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Microsoft has today unveiled a bunch of new Surface devices and accessories including the Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2, as well as a brand new set of wireless earbuds – and they're all arriving this month. The announcement comes hot off the heels of Apple announcing its brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro this week, and the most obvious competitor here is the new Surface Book 3, Microsoft's own high-end laptop. Like the MacBook, the new Surface Book features 10th generation Intel CPUs, and Microsoft says it will have a 50% performance boost over the Surface Book 2 (which we've no doubt it'll replace on our list of the best laptops for graphic design). The new Surface Book 3 While the internals sound similar, what potentially sets the Surface Book 3 apart from the MacBook Pro 2020 is its design. Not only do you get the option of a 13.5-inch or 15-inch display (starting from $1,599.99 and $2,299.99 respectively), but the Microsoft machine includes a high resolution touchscreen and removable keyboard, both absent on the Mac. For many it will boil down to whether you prefer the OS X or Windows software ecosystem, but the physical versatility and matching high specs of the Surface Book 3 could even turn the heads of a few Apple fanatics. The new Surface Go 2 We were big fans of the portable Surface Go (check out our Surface Go review) and the newly announced Surface Go 2, with its 8th generation processor, is said to enjoy a 64% performance boost over the original. There are also some interesting hardware tweaks here, with the addition of dual studio mics and a 5MP front-facing camera. The diminutive device could end up being just the thing for creatives on the go, especially with its low starting price of $399.99. Bringing up the rear are the brand new Surface Earbuds – which are no doubt taking aim at certain other well-known brand of white wireless earbuds. Whether they'll beat Apple's AirPods on sound quality remains to be seen (or should we say heard). It's been a bountiful week of hardware reveals, and today's Microsoft Surface announcements won't make the decision any easier for creatives. Both the Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 appear, on the surface (sorry), to be very capable machines. You can find them both at microsoft.com. Related articles Have we all been charging our MacBooks wrong? Is the new MacBook Air the best laptop for creatives on the move? Surface Pro 6 vs Surface Pro 7: is it worth the upgrade? View the full article

A three-month Azure Sphere bug-bounty challenge will offer top rewards for compromising Pluton or Secure World within Microsoft's IoT security suite. View the full article

Apple’s patent filings are often a fascinating glimpse into the weird and wonderful ideas up the company's sleeve – regardless of whether or not they’ll ever see the light of day. Its latest, a bendable laptop design, could be the most radical change yet to the traditional clamshell we're all used to. Visually, at least. As big MacBook fans (there are two of them in our best laptops for graphic design list), we're always intrigued to see what the future might hold for the machine. A patent awarded yesterday describes "a single piece body having a seamless overall appearance and that includes a bendable portion" – that bendable portion being where you'd usually find a hinge between the laptop's keyboard and display. You can see the design in all its (conceptual) glory below. Browse MacBook Pros at Apple.com That's one potentially good-looking piece of metal We've no doubt a seamless, "single piece" MacBook would look beautiful alongside a flat white in our favourite café (assuming it's reopened by the time a bendable MacBook arrives), but we can't help but wonder what function it might serve beyond looking nice. If it offers extra flexibility, perhaps we'll get a few more viewing angles out of it. Perhaps it'll be more durable than a traditional hinge. To be honest, we wouldn't put it past Apple to implement the feature for purely aesthetic reasons. Not that we'd mind – we're a design site, after all. Other recent patent filings suggest Apple is putting a fair bit of thought into the foldability of its devices. This February we saw it take a rather mechanical approach to a possible folding iPhone (we don't blame Apple – who can forget the debacle of Samsung's highly breakable Galaxy Fold?) But as with all patents, all this tells us is that Apple is exploring the idea rather than putting it into practice – at the moment. Apple's newest MacBook Pro was released this week (it doesn't bend) If and when a bendable MacBook will appear remains to be seen. Until then, we'll just have to do with good old-fashioned hinges for now. Still, with the horsepower packed inside the latest MacBook Pro (released just this week), we wouldn't say anybody's missing out. Check out today's best MacBook deals below. Related articles: Have we all been charging our MacBooks wrong? The best MacBook Pro alternatives for designers Apple’s Magic Keyboard is now available (for a not-so-magic price) View the full article

Maintaining grid systems across a website can be a challenge. Implementing a CSS grid has become standard practice, whereas implementing horizontal grids – aka vertical rhythm – can be too. However, there is added complexity thanks to responsive design and …View the full article

