TL;DR
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says supervised point-to-point self-driving arrives this year on Gen 2 and R2 vehicles, with eyes-off driving in 2027.
Tech
Engineering Is Critical to Boosting Food Security
Nearly 750 million people face hunger today, according to the U.N. World Food Program. And by 2050, global demand for food is expected to increase by 50 percent from 2010 levels, the World Resources Institute says.
A smart agriculture special-issue report recently released by the IEEE Smart Agri-Food Initiative says meeting the demand will require technology to expand food production. The report highlights research, case studies, and new ways of applying technology to inform farmers, engineers, and policymakers.
Leading the initiative is IEEE Fellow John Verboncoeur, chair of the smart-food program and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University, in East Lansing.
“Food security is becoming a systems-engineering problem,” Verboncoeur says. “We’re no longer talking only about tractors and irrigation. We’re talking about sensing, communications, computation, automation, and sustainability all working together.”
Although not formally trained as an agriculture scientist, Verboncoeur’s first involvement with smart agriculture was as an undergraduate at University of Florida in 1985-86, where he helped develop an SmartAg aeroponics system for NASA for the International Space Station. It used mist to spray the plants’ roots and lightweight pneumatic structures to hold the vegetation in place.
He has also chaired the executive committee of Michigan State’s SmartAg Initiative since it launched in 2017. He chaired the program’s leading interdisciplinary efforts to apply engineering and digital technologies to farming and food systems.
Verboncoeur connects the shift of using engineering as a force multiplier for farming to lessons learned from the IEEE Smart Village program, which supports projects and organizations bringing electricity and educational and employment opportunities to remote communities. Agriculture, he argues, requires the same systems-level mindset.
“The challenge isn’t just inventing technology,” he says. “It’s making systems practical, affordable, and deployable.”
From digital twins to autonomous harvesting
A central theme across the Smart Agri-Food Systems report is the convergence of automation, data analytics, and sustainability.
One paper, “Smart Agriculture, Precision Agriculture, Digital Twins in Agriculture: Similarities and Differences,” addresses the confusion regarding how researchers and practitioners define and apply the technologies to farming.
The paper was written by Dilan Onat Alakuş, a research assistant in the software engineering department at Kırklareli University, in Türkiye, and Ibrahim Türkoğlu, a software engineering professor at Fırat University, in Elazığ, Türkiye.
Unclear terminology can lead to inefficient investment and poor adoption of the technologies, the two authors say. They note that agricultural methods based on traditional practices and intuition lack a thorough analysis of their environmental and economic impacts.
They describe how three technologies can benefit farmers:
• Smart agriculture systems integrate sensors, artificial intelligence, robotics, and analytics to improve efficiency and sustainability at scale.
• Precision agriculture focuses on location-specific decisions. Farmers use GPS-guided equipment to map fields, deploy drones to monitor crop health, and install field sensors that track soil moisture and nutrient levels in targeted zones. The tools allow farmers to apply water, fertilizer, and pesticides only where needed—which can reduce waste and lessen environmental impact.
• Digital twins create virtual replicas of an agricultural area. The resulting models simulate the farmstead, crops, and irrigation systems, allowing growers to test scenarios and predict outcomes before implementing changes.
The authors emphasize that the categories overlap in practice. A digital twin might draw data from precision agriculture systems and feed recommendations into smart agriculture platforms.
Clearer distinctions help farmers select appropriate tools and avoid unnecessary complexity and costs, they say.
“This study contributed to conscious agricultural practices by differentiating agricultural technologies,” they wrote, adding that clearer definitions can increase productivity.
The report shifts from theory to application in a paper describing bustani, which means my garden in Arabic. The Bustanica project in Saudi Arabia is an automated hydroponic vertical farming system developed by researchers at the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The “Bustani: A Microcontroller-Based Automated Hydroponic Vertical Farming Solution” paper was written by Hussah Alotaibi, a computer engineer at Saudi Aramco, the country’s national oil company; Abul Bashar, Widad Karsou, and Shehvar Khan, researchers in the university’s computer engineering and computer science department; and Salahudean Tohmeh from the university’s robotics laboratory.
