Real-Time Personalization: Turning Browsers Into Bookers

We just got our strongest hint at what Xbox Labs might be "cooking up" for players, thanks to Xbox chief technology officer Scott Van Vliet. The executive posted a video on X that ends with Halo 3 booting up inside what appears to be the Microsoft Edge web browser. In fact, the option to play the beloved FPS with mouse and keyboard even appears as a prompt, too. Van Vliet noted that he was working on "retro vibes" in the social media post, and he also tagged Xbox CEO Asha Sharma . Intriguingly, neither executive notes Halo 3 booting up inside the browser; instead, they focus on the return of the Xbox Blades dashboard. That user interface from roughly two decades ago is a fan-favorite. https://twitter.com/scottvanvliet/status/2112671760131010982 Xbox Labs was unveiled last week, strongly implying a push into AI gaming without saying those exact words. In general, the past couple of months have seen a big wave of vibe-coded ports for browsers, such as The Simpsons: Hit & Run and old-school Grand Theft Auto titles. There even are remixes where people mash up Minecraft and Elden Ring, for instance. With that in mind, Xbox Labs focusing on past console libraries to bring to browsers mak

Charting the trajectory of a comedy career is about more than just seeing a comic crush in front of a few crowds or glibly scrolling through their TikTok clips. Like the career of comedy itself, it’s all about identifying the energy they bring into the room when they hit the stage night over night for weeks, months, years while they hone their craft. There’s a skill to picking out which up-and-coming talent is really poised to make a mark on the stand-up world, whether they’re performing on a dead night for a handful of drunks or taking a bow in front of a roaring theater crowd. To help you figure out which comics in L. A. you’ll want to keep an eye on, we’ve tapped the expertise of some of the city’s most seasoned bookers from major comedy clubs to alt shows to bring us this list of 15 up-and-coming comics to watch. (Some of whom you may see working the door, not just the stage.) (Bee Gutierrez) Tacarra Williams IG: @tacarracomedyTacarra Williams is one of the most genuinely likable comedians out right now. Every woman wants to hang out and have brunch with her, and every man wants to date her.

Almost all corporate travel to Saudi Arabia has been paused as attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militia continue, travel industry executives say. With few airlines still flying in and out of the kingdom, many stranded visitors are driving to neighboring Gulf countries to catch onward flights.

When I asked Certares founder and legendary travel industry investor Greg O’Hara where he would invest outside Western Europe at Skift’s Transatlantic Summit in Dublin on October 15, he answered without hesitation. “The superstar, without even thinking about it, is Poland.”

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. Corporate travel budgets are under renewed scrutiny as companies face economic uncertainty, rising costs, and pressure to operate more efficiently. But research from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) points to the broader business value of managed travel. The analysis found that a 1% increase in managed corporate travel spending was associated with a 0.2% increase in company revenue.