With restaurants closed, many of us will have found ourselves spending much more time in the kitchen over the last few weeks. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you (we're not here to judge your cooking), but if you've long since burned through your list of specialities, you might be in need of a little inspiration. Luckily, Pixar has served up some fun recipe videos – and they may even inspire little ones to help in the kitchen. There are three Cooking with Pixar videos available so far, featuring dishes from Toy Story, Onward and Bao (the short film attached to Incredibles 2). Not only do the videos feature simple, fun instructions, but they're also filled with the kind of delightful animations you'd expect from Pixar (check out our best css animation examples if you feel like making your own). And don't forget – every Pixar movie is currently available on Disney Plus, and you can bag a seven-day free trial right now. The first video (above) teaches the viewer to make the titular Bao (who, by the way, you might have to explain isn't real when it comes to eating time). The second video, meanwhile, involves cooking a Pizza Planet pizza, helped by none other than Forky from Toy Story 4: The third recipe (below) teaches you to make a birthday cake with Onward's Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Cooking With Pixar videos are being rolled out monthly, so we hope to see a few more over the coming weeks. It would seem almost criminal not to include a dish from Ratatouille. Speaking of Pixar, we recently learned some mind-boggling behind the scenes facts about the making of Toy Story 4. If you think these cooking videos are impressive, just wait until you see how much incredible detail goes into animating a feature-length film. Did we mention that they're all on Disney Plus right now? Related articles Disney launches face masks featuring popular characters 7 must-see art shows on Disney Plus 11 top animation tools for digital artists View the full article

Remember when lockdown started, and you promised yourself you'd make the most of it? With all these extra hours you’d have – from either not commuting, or not working at all – you were going to (delete as appropriate): learn After Effects, practise your painting, speak a new language, fix those niggling DIY problems around the house, master a musical instrument, write that novel or screenplay…. But let us guess: none of that has actually happened. We could offer you some well-meaning advice about to organise your day better, motivate yourself more fully, and commit to your goals. But you know what? We’re not going to. Instead, we’re going to argue the opposite. Why you need not to be productive Even at the best of times, the idea of being ‘productive’ with your entire day is a suspect one. It’s one thing to optimise the time you spend at work. But if you extend that thinking to the whole of your life, you’ll live an a constant state of anxiety that means you’ll never really have lived at all. Trying to be productive with your life during lockdown is even more senseless. This present moment is probably the first time in your life when society will praise you for sitting home and doing nothing. So why on earth wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that? The problem is, most of us have programmed ourselves to feel guilty if we're not being productive. So how do we go about breaking that programming? In this post, we suggest five practical ways to change your mindset. 01. Switch off your screens Avoid lockdown FOMO by switching off your devices at regular intervals Our devices are currently playing a vital role in keeping us connected and sane. But they’re also a double-edged sword, bringing us constant reminders of all the things we could be doing with our time: the online exercise routines we could be following, the free courses we could be taking, the art clubs we could be participating in… Even in lockdown, it seems, FOMO is impossible to escape. Of course, it’s a good thing that all these activities are available, and we’ve publicised many of them ourselves on Creative Bloq. But if you’re feeling anxiety or guilt for not taking part, that’s less healthy. So trying spending time each day with all your screens switched off, allowing your body and mind to reset to their natural rhythms, and letting you enjoy, rather than feel guilty about, the idea of 'not achieving'. 02. Listen to nature, not podcasts Birdsong can even be heard in big cities right now If you’re able to exercise outdoors during lockdown, it’s tempting to use this time to catch up on your podcast listening, which for most of us is significantly down because we're not commuting. Again, the instinct springs from the urge to be productive, but it can be mentally and emotionally draining, especially with so much talk on podcasts at the moment about lockdown itself. It’s also a waste of a good walk, run or bike ride, because getting out of the house isn’t just about getting a change of scene visually, but aurally too. And with car use reduced, it’s possible to enjoy the sounds of nature at the moment, even in the big cities. So we’d heartily recommend that you unplug those headphones, and start listening out for that birdsong instead. 03. Practise mindfulness Mindfulness app Personal Zen has been made free for six months to support people during lockdown Even once you accept intellectually that you don’t have to be productive, there’s often still an underlying anxiety that you just can’t shake. At this point, mindfulness techniques can help you go the extra mile, making you feel able to 'let go' of being productive on a physical and emotional level. Mindfulness is all about bringing your attention away from the past and future (which causes stress and worry) and focusing it on the present moment (which allows you to focus and feel properly balanced, physically and emotionally). Mindfulness techniques range from meditation to colouring-in; even playing a game like Candy Crush Saga can be mindful if approached in the right way. These mindlfulness apps are also worth checking out. One of the simplest mindfulness techniques is called 5-4-3-2-1. This is a way of calming your mind if you feel anxious or overwhelmed, by engaging all five of your senses. First, slow your breathing and pay attention to the breath coming in and out of your body. Once you’re a little more relaxed, look around you and identity five random things you can see (a cup, a table, a book, anything at all). Next, identify four things you can touch. After that, think of three things you can hear. Then, two things you can smell. Finally, hone in one thing you can taste; any taste you can identify inside your mouth. Try it, it really does work in helping you to feel calm, relaxed and free of worry. 04. Start a gratitude journal A gratitude journal can help provide perspective on your urge to be productive Many of the instincts that propel us towards being productive are about wanting more from life. We want a better salary, nicer things, more respect. But often we’re so caught up in pursuing these goals that we don’t realise how much we have already. Starting a gratitude journal can be an effective way to remind us of that, and make us feel better and more relaxed about our life in general. A gratitude journal is quite simply a book in which you write down, on a regular basis, things that you are grateful for. It’s the regularity of doing so that’s important, and studies have found that those who are habitually grateful are happier than those who are not. You can just use a regular notebook, or you can buy a pre-prepared gratitude journal that includes prompts to guide you through the process. We’d recommend The 90-Day Gratitude Journal, Good Days Start With Gratitude, or the Instant Happy Journal: 365 Days of Inspiration, Gratitude, and Joy. It can also be helpful to attach other relaxing habits to your journal ritual, such as lighting a candle, relaxing music, having a bath and so on. 05. Revisit your childhood Loved the '90s X-Men? Catch them again on Disney Plus The idea of using every waking hour productively was alien to most of us as children, when we lived in the moment and took each day as it came. So one easy way to return to get back in that carefree state of mind can be to act like a child again. When we were young, we all had thoughts along the lines of: "When I grow up, I’ll be able to have choc ice and chips for dinner if I want." Well, now you can; so what’s stopping you? Think of the things you loved doing as a child, whether that’s doing puzzles, playing board games, colouring in, watching cartoons, reading a joke book, making papier-mache animals, singing along with the TV… whatever they are, we’ll bet you haven’t done them in years. Spend some time doing them again, and any stress about not being productive will soon start to melt away. Read more: 10 brilliant ebooks that won't cost you a penny 20 creative projects to get involved with right now Free audiobooks to download today View the full article