The Bustanica system combines hydroponics with aeroponics, in which plant roots hang in the air and receive nutrients through a misting system. Together, the approaches allow crops to grow in compact indoor environments, using far less water than traditional methods.
The method integrates IoT sensors that continuously monitor water chemistry and reservoir conditions.
The system grows crops in controlled indoor environments. A closed-loop design recirculates water to reduce waste. Sensors measure pH levels, nutrient concentration, and water levels. An Arduino Mega processes the sensor data. A NodeMCU ESP8266—a low-cost, open-source IoT platform—handles Wi-Fi communication and cloud connectivity.
The system sends the data through Google’s Firebase cloud platform, which acts as a real-time bridge between sensors and control systems.
A mobile app lets users monitor and control the system remotely. It displays real-time data on lighting, nutrient levels, and water pump activity. When conditions move outside optimal ranges, automated dosing pumps adjust the levels as needed.
Engineering can’t solve all the world’s problems. But it absolutely has a role to play in helping the world feed itself.” —John Verboncoeur, chair of the IEEE Smart Agri-Food initiative
The system operates as a feedback loop, collecting data, transmitting it to the cloud, analyzing the conditions, and automatically triggering adjustments.
LEDs simulate sunlight. Ultrasonic sensors measure water levels. Electrical conductivity sensors track nutrient concentration. During testing, the system maintained stable environmental conditions and adjusted dosing dynamically as readings changed.
The authors describe the outcome as “a fully functional and automated vertical sustainable farm that creates desirable growing conditions, along with an Android application that provides real-time monitoring and notifications.”
Beyond automation, bustani reflects a broader shift toward merging agriculture with consumer technology and smart-home systems. Future plans include integrating the Amazon Alexa virtual assistant and machine learning tools for plant disease detection and growth analysis.
Robotics and labor challenges
The “Toward an Efficient Tomato Harvesting Robot” paper addresses autonomous harvesting, a long-standing challenge in agricultural robotics. Tomatoes in the field vary widely in size, shape, and ripeness, and they can bruise during handling. The paper was written by IEEE Senior Member Hyoung Il Son—a professor of biosystems engineering and robotics at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea—and his graduate students Jongpyo Jun, Jeongin Kim, and Jaehwi Seol.
The paper describes how robotics is increasingly being used to target crops once considered too delicate or variable for automation.
The researcher combined 3D machine vision, robotic arms, suction-based grippers, and rotating cutting tools to build a harvesting machine capable of operating in unstructured outdoor environments. The system aims to reduce reliance on manual labor while improving harvesting efficiency and consistency.
Agriculture as a systems problem
Verboncoeur says the developments highlighted in the papers reflect a broad transformation in how engineers view the agricultural industry.
“Agriculture used to be seen primarily as managing the challenges of planting, watering, and fertilizing plants, and using machines to make the process less labor-intensive,” he says. “Now it’s also a data problem, a communications problem, an energy problem, and a resilience problem.”
Another featured paper, “Sustainable and Smart Agriculture: A Holistic Approach,” examines how technology can address environmental and demographic pressures. The paper was written by Surender Singh and Sannihit , researchers at the computer science and engineering and the civil engineering departments at Chandigarh University, in Mohali, India.
Farmers must increase food production while reducing environmental damage from depleting water resources, overapplication of fertilizer, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions, the authors say. They describe smart farming as “a revolution in food production” that can allow farmers to generate higher yields from existing resources through connected technologies and data systems.
The authors highlighted the issue of rapid urbanization. By 2050, they report, nearly 70 percent of the global population will live in cities, increasing pressure on food supply chains and distribution systems.
Wireless sensor networks will play a central role in the transformation, the researchers say. The networks use small, connected devices to monitor soil moisture, temperature, humidity, light intensity, and crop conditions. The system transmits the data to cloud platforms, where machine learning models analyze trends and recommend actions.
