden worlds, capable of supporting human life. None of these residential ships returned, and those they had loaded with Sentients returned with the Sentients now deciding to wipe out the Orokin, leading to the Old War, the creation of the Tenno, and finally, the collapse of the Empire. In the game's "The Second Dream" quest, which was introduced in December 2015, the player discovers that the Lotus is a Sentient known as Natah, rebelling against the Sentients to protect the Tenno, desiring to have surrogate children after losing her ability to procreate. The Lotus' father, Hunhow, sends a vengeful assassin called the Stalker to Lua (the remains of Earth's Moon), which the Lotus had hidden in the Void, to find its secret. The Lotus dispatches the Tenno there to stop the Stalker, arriving too late as the Stalker unveils the entity that the Lotus had protected: a human child known as the Operator, who is the real Tenno controlling the Warframes through the course of the game. The Operator is one of several Tenno children that survived the passage of the Zariman Ten 0 colony ship through the Void; the adults have all gone mad from its travel. When the ship returned to the Orokin Empire, the children had all been put to sleep for thousands of years, outlasting the fall of the Empire, to be found by the Lotus and becoming the Tenno (Tenno short for the "Ten Zero" of the ship's name). The power of the Void gave these children the power of Transference, an ability that allows them to control Warframes. From this point forward, the player can then engage in missions both as the Warframe and the Operator. Throughout various updates, various quests have been released after the Second Dream that elaborates on the story. "The War Within" quest introduced the Grineer Queens, rulers of the Grineer, and their asteroid-based Kuva Fortress, also giving the Operator the ability to act fully on their own as another playable entity, rather than a single-use attack. Quests afterward would introduce figures such as "The Man In The Wall," a mysterious entity, presumably from the Void, who takes on the visage of whoever sees them, most often as the playable Operator, and Ballas, one of the last living Orokin, assumed to be responsible for creating the Warframes. == Gameplay == Warframe is an online action game that includes elements of shooters, RPG, and stealth games. The player starts with a silent pseudo-protagonist in the form of an anthropomorphous biomechanical combat unit called a 'Warframe', possessing supernatural agility and special abilities, a selection of weapons (primary, secondary, and melee) and a space ship called an 'Orbiter'. The Orbiter is supported by a Cephalon, a type of Artificial Intelligence created from the minds of living people. The Cephalon in the player's Orbiter is named Ordis, and refers to the player as 'Operator'. The player's primary goal from this point is to explore the Origin System. Later in the course of the game, the player unlocks the ability to gain direct control of the Operator, which is the true Tenno protagonist in physical form. The Operator can physically manifest themselves in the environment by projecting out of the Warframe, and disappear by resuming control of it through a telekinetic process called 'Transference'. The Operator also possesses weapons and abilities of their own. After that, the Operator can use Transference to control a larger, purely mechanical combat unit called a 'Necramech', which is the technological precursor to the Warframes. Players can engage in space-bound combat using an auxiliary combat platform called 'Archwing', mounted on a Warframe, which comes with a unique set of abilities. 'Archguns' are heavy weapons designed for Archwings and Necramechs, but can be adapted for Warframe use. Late in 2019, an update to the game allowed players to pilot and manage a spacefaring gunship called the 'Railjack', which is deployed in combat, unlike the Orbiter. Railjack was designed as a co-op experience with up to four people working together, performing different tasks to keep the ship operational while destroying enemy ships and completing objectives. A Railjack-focused update was released in 2021, which brought expanded content and a new skill tree system aimed at making solo play more accessible. Through the Orbiter's console, the player can select any of the missions available to them. To progress through the Solar System, players must complete mission 'nodes' on each planet to reach Junctions, and use these Junctions to travel to other planets. Other missions rotate over time as part of the game's living universe; these can include missions with special rewards and community challenges to allow all players to reap benefits if they are successfully met. High-di
Split Up (expert system)
Split Up is an intelligent decision support system, which makes predictions about the distribution of marital property following divorce in Australia. It is designed to assist judges, registrars of the Family Court of Australia, mediators and lawyers. Split Up operates as a hybrid system, combining rule – based reasoning with neural network theory. Rule based reasoning operates within strict parameters, in the form: IF < condition(s) > then
View synthesis
In computer graphics, view synthesis, or novel view synthesis, is a task which consists of generating images of a specific subject or scene from a specific point of view, when the only available information is pictures taken from different points of view. This task was only recently (late 2010s – early 2020s) tackled with significant success, mostly as a result of advances in machine learning. Notable successful methods are Neural radiance fields and 3D Gaussian Splatting. Applications of view synthesis are numerous, one of them being Free view point television. The technique has also been applied to real-estate marketing, where novel views of a listing's interior are generated from a limited set of photographs for use in virtual home staging.
Someday (short story)
"Someday" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the August 1956 issue of Infinity Science Fiction and reprinted in the collections Earth Is Room Enough (1957), The Complete Robot (1982), Robot Visions (1990), and The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990). == Plot summary == The story is set in a future where computers play a central role in organizing society. Humans are employed as computer operators, but they leave most of the thinking to machines. Indeed, whilst binary programming is taught at school, reading and writing have become obsolete. The story concerns a pair of boys who dismantle and upgrade an old Bard, a child's computer whose sole function is to generate random fairy tales. The boys download a book about computers into the Bard's memory in an attempt to expand its vocabulary, but the Bard simply incorporates computers into its standard fairy tale repertoire. The story ends with the boys excitedly leaving the room after deciding to go to the library to learn "squiggles" (writing) as a means of passing secret messages to one another. As they leave, one of the boys accidentally kicks the Bard's on switch. The Bard begins reciting a new story about a poor mistreated and often ignored robot called the Bard, whose sole purpose is to tell stories, which ends with the words: "the little computer knew then that computers would always grow wiser and more powerful until someday—someday—someday—…"