With the right tools and dedication to the craft, anyone can learn to be an artist. Learn how you can bring sketches to life with The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle, an easy-to-follow master bundle focusing on drawing for both conventional and digital mediums, now only $39.99. Every artist must start with the basics. Whether you're a beginner or want to brush up on the fundamentals, this 12-course bundle will teach you techniques that systematically break down the various elements of drawing in all sorts of mediums. Taught by industry experts, each course will guide you through the fundamentals, and will then move on to detailed lectures and step by step exercises that will allow you to practise what you learn. For more tips, see our guide to the art techniques you need to know. Plus, make sure you've got the right tools with the best pencils around. Turn your sketches into digital vector art With over 300 lessons, these complete courses include topics in pencil drawing, figure drawing, sketching dynamic comic book superheroes (and comic style heads), how to draw patterns, and so much more. A few concepts you'll master include using graphite pencils, how to capture the facial features of animals, and the art of making two-dimensional drawings look three-dimensional. Meanwhile, a course on shading shows you how to add a photorealistic finish and add depth to create a 3D effect on all your compositions. The possibilities are endless. Not only will you learn how to flesh out your ideas on paper successfully, but you'll also learn how to transfer them into digital works of art. A course dedicated to digital painting allows you to learn step by step instructions on how to digitally draw/paint a variety of fantasy art elements, such as magical weapons or fully detailed characters. From Drawing to Pattern in Adobe Illustrator: A Masterclass will teach you everything you need to know to turn your sketches into digital vector art using the industry-leading vector graphics editor software, Adobe Illustrator (see here for more Illustrator tutorials). The course is hands-on, allowing you to create designs as you work through the video lectures and increase your knowledge of the process as you go. The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle is priced at over $1,000, but, for a limited time, you can start sketching (traditionally and digitally) like a pro for only $39.99, that's 96 per cent off. Refine your knowledge in the fundamentals of drawing and start up a new creative passion or an inspiring career. Read more: The best digital art software for creatives in 2020 11 top animation tools for digital artists The best drawing tablet: Our pick of the best graphics tablets in 2020 View the full article

Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, is known for its painstaking attention to detail, and a design for a Blu-ray case for one of its films has attracted plenty of love online. The concept design for My Neighbour Toroto was created by a fan, @panasonynet, and posted to their Twitter (below), and has since taken on a viral quality as it's been shared around the world, often being attributed to the studio. What makes the design so special? The surface of the Blu-ray disc means that the characters are reflected in it. It looks as if they are peering into a lake and seeing themselves peering back. And as the characters are in the forest surrounded by greenery, it's really not hard to imagine that there would be a lake there. It's one of those backdrops that adds beautifully to the characters' stories (see our character design tips for more pointers on crafting believable creations). In short, we love it, and we want one (even though we don't have a Blu-ray player). And by the looks of the comments, we're not the only ones. There was also a flood of positivity over on Reddit, with one commenter saying it was "simple yet perfect". We can't help but agree. Seeing as this concept is, as far as we know, a concept, and therefore unavailable to purchase, we'll have to be content for now at rewatching the Studio Ghibli back catalogue, a lot of which is now available on Netflix. And if you get bored of that, then you can always try and make your own animated videos. Read more: Unmissable Studio Ghibli documentary is free to watch right now Is it possible to turn your iPad into a 3D studio? 11 animation tools for digital artists View the full article

The oh-so-subtle announcement of Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro yesterday means we're already seeing some great deals on the 2019 version of the powerful laptop. The best we've seen so far is a deal from B&H Photo, where the 2019 13-inch MacBook Pro is on sale for $1,099. That's an impressive $200 saving, and currently the lowest price around on this particular 128GB model. If you'd prefer a more roomy device, B&H also has the 256GB 13-inch MacBook Pro reduced to $1,199 – an even more impressive $300 off. The MacBook Pro is one of the most powerful laptops around, something that makes it a firm favourite among the creative community. It's 13.3-inch Retina display allows you to see and show off design work in all its glory, and the 8th Gen Intel Core processor can handle even the most complex of creative tasks. The B&H Photo sale doesn't stop at MacBooks, it's also got some great discounts on iPads. The best deal sees a late 2018 11-inch iPad Pro on sale for just $799 (a $150 saving). These impressive discounts are only on until stocks lasts, so don't delay. If you love a good deal, be sure to bookmark on Amazon Prime Day 2020 where we hope to see even more great Apple offers. Browse MacBooks and iPads at Apple.com MacBook deals: iPad deal: Outside the US? Here are the best offers on these and similar devices in your area: View the full article

Maintaining visibility and availability when you suddenly have a large remote footprint takes planning. View the full article

As certain lockdown restrictions begin to be eased in some countries, attention is turning to what the next stage of the 'new normal' might look like – especially when it comes to public spaces. From social distancing to protective wear (check out our guide to where to buy a face mask), certain measures will no doubt remain part of life for a while. But thanks to one London architectural studio, you might soon be able to enjoy a picnic with friends. Sort of. Paul Cocksedge Studio has shared an open source blanket design, optimistically named Here Comes the Sun. It consists of four small, equidistant circles joined together by a large ring – leaving a massive hole in the middle. The small circles are each designed to accommodate a single person, while the large ring keeps everybody the necessary 2m apart. You might have to shout, but hey – it's better than nothing. Even the dog understands the need for social distancing Perhaps the best thing about the design is that you can make it yourself using a few household items including scissors, a sewing machine and 9sqm of "a non-fraying material such as felt". You can find Cocksedge's guide on dropbox. And if you're feeling particularly crafty, take a look at our guide to how to make a face mask. A screenshot from Cocksedge's guide "It's so easy to misjudge two metres," Paul Cocksedge told Dezeen, "especially when we're out again socialising with friends and family." He describes Here Comes the Sun as a "playful answer" to the problem. A few months ago we'd have found the very idea of the blanket utterly bemusing and even now, we have some questions. How do you carry it? Is picnic food allowed to enter the GIANT HOLE? Is it just us who think it resembles two Mickey Mouse headbands stuck together? It might look bizarre, but then we must remember – these are bizarre times. The blanket may well serve a useful purpose when picnics are back on the cards. It'll save us from having to carrying a tape measure to the park, for a start. It's also great to see Paul Cocksedge Studio make the design open source – yet another show of solidarity from the creative community during these unchartered times. Check out our list of the best free online resources for creatives stuck at home for more inspiration. Related articles: Face mask sewing tutorial: Create a fitted face mask with changeable filter Finally! Apple reveals Face ID 'fix' to unlock iPhones while wearing a face mask Disney launches face masks featuring popular characters View the full article