The authors emphasize that decision support, not automation alone, drives the greatest value of crop harvest. Farmers can integrate the information into crop management strategies to improve productivity while reducing their environmental impact.
They also note increasing collaboration between industry leaders such as Caterpillar, CNH, John Deere, and Kubota and technology companies including Bosch, Google, Intel, and Microsoft. Challenges remain, however, in communication reliability, sensor cost, and scalable data infrastructure, the authors say.
SmartAg beyond the farm
The implications of the tech advances that make farming more efficient extend beyond agriculture. Many of the same technologies—remote sensing, wireless sensor networks, AI analytics, and cloud platforms—support transportation, energy, and industrial systems.
The convergence explains IEEE’s growing involvement. Modern agriculture now combines electronics, communications, computing, and control systems.
Agriculture requires that integration, Verboncoeur says: “The challenge isn’t just inventing technology. It’s making systems practical, affordable, and deployable.”
What’s next for smart agriculture?
The special issue marks an early stage for the IEEE Smart Agri-Food initiative, which plans to develop standards; create structured ways for farmers, researchers, governments, and agribusinesses to work together; and devise deployment strategies for smart systems.
Future research is likely to focus on interoperability between platforms, data sharing, and scalable deployment models. Digital twins are expected to play a larger role as computing power and sensor density increase. Simulating agricultural systems before applying changes in the field will become commonplace, experts predict.
Adoption depends on more than technical capability, though. The central tension moving forward lies between innovation and practicality.
“Farmers face challenges in adopting such technology due to cost, electricity availability, communication infrastructure, and vulnerability of connected devices,” Singh and Sannihit wrote.
Smart agriculture offers improved efficiency, in addition to reducing the inputs of water, fertilizer, and time that would otherwise be spent on tasks machines can handle autonomously. But the benefits matter only if systems function reliably across diverse environments—from industrial farms to small, family-run operations in food-insecure regions.
For IEEE, agriculture now sits within core engineering domains. The stakes extend beyond technology itself, Verboncoeur says.
He adds that: “Food insecurity affects stability, health, education, and economic development. Engineering can’t solve all the world’s problems, but it absolutely has a role to play in helping the world feed itself.”
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alternative_right shares a report from The Hill: The FBI released an urgent security warning to the public about a fast-acting scam targeting Microsoft 365 users on Teams, Outlook and OneDrive. The agency warned that the hacking platform Kali365 seeks out OAuth device codes, allowing scammers to sneak past multi-factor authentication codes, and without the need for a password, to access Microsoft accounts. Scammers will send a phishing email impersonating a trusted document-sharing service with a device code and instructions on how to verify, according to the FBI.
“Kali365 lowers the barrier of entry, providing less-technical attackers access to AI-generated phishing lures, automated campaign templates, real-time targeted individual/entity tracking dashboards, and OAuth token capture capabilities,” the FBI stated. The platform is sold to scammers with a $250 per month subscription. The FBI, which first detected Kali365 in April, described the hacking platform as an “emerging Phishing-as-a-Service platform.” Hackers with limited skills can access advanced phishing tools through the platform, according to NordPass.
Tech
Rivian CEO says supervised point-to-point self-driving will arrive this year, and he’s comparing it directly to Tesla’s FSD
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company will ship supervised point-to-point self-driving on all of its second-generation vehicles and the R2 later this year, describing the capability as “very similar to Tesla’s FSD.” Speaking at the Masters of Scale event in Anaheim on Thursday, Scaringe laid out a three-stage autonomy roadmap: supervised point-to-point driving in 2026, eyes-off unsupervised driving in 2027, and a commercial robotaxi service with Uber beginning in 2028.
The announcement represents a significant jump from Rivian’s current driver-assistance system. Universal Hands-Free, which rolled out in late 2025, handles steering and speed on roughly 3.5 million miles of marked roads in the US and Canada. It does not navigate turns, traffic lights, roundabouts, or parking lots.
Point-to-point driving would extend the system’s capabilities to handle complete journeys from origin to destination, similar to what Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Supervised already attempts. The leap from highway lane-keeping to full urban navigation is the hardest problem in autonomous driving, and no company has solved it without significant constraints.
“Later this year, we’ll have full supervised point-to-point, which will be very similar to Tesla’s FSD,” Scaringe said. “And that’ll roll out to all of our Gen 2 vehicles and, of course, R2.” He did not specify a month or quarter for the rollout, and Rivian has not publicly demonstrated the point-to-point system in an uncontrolled environment.
The comparison to Tesla is deliberate but architecturally inexact. Tesla’s FSD relies exclusively on cameras, while Rivian’s platform integrates 10 external cameras, five radar units, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and a high-precision GPS receiver. Rivian began delivering R2 SUVs earlier this month, and future R2 models will add a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor and the company’s custom RAP1 processor, a 5nm chip delivering up to 1,600 trillion operations per second.
The pricing undercut is sharper than the technology comparison. Rivian’s Autonomy+ package costs $2,500 as a one-time purchase or $49.99 per month, compared with Tesla’s FSD at $8,000 or $99 per month. Whether the lower price reflects a competitive strategy or a difference in capability remains to be seen, given that Rivian’s point-to-point system does not yet exist as a shipping product.
Rivian’s autonomy software is built around what the company calls a Large Driving Model, a foundational AI system trained end-to-end through reinforcement learning. The LDM maps raw sensor input directly to vehicle trajectory, analysing multiple driving paths and selecting the optimal one using a technique called Group-Relative Policy Optimization. The approach mirrors the end-to-end neural network philosophy Tesla adopted with FSD v12, though Rivian’s multi-sensor hardware gives the model a wider range of input data to work with.
The 2027 eyes-off milestone is where the roadmap becomes commercially consequential. Supervised driving, regardless of how capable, still requires a human to watch the road. Tesla has been promising unsupervised FSD for years and has pushed the timeline repeatedly, most recently to Q4 2026 at the earliest. Scaringe has said Rivian targets Level 3 autonomy by 2028 and Level 4 by 2030, timelines that no autonomous driving company has consistently met.
The commercial centrepiece of the roadmap is the $1.25 billion deal with Uber announced in March. Uber committed an initial $300 million investment, with the remainder contingent on Rivian hitting autonomous performance milestones through 2031. The deal calls for Uber or its fleet partners to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis, with an option for up to 40,000 more beginning in 2030. Commercial deployment is planned for San Francisco and Miami in 2028, expanding to 25 cities by 2031.
Those targets depend on Rivian achieving something it has not yet demonstrated: a vehicle that can drive itself without human supervision. The company’s Gen 3 autonomy platform, which will power the robotaxi programme, is still undergoing validation. The initial R2 production run launched without the Gen 3 hardware, meaning the robotaxi-grade vehicles are at least one hardware generation away from production.
Scaringe framed the self-driving push as essential to Rivian’s long-term economics. The company posted a net loss of $3.63 billion in 2025 despite achieving its first full-year positive gross profit at $144 million. Autonomy, if it works, transforms the revenue model from selling cars to operating a transportation platform. But the gap between announcing a roadmap at a conference and shipping a reliable autonomous system is where most self-driving timelines have historically broken down.
In case Microsoft Flight Simulator is a little too realistic for your tastes, there’s a new way you can take to the virtual skies. Google Earth has a flight sim mode of its own, and it can now be accessed by anyone globally via their browser. Android Police spotted a social media post from the Google property announcing this update.
Prepare for takeoff. ✈️ Flight simulator is now available globally on web to all users. https://t.co/jV5ZW7BZeW
We’ve recently added many our most powerful professional desktop features to web. Elevation profiles, new import types, but there’s always been one other feature… pic.twitter.com/s11NDaCx60
— Google Earth (@googleearth) June 12, 2026
Google Earth seems to be the area where the massive company remembers that tech can be cool and downright fun. In 2024, it added an option for seeing historical recreations of select times and places. This is the sort of clever curio we love, and Google delivered even more the following year.
