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Recommended Practice for Variant Design of Electronics Production Line (IEEE Std 3147-2024)

Introduction The rapid development of electronic products results in a significant need for either upgrading existing electronics production lines (EPLs) or designing newEPLs. Changes in product orders also lead to a frequent reconfiguration of electronics production lines. However, due to unreasonable design, many EPLs fail to meet the initial objective. This recommended practice addresses a preferred technique to help practitioners efficiently design a high-performance EPL. Overview of the S

The Absolute Best Horror Movies to Watch on Hulu

Reserve your seat for this surreal psychological horror movie about a talented ballerina's unraveling. Natalie Portman's character Nina feels pressure to embody not only the innocent and elegant White Swan but the dark and sensual Black Swan for the leading part in a production of Swan Lake. But she doesn't fit the latter swan's mold as much as newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis). The film follows her obsessive hunt for perfection.

US Government announces $200M Grok contract a week after 'MechaHitler'

A week after Elon Musk’s Grok dubbed itself “MechaHitler” and spewed antisemitic stereotypes, the US government has announced a new contract granting the chatbot’s creator, xAI, up to $200 million to modernize the Defense Department. xAI is one of several leading AI companies to receive the award, alongside Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. But the timing of the announcement is striking given Grok’s recent high-profile spiral, which drew congressional ire and public pushback. The use of technology

Never fear, reaction videos are still allowed under YouTube's new 'inauthentic content' policy

YouTube has clarified its rules about repetitious content and your favorite reaction video channel won't be impacted. Earlier this month, the platform said it would be changing its rules for monetization in an effort to address AI-generated materials, but didn't include many specifics, which led many to sound the alarm that reaction videos might get swept up in the new rules. The company has now provided a few tweaks and more clear delineations in its guidelines about channel monetization polici

Abacus dark web drug market goes offline in suspected exit scam

Abacus Market, the largest Western darknet marketplace supporting Bitcoin payments, has shut down its public infrastructure in a move suspected to be an exit scam. Exit scams occur when the operator of a marketplace decides to vanish with the money they hold in escrow for various transactions between platform users. Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reports that Abacus shutting down so abruptly has all the indications of either an exit scam or a covert law enforcement operation dismantling

Joby Aviation says it is doubling production at its air taxi manufacturing hub

JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, stands near an electric air taxi by Joby Aviation at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 12, 2023. Joby Aviation is ramping up its manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. as it races to roll out air taxi service in 2026. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) maker said Tuesday that it's launching production at its remodeled components facility in Dayton, Ohio, and plans to double capacity at its

Finding value with AI automation

Today's opportunity: Significant automation gains When leaders respond to immediate panic, new business risks and mitigations often emerge. Two recent examples highlight the consequences of rushing to implement and publish positive results from AI adoption. The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2025 on companies struggling to realize returns on AI. Just weeks later, it covered MIT’s retraction of a technical paper about AI where the results that led to its publication could not be substanti

It's a huge week for crypto in DC But the industry may not get everything it wants

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters It's "Crypto Week" in Washington. The cryptocurrency industry is set to notch a major win this week if the House can pass two bills that would set up a long-lobbied-for regulatory framework for digital assets. The stablecoin bill, known as the GENUIS Act, has already passed the Senate and looks set to become the first standalone crypto measure signed into law should the House do the same. But the real

GOP’s pro-industry crypto bills could financially ruin millions, lawmaker warns

It's "Crypto Week" in Congress, and experts continue to warn that legislation Donald Trump wants passed quickly could give the president ample opportunities to grift while leaving Americans more vulnerable to scams and financial ruin. Perhaps most controversial of the bills is the one that's closest to reaching Trump's desk, the GENIUS Act, which creates a framework for banks and private companies to issue stablecoins. After passing in the Senate last month, the House of Representatives is hopi

It's a huge week for crypto in D.C. But the industry may not get everything it wants

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters It's "Crypto Week" in Washington. The cryptocurrency industry is set to notch a major win this week if the House can pass two bills that would set up a long-lobbied-for regulatory framework for digital assets. The stablecoin bill, known as the GENUIS Act, has already passed the Senate and looks set to become the first standalone crypto measure signed into law should the House do the same. But the real

Watch ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Light a Bunch of Things on Fire in This Exclusive BTS Clip

Here’s an exclusive, fun look behind the scenes of Dean DeBlois’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon, showcasing the stuntwork and visual artistry that went into bringing a beloved animated franchise into the real world. io9 presents a clip from How to Train Your Dragon‘s home release that takes us to Viking training camp. Watch as stars including Mason Thames (The Black Phone) and Nico Parker (The Last of Us) get the hang of dragon riding on their mechanical bull-like dragon stand-ins. There’

Micro Adventure – Space Attack (online emulator)

Good luck. This message will be erased from memory in 30 seconds. As a certified member of ACT (the Ad­venture Connection Team) your job, as always, is to defend the cause of good against evil. It won’t be easy, because BRUTE (the Bureau of Random Unlawful Terror and Evil - an international organization bent on wreaking havoc throughout the world) will be fighting you every step of the way. Your computer expertise will be vital to this mission. So turn on your home system. Throughout this adven

Apple announces $500 million US investment focused on rare earth magnets

Earlier this year, Apple pledged a $500 billion investment in the United States over the next four years. Now, the company is further expanding that pledge with a $500 million plan to “launch an all-new recycling facility for processing recycled rare earth elements.” With this investment, Apple will work with MP Materials and commit to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed in Fort Worth, Texas. The two companies will build out MP Materials’ “state-of-the-art Texas factory” with a “s

Win, lose, or draw: trends in English football match results

Is the game getting more exciting? Football (soccer) fans like to see exciting matches. Draws are boring but wins or losses are interesting; fans want to see teams give their all on the pitch. Which begs the question, is the game getting more or less thrilling over time? One way to answer this question is to look at fraction of matches in a league that end in a draw. The most boring extreme is every game is a draw (draw fraction = 1). The most engaging extreme is that every game ends in a win/l

I treated myself to this $129 pen, and it spoiled every other writing device for me

ZDNET's key takeaways The Ridge Bolt Pen's starting price of $59 is less than when I bought it, but it's still a fantastic gift for the writer in your life. It features a grippy design that makes handling a breeze, and the ink moves smoothly across paper. Of course, the one and only caveat with the pen is its price, but I've found it to be well worth it. View now at Amazon Various configurations of the Ridge Bolt Pen are on sale right now, including the 24K Gold finish, which sells for $89 (d

When Sigterm Does Nothing: A Postgres Mystery

In my opinion, the worst bugs are the ones you decide not to look further into. Maybe the problem only manifests 2% of the time, or when you run the code on a particular brand of toaster. Maybe the customer doesn't supply enough information to begin narrowing down the cause. Maybe you just don't have enough time to track the issue down fully. And everyone eventually moves on. But when you see the same bug strike again months later, you quietly mutter to yourself and wish you'd been persistent

Superman is a box office hit, but the hard part comes next

Over the weekend, DC Studios’ new Superman feature became this year’s third-biggest box-office debut in the US. The movie’s success is a sign that theatergoers might actually not be quite as tired of superheroes as people tend to think, and that’s particularly notable for Warner Bros., given the studio’s plan to build a new cinematic universe of DC Comics adaptations for the big screen. But making interconnected film franchises work is easier said than done. And even though Superman is putting u

Watching ‘X-Men’ 25 Years Ago Was a Game-Changing Moment

It’s hard to describe what it was like to sit down, 25 years ago today, to watch X-Men. I was born in 1980 and grew up loving and adoring superheroes. The Christopher Reeve Superman movies were everything to me. Posters and toys for Tim Burton’s Batman films were all over my room. And each week, I’d go to the local comic book shop to pick up new issues of X-Men, X-Force, X-O Manowar, Spawn, and so many others. The 1990s in particular were a golden age for comic books, but on the big screen, ther