The vulnerability is one of 39 affecting various aspects of the mobile OS that the company fixed in a security update this week. View the full article

Hackers targeted Ghost on Sunday, in a cryptocurrency mining attack that caused widespread outages. View the full article

This article is a case study in websites built using Startup app. We have compiled an assorted collection of outstanding examples in order to show its range of possibilities and scope of use. No one can argue that the number …View the full article

Researchers say the bugs are easy to exploit and will likely be weaponized within a day. View the full article

Working from home (WFH) has taken over as the new normal for employees at many organizations. Whether your outlook for extended WFH and social distancing is glass-half-full or half-empty, if you’re in IT, you’ve probably realized it drastically expands the estate you’re responsible for overseeing. Working from home brings numerous … Source View the full article

The flaws in LearnPress, LearnDash and LifterLMS could have allowed unauthenticated students to change their grades, cheat on tests and gain teacher privileges. View the full article

As some European countries have begun softening lockdown restrictions, face masks have become the world's most coveted commodity. More and more we're seeing wearing face masks being made mandatory for when people leave the house. Face masks are required to be worn while shopping in Austria, while some states in Germany are dishing out fines for those not wearing one in certain public spaces. Until recently, UK-wide guidance stopped short of suggesting that the public wear face masks – but that changed recently when Scotland's official face mask guidance was updated to state that "there may be some benefit in wearing a facial covering when you leave the house". Rather than surgical or medical-grade masks, which are currently very low on stock, it suggests one made of cloth or other textiles through which you can breathe – see our where to buy a face mask article to get yours. On the 30th April at the UK's government daily coronavirus press briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson commented they may be useful for epidemiological reasons and to give people confidence in returning to work, but more would be announced on official guidelines next week. But still, little has been revealed as to the government's plans. On the 5th May, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab was asked in the daily coronavirus press briefing whether the government policy changed on face masks. Again the answer came that they are considering SAGE's (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) advice and will say more shortly. But with talks of lockdown easing slightly in the UK, more and more it looks like face masks will soon become an everyday item in UK households, and you can make sure you've got one handy just incase with our up-to-date list below on where to find face masks in the UK. And if none of those designs take your fancy, don't miss our how to make a face mask article, which details three simple ways (two with no sewing required) to make a face mask at home. The best fabric to make face masks at home Where to buy a face mask in the UK: quick links Etsy.co.uk – artist face masks from just £3.99 Ebay.co.uk – washable face masks at a bargain price HYPE – get three face masks for £24.99 with 100% of profits to the NHS Go Outdoors – get Buff face masks, which can also be used as a scarf Cotswold Outdoor – get Buff's merino wool patterned face covering. Where to buy a face mask in the UK View the full article

Cisco's IOS XE software for SD-WAN routers has a high-severity insufficient input validation flaw. View the full article

A GitLab path traversal flaw could allow attackers to read arbitrary files and remotely execute code. View the full article

Email reputation or email sending reputation isn’t widely talked about, but it’s vitally important. Much like in real life, where your reputation is everything, in email marketing, it is a tiebreaker that decides whether subscribers get an email newsletter from …View the full article

There’s no arguing the fact that specialty WordPress themes have their place in the scheme of things. For most website types, including a most niche businesses, multipurpose WordPress themes, especially the premium ones, provide everything a web designer, creative artist, …View the full article

Thanks to WFH, IoT refrigerators, Samsung TVs and more can now be back-channel proxies into the corporate network. View the full article

Adobe fixed critical flaws in Illustrator, Magento and Bridge in an out-of-band security update. View the full article

Legions of website visitors could be infected with drive-by malware, among other issues, thanks to a CSRF bug in Real-Time Search and Replace. View the full article