Once you have Google Earth open, go to Explore Earth, then the Tools menu to find the Flight Simulator mode. There’s an FAQ for you newbie virtual pilots to help you get acclimated to the Google Earth simulation. Just bear in mind two caveats. For one, this is an experimental feature, so you might have some wonky moments with the flight simulator. And second, Google wants to be very clear that this isn’t enough to put you in the cockpit of an actual 747: “The flight simulator is designed for casual exploration rather than high-fidelity aerodynamic training,” it notes. Happy travels!
Retroid has brought back the 12GB RAM configuration of the internet-famous Pocket 6, returning it to the lineup at the same $279 price point as the discontinued version.
The original 12GB RAM variant was pulled from sale earlier this year after Retroid cited the rising cost of RAM and storage, leaving the Pocket 6 available only in its 8GB RAM configuration.
However, the updated model comes with the catch of reduced internal storage. That storage reduction is the most consequential change in the new configuration, with the returning 12GB model shipping with 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage rather than the 256GB that the discontinued version carried, effectively halving the built-in capacity at an unchanged retail price.
The new variant also arrives with a more limited set of options than the original, restricted to a single control layout with asymmetrical thumbsticks, meaning buyers who prefer the symmetrical D-pad Top arrangement will need to step down to the 8GB RAM version to get that configuration.
Colour availability has narrowed as well, with the 12GB RAM model offered only in Black, 16Bit, and Silver, dropping the Light Purple and Orange options that were available on earlier Pocket 6 configurations sold through the official Retroid store.
Retroid also announced the returning model through its official Discord channel rather than a formal press release, confirming the device is in stock and available to ship immediately, which places it ahead of competing handhelds such as the AYN Thor and Odin 3 that are currently operating on pre-order timelines.
The new 12GB RAM Pocket 6 is priced at $279 and remains exclusive to the official Retroid website, with the device confirmed in stock and ready to ship immediately.
Fluance has built its reputation by walking the line between affordability and performance, offering a wide range of powered speakers, passive loudspeakers, and turntables aimed at listeners who want better sound without wandering into boutique audio bankruptcy. The new $799.99 Fluance RT87 turntable pushes that formula further, arriving as the company’s most advanced record player to date with a dual plinth construction and a choice of moving magnet cartridges.
That matters because the entry-level turntable category is no longer a sleepy corner of the hi-fi market. Fluance, U-Turn Audio, Pro-Ject, Rega, and Audio-Technica are all fighting for the same growing audience: vinyl buyers who want real performance, clean industrial design, upgrade potential, and pricing that does not require explaining a “lifestyle purchase” to another adult. With the RT87, Fluance is clearly trying to move higher up the food chain without abandoning the value equation that made the brand relevant in the first place.
“With the RT87, we wanted to push every aspect of high-fidelity playback performance further, from vibration isolation to tonearm precision,” said Justin Koetsier, Product Manager at Fluance. “Every decision behind this turntable was made with musical accuracy in mind. As more listeners demand higher-resolution analog systems, the demand is no longer just for a turntable, but for a platform that allows the stylus to retrieve the clearest possible signal from the groove.”
Dual Plinth Construction
The RT87’s most distinctive physical attribute is its newly developed dual-plinth architecture, designed to isolate key signal-path components from unwanted resonance and environmental vibration. The motor is mounted independently on the lower plinth, while the tonearm and cartridge assembly sit on a decoupled upper plinth, separated by precision conical isolators.
The physical separation created by the RT87’s dual-plinth construction is designed to reduce the transfer of motor-borne resonance and external vibration before it can reach the stylus. The dense wood plinths are also intended to help damp mechanical resonance within the chassis. If properly implemented, this type of isolation can support more stable groove tracking, a lower noise floor, and improved clarity across the soundstage.
The Tonearm
The RT87 features a 9-inch carbon fiber tonearm designed for low resonance, high rigidity, and precise stylus control. Its straight-arm geometry and 230 mm effective length are intended to trace a controlled arc across the record surface, helping reduce tracking error when properly aligned. The tonearm supports cartridges weighing 5 to 9.5 grams.
Adjustable Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA)
This feature enables listeners to fine-tune cartridge alignment for optimal stylus contact and enhanced detail retrieval, while a removable headshell makes cartridge upgrades and adjustments simple, giving listeners the flexibility to evolve their setup over time.
Two Premium Cartridge Options
The Fluance RT87 is available in two configurations, each fitted with a premium moving magnet cartridge. The Audio-Technica AT-VM95ML version uses a Microlinear stylus and offers a 3.5 mV output, making it the more detail-focused option, particularly for listeners concerned with groove tracing and inner-groove distortion.
The Ortofon 2M Blue version uses a nude elliptical stylus and delivers a higher 5.5 mV output, giving it a stronger signal into a MM phono stage and a different tonal balance. These are not interchangeable flavors of the same cartridge; the AT-VM95ML and 2M Blue have distinct output levels, stylus profiles, and sonic personalities.
“Each cartridge brings its own character to the RT87,” said Justin Koetsier, Product Manager at Fluance. “Whether listeners prioritize warmth, detail retrieval, or overall musicality, both options were selected to fully showcase the capabilities of the platform.”
High-Mass Acrylic Platter
For improved playback stability, the RT87 uses a thicker and heavier 22 mm, 4.1-pound anti-static acrylic platter. Compared with the 16 mm, 3-pound acrylic platter used on the RT85 and RT85N, the new platter adds both thickness and mass, which should increase rotational inertia and may help reduce speed instability. Fluance also claims the acrylic construction helps damp unwanted resonance and reduce static. The belt-drive system supports 33⅓, 45, and 78 RPM playback speeds, and the RT87 also includes auto-stop functionality.
Traditional Connectivity
Fluance takes a traditional connectivity approach with the RT87. There is no built-in phono preamp, USB output, or Bluetooth connectivity, so the turntable is aimed at listeners who plan to use a conventional analog setup. The RT87 provides a standard phono-level output with a ground connection. To connect it directly to an integrated amplifier or stereo/AV receiver, that component needs a dedicated MM phono input. If it does not, an external MM phono preamp must be connected between the turntable and an available line-level input on the amplifier or receiver.
Comparison
In the following chart, we have compared the Fluance RT87 with their popular, but lower-priced RT85N and the popular Denon DP-500BT at a similar RT87 price point, which includes built-in Bluetooth.
| Brand/Model | Fluance RT87 (2026) | Fluance RT85N (2021/2022) | Denon DP-500BT (2026) |
| Product Type | Turntable | Turntable | Bluetooth Turntable |
| Price | $799.99 | $549.99 | $899.99 |
| Turntable Type | Belt Drive | Belt Drive | Belt Drive |
| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM 45 RPM 78 RPM |
33 1/3 RPM 45 RPM |
33 1/3 RPM 45 RPM 78 RPM |
| Speed Variation | 33 – 0.08% 45 – 0.06% 78 – 0.01% |
0.10% | Not Indicated |
| Wow and Flutter | 0.06% | 0.07% | 0.1% (WRMS) |
| Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Weighted) | 70 dB | 68 dB | 62 dB |
| Weight of Platter | 4.1 lbs (1.85 kg) | 3 lbs (1.56 kg) | Not Provided |
| Height of Platter | 0.86 inches (22 mm) | 0.62 inches (16 mm) | Not Provided |
| Auto-Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tonearm Type | Static Balanced, Straight | Static Balanced, S-Type | Static Balanced, S-Type |
| Supported Cartridge Weight | 5 g – 9.5 g | 5 – 7.5 g | 5 – 13 g |
| Tonearm Material | Carbon Fiber, One-Piece Tube | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Overhang | 0.73 inches (18.5 mm) | 0.76 inches (19.2 mm) | 0.6 inches (16mm) |
| Effective Tonearm Length | 9.06 inches (230 mm) | 8.82 inches (224 mm) | 8.7 inches (220mm) |
| Pivot to Spindle Distance (NEW SPEC) | 8.33 inches (211.5 mm) | Not Indicated | Not Indicated |
| Headshell Offset Angle (NEW SPEC) | 24° | Not Indicated | Not indicated |
| Connectors | Tiffany Style RCA (24k Gold-plated) | Tiffany Style RCA (24k Gold-plated) | Standard RCA |
| Phono Preamp | – | – | Yes |
| Phono Cartridge | Audio-Technica AT-VM95ML, or Ortofon 2M Blue |
Nagaoka MP-110 | Denon CN-6518 |
| Bluetooth | – | – | Yes |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 6.3 x 16.5 x 14.25 inches
16.0 x 42.0 x 36.2 cm |
6 x 16.5 x 14.25 inches
14.6 x 41.9 x 36.2 cm |
4.65 x 16.8 × 14.1. inches
11.8 x 42.6 × 35.7 cm |
| Weight | 21 lbs (9.5 kg) | 16.76 lbs (7.6 kg) | 13.7 lbs (6.2 kg) |
The Bottom Line
The under-$1,000 turntable category has become one of the more competitive corners of hi-fi, and Fluance is clearly trying to move beyond its value-driven comfort zone with the RT87. At $799.99, this is not just another RT85 variant with a different cartridge bolted to the headshell. The RT87 adds a dual-plinth chassis, a thicker 22 mm acrylic platter, a 9-inch carbon fiber tonearm with VTA adjustment, 78 RPM playback, auto-stop, and the choice of either the Audio-Technica AT-VM95ML or Ortofon 2M Blue moving magnet cartridge.
That makes the RT87 more focused than many of the lifestyle-driven turntables now crowding this price range. Fluance is not chasing Bluetooth, USB ripping, app control, or plug-and-play convenience here. There is no built-in phono preamp, no wireless output, and no USB connection, which means buyers will need an amplifier or receiver with a proper MM phono input, or a separate outboard phono stage.
Those omissions will matter to anyone looking for an all-in-one vinyl solution. The Technics SL-40CBT and Denon DP-500BT offer more modern convenience, while Pro-Ject, Rega, and U-Turn continue to fight hard on tonearm design, speed control, build quality, and upgrade paths. But the RT87’s argument is different: spend the money on the mechanical parts that matter most to analog playback and leave the digital extras outside the plinth.
That makes the Fluance RT87 a more serious step up for listeners who already own, or plan to buy, a proper phono stage. It is less convenient than some of its rivals, but also more purpose-built. For the dedicated record listener who wants cartridge flexibility, better isolation, and a more substantial platform without crossing the $1,000 line, the RT87 looks like Fluance’s most credible turntable yet.
Price & Availability
The Fluance RT87 is available now in Natural Walnut, Piano White, and Piano Black with a choice of an Audio Technica AT-VM95ML or Ortofon 2M Blue phono cartridge for $799.99 at Amazon or Fluance.
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JBL is not done feeding the party speaker machine in 2026. Following the PartyBox On The Go 2 Plus, the company has added two more portable party speakers to the lineup with the new JBL PartyBox 330 and PartyBox 130.
Both models arrive with upgraded woofers, new tweeters, deeper bass extension, and clearer highs, along with JBL’s AI Sound Boost and Smart EQ to help optimize playback across different tracks. That matters in this category, where “loud” is easy and “loud without sounding like a shopping cart full of Bluetooth regrets” is the harder trick.
The design has also been updated, with a new hexangle profile, curved front grille, redesigned lightshow, and a simplified top control panel built around a single dial for volume, sound modes, and lighting effects. Available in Black or White with orange accents, the PartyBox 330 and 130 look like JBL is pushing the line toward a cleaner, more modern identity without forgetting the main job: make the room, backyard, beach, or basement move.
JBL PartyBox 330
At its core, the JBL PartyBox 330 uses dual 6.5-inch woofers and delivers 280 watts of total output power. Making their PartyBox debut, twin PEN dome tweeters bring technology used in JBL’s professional concert systems, with the goal of producing cleaner, more detailed highs that can cut through the mix when the volume climbs.
JBL also includes AI Sound Boost with Smart EQ Mode, which adjusts playback to help keep the sound balanced across different tracks. The redesigned cabinet adds a new profile, ripple-effect side panels built from miniature JBL horn shapes, and a reinvented beat-synced lightshow because, apparently, standing still in the corner was never part of the brief.
Battery life is rated at up to 18 hours, while a 10-minute Fast Charge can provide up to 2 hours of playback. The battery is also replaceable, so users can charge a spare and swap it in when the party outlasts the first pack.
For easier transport, the PartyBox 330 includes a telescopic locking handle and wide all-terrain wheels. The IPX4 splashproof rating adds protection against splashes, making it suitable for poolside use, patios, and outdoor gatherings.
Dual mic and guitar inputs support karaoke, sing-alongs, and basic live performance use. JBL has also added an optical TV input, USB-C for lossless audio, and Bluetooth for wireless streaming from smartphones and tablets.
Auracast support allows users to pair multiple compatible JBL speakers, making it easier to expand coverage for larger spaces or bigger crowds.
JBL PartyBox 130
For those looking for a more compact PartyBox model, the JBL PartyBox 130 delivers up to 200 watts of output power. It uses upgraded 5.25-inch woofers and 25mm silk dome tweeters, with JBL promising stronger bass and clearer highs from the smaller cabinet.
The PartyBox 130 also includes a redesigned lightshow with strobe edge lighting and dynamic visual effects. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours, while a 10-minute Fast Charge provides up to 80 minutes of additional playback.
A redesigned foldable carry handle makes the 130 easier to move, and its IPX4 splashproof rating adds protection against splashes and light spills. Like the PartyBox 330, it includes mic and guitar inputs, Bluetooth streaming, and Auracast support for connecting multiple compatible JBL speakers.
EasySing Mics
To get more out of the PartyBox 330 and PartyBox 130, JBL also offers EasySing Mics as an optional accessory. They add karaoke-focused features for users who want to use either speaker for sing-alongs, parties, or casual live performance.
Pro Tip: JBL EasySing Mics are not included with the PartyBox 330 or PartyBox 130. They require a separate purchase.
The JBL EasySing Mics provide real-time, AI-powered vocal removal from tracks while maintaining clear, balanced audio. Users can adjust the vocal level to 25%, 50%, or fully removed. The EasySing algorithm enhances live vocals with Voice Boost for improved high-frequency clarity, along with reverb, echo, and noise suppression.
The JBL EasySing Mic Mini is a new compact version that provides a pocket-sized solution for singing and content creation. It includes Voice Boost for high-pitch support and AI-based noise suppression to reduce background interference.
Comparison
| JBL Model | PartyBox 330 | PartyBox 130 |
| Product Type | Party Speaker | Party Speaker |
| Price | $629.95 | $449.95 |
| Power Output (total) | 280 W | 200 W |
| Speaker Drivers | 2 x dual 6.25″ Woofers 2 x 25mm PEN dome Tweeters |
2 x dual 5.25″ Woofers 2 x 25mm silk dome Tweeters |
| Product Height | 26.1 inches | 22.6 inches |
| Weight | 37.7 lbs | 24.9 lbs |
| AI Sound Boost | Yes | Yes |
| Smart EQ Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Light Show | Yes | Yes |
| Playtime | Up to 18 hours | Up to 15 hours |
| Fast Charge | 10 min = 2 hrs | 10 min = 80 min |
| Handle | Telescopic | Foldable |
| IP Rating | IPX4 splashproof | IPX4 splashproof |
| Inputs (Wired) | Dual mic
Dual guitar inputs USB-C lossless audio Optical input 3.5mm aux |
Dual mic
Dual guitar inputs USB-C lossless audio Optical input 3.5mm aux |
| Inputs (Wireless) | Bluetