Microsoft’s Flowspace Pod concept will definitely give you cubicle envy with its modern, minimalist, and novel design. It’s the modern cubicle designed for the hybrid work-based future.
Rather than boxed-in sides, the FlowSpace Pod comes with open sides for easy collaboration, an immersive design that allows you to focus on your work, and elegant construction that was built with the realities of hybrid work in mind. Microsoft’s novel take on the cubicle even won the company a Red Dot award for its design, with the concept earning itself the “best of the best of 2021” accolade.
The open-sided chamber of the Flowspace Pod is seen configured with ambient backlighting, a minimalist desk setup, a large TV-like screen that can be tilted and angled for ergonomic use — similar to Microsoft’s now discontinued Surface Studio all-in-one — a simple stool, and optional rear partition for increase privacy. Rather than solid side panels that are typical of most cubicle spaces today, smaller flaps — with built-in speakers — extend outward from the top and sides to give the pod its own sense of space without creating a constrained environment.
“The Flowspace Pod is a vision for the new normal, a sanctuary for focus and deep work in highly collaborative hybrid workplaces where solo work time will become more precious,” Microsoft said of its concept on the Red Dot awards page. The project was designed by the Microsoft Office Envisioning Team.
The idea behind Flowspace isn’t unlike remote on-demand workspaces that are created by companies such as ZenSpace and Switch. ZenSpace, for example, resembles a large public telephone booth, and it is being placed in malls as bookable private pods where you can get some work done in between shopping. Unlike ZenSpace, Flowspace isn’t designed to be a private pod, so its use may not be suitable for more public settings like malls and hotel lobbies.
Instead, Flowspace may be a nice way to offer workers at a company’s site the pseudo-privacy of having a cubicle while combining the collaboration and agility features of hotdesking. Alternatively, inside larger offices, Flowspace can also serve as a personal space for video conferencing given its large display, speakers, and relative built-in privacy that the design provides. This eliminates the need to build smaller conference rooms for video calls.
It’s unclear if Microsoft intends on commercializing its design concept, or if other companies will adopt some variation of Flowspace’s design to re-architect the modern office once people start to return to work.
Nearly a month after announcing the GPT-6.1 Sol model, OpenAI unveiled GPT-6.1 Terra today. The latest addition to the family focuses on computer use, visual reasoning, coding, and professional work, while costing 50% less through the API than GPT-5.6 Terra.
OpenAI says Terra can handle everything from filling out browser forms and working inside spreadsheets to interpreting technical drawings and editing videos. The company says it can also complete computer-based tasks more than three times faster than GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol.
ASUS has started selling its UGen Intel Arc Pro B70 graphics card in Europe, bringing its take on Intel’s workstation GPU to customers with a hefty €1,799 recommended price. The card is available in Germany and Austria, while ASUS lists it at CHF 1,799 in Switzerland.
Intel first introduced the Arc Pro B70 in March 2026, with its own branded model starting at $949. ASUS’s version arrives several months later with the same core GPU architecture but a different cooling design and a higher power rating. The price also places it well above Intel’s original starting point, although the two prices are not directly comparable because ASUS’s European figure includes VAT.
Anthropic has officially filed to go public, and buried inside its S-1 is a blunt warning about the technology at the center of its business. The maker of Claude AI says advanced AI could cause everything from large-scale cyberattacks and geopolitical instability to catastrophic or even existential risks for humanity.
The warnings take up a surprisingly large part of the filing. Axios notes that more than 90 pages, or roughly a third of the prospectus, focus on risk factors. Many of them warn about what could happen as AI systems become more capable and autonomous.