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Tech News
Porcelain insulators, long overshadowed by glass ones in the collecting hobby, have grown significantly more popular over the past decade. New books, catalogs, and increased online resources have expanded collector knowledge, while rising glass prices have made porcelain a cheaper alternative.
TecLab modified a Galax RTX 5090 D HOF OC LAB XOC by bypassing its 16-pin power connectors entirely, soldering wires straight to the PCB's power traces and replacing the stock cooling with an industrial water cooler. Power meter readings suggested the card was drawing roughly 600W, well within the card's 2,000W custom BIOS limit, though final temperatures were not disclosed. The team clarified the stunt was a sarcastic jab at Nvidia rather than a genuine repair method for regular users.
JD Power surveyed over 68,000 owners of 2026 model-year vehicles about 40 different automotive technologies and found that features requiring the least driver attention, such as smart ignition and AI-controlled HVAC systems, earned the highest satisfaction scores. Passenger-facing dashboard screens, often found in luxury brands like Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche, ranked among the least liked features.
An essay examines how Japanese woodblock printmakers since the 1880s have depicted telegraph and power lines as symbols of modernity rather than eyesores, contrasting this with Western social media users who frequently mock utility wires as ugly. It highlights a 2021 Nerima Art Museum exhibition, curated by Yosuke Kato, that gathered roughly 130 works from the 1850s to today under the title 'Densen Kaiga' (Electric Wire Paintings), showing wires as a recurring visual motif in Japanese art and anime.
Sharge has released the Shargeek 300, a metal unibody power bank with a 24,000mAh battery that outputs up to 300W, enough to charge two laptops and a phone simultaneously. It features a translucent housing with RGB lighting, a 1.9-inch display showing real-time charging data via its Sentinel battery management system, and is currently priced at $199 through a launch deal on Amazon.
The EPA issued guidance stating that the Clean Air Act's Acid Rain Program does not apply to 'islanded' power generation facilities—those not connected to the public electricity grid. The move is aimed at making it easier for companies to build dedicated power plants for data centers without triggering certain federal pollution compliance requirements tied to grid-connected generation.
Generation Lab, founded on scientist Irina Conboy's research into blood exchange between old and young mice, is now promoting a rejuvenation treatment it says combines two existing drugs to reverse aging effects without needing blood transfusion. The company has offered influencers access to the treatment but refuses to disclose which drugs are actually used. Separately, utilities are increasingly recruiting households to join 'virtual power plants,' networks of connected devices like thermostats, EVs and batteries that can be throttled during peak demand in exchange for bill discounts or sign-up bonuses.
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) has proposed a major residential rate reduction plan expected to save Hoosier customers roughly $59 million in electric bills through 2027, or about $100 annually for a typical household. The utility also intends to freeze rates for three years, crediting rising demand from data centers and other large customers for boosting revenue enough to offset costs. The proposal now awaits approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, with a decision anticipated by June 2027.
Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL nearly hits its advertised 45W wired charging speed, peaking at 40.7W, but only when paired with a specific USB-C charger supporting 21V at 2A under the USB PD PPS protocol. Common PPS chargers limited to 11V, including some rated up to 67W, only delivered around 25W in testing, and even with the ideal charger the phone still takes about 21 minutes to reach 50% charge.
Virtual power plants let utilities remotely adjust smart thermostats, EV chargers, batteries and solar panels in homes to reduce strain during peak demand, in exchange for bill discounts or signup bonuses. More than 500 such programs already run across the US, with about 4 million smart-thermostat households enrolled as of last year, and interest is growing as companies like Google invest in the technology to support data centers.
US electricity demand climbed about 1.7% annually from 2020 to 2025, more than ten times the growth rate utilities saw in the prior fifteen years, driven by data centers, EV charging stations and reshored manufacturing. Much of the transmission network carrying that load dates to the 1950s-1980s, causing sagging lines, overheating transformers and voltage drops as usage climbs.
Xiaomi has released the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max worldwide, featuring a massive 10,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, though European units get a slightly smaller 9,210mAh version. The device supports 100W wired charging, promising a full charge in 80 minutes and all-day power from just a 20-minute top-up, plus 27W reverse charging but no wireless option. It also boasts rugged durability with IP68/IP69/IP69K ratings and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, though it runs a downgraded Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 chip compared to its predecessor.