Elon Musk’s AI bot adds a ridiculous anime companion with ‘NSFW’ mode

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. People who pay for access to SuperGrok can now try the AI chatbot’s new “Companions” avatars, xAI owner Elon Musk announced Monday morning. The companions available currently include Ani, an anime avatar, and Rudy, a cartoony red panda. Ani also has what TestingCatalog describes as an “NSFW” mode where the character wears lingerie. (And just a warning: if you search for posts

US government announces $200 million Grok contract a week after ‘MechaHitler’ incident

A week after Elon Musk’s Grok dubbed itself “MechaHitler” and spewed antisemitic stereotypes, the US government has announced a new contract granting the chatbot’s creator, xAI, up to $200 million to modernize the Defense Department. xAI is one of several leading AI companies to receive the award, alongside Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. But the timing of the announcement is striking given Grok’s recent high-profile spiral, which drew congressional ire and public pushback. The use of technology

Pebblebee’s AirTag alternative now doubles as a panic alarm

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid. Pebblebee has announced a new personal safety feature for its Clip location tracker that’s compatible with both Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find Hub network. Alert is being introduced as a free update to the Pebblebee app today, and the company says it will work with current and future versions of the Clip without requiring a subscription fee. P

Why James Gunn Wanted a Younger Jor-El In ‘Superman’

The role Superman’s parents play in his life has always differed across years of comic book reshuffling and myriad adaptations. But in our latest crack at the Kryptonian whip in James Gunn’s Superman, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van play a brief, but fundamental role in the movie. Casting the role for Gunn was crucial, not just because of the character’s legacy—but because he wanted to buck a trend from other live-action Superman films. In Superman Jor-El and Lara are played by the voice of Rocket Racc

Sony’s Best-in-Class ANC Headphones May Have a Major Design Flaw

Sony’s WH-1000XM6 headphones might sound great, but that’s only if they don’t break before you put them on your head. While it’s too early to say whether Sony’s latest world-class headphones have a widespread issue, the first reports of broken hinges are starting to roll in, and they feel ominously reminiscent of similar problems with the WH-1000XM5. See Sony WH-1000XM6 at Best Buy In a Reddit thread that’s actually pulled from a Red Note post (sorry for the convolution; that’s just the way li

Google Contacts could soon let you control clutter from third-party apps (Updated: Rolling out)

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority TL;DR Google Contacts could soon allow users to show or hide read-only contacts synced from connected apps. The new feature aims to help users troubleshoot issues like duplicated contacts by revealing otherwise hidden view-only entries. Most users likely won’t need this enabled, but the switch offers better visibility for those who occasionally need it. Update, July 14, 2025 (07:08 AM ET): The ability to show and hide read-only contacts is now rolling out to

Google Contacts is making it easier to check when you last contacted someone (Updated: Rolling out)

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority TL;DR Google Contacts could soon start displaying recent calls and texts on contact profiles. The feature will appear as a new “Recent activity” section on contact profiles, listing the last call and text with each contact. Update, July 14, 2025 (07:13 AM ET): Profile pages within the Contacts app now show Recent activity, with the feature rolling out with Google Contacts v4.58.27. Original article, April 30, 2025 (06:53 AM ET): Google Contacts‘ Single Contac

The U.S. Is Testing Tiny Nuclear Reactors That Can Go Practically Anywhere

In contrast to other technological advances, the objective for next-generation nuclear reactors seems to be to scale down, not up—an initiative backed by the Department of Energy (DOE). Earlier this month, the DOE announced a conditional agreement made with private firms Westinghouse and Radiant to conduct the first reactor tests at its Demonstration on Microreactor Experiment (DOME) facility, located at Idaho National Laboratory. These experiments, featuring two trailer-sized microreactors, w

Alexander Skarsgård Ruined Multiple ‘Murderbot’ Finale Scenes by Crying

Season one of Murderbot wrapped up in a way that was sad yet hopeful—read io9’s recap here—with the underlying joy for fans that the Apple TV+ series will be returning to adapt more of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries stories. And Alexander Skarsgård, who plays the title character, felt plenty of human emotion welling up while he was portraying the self-aware robot in the finale. Speaking to Collider, the actor, who’s also one of Murderbot‘s executive producers, spoke about the scene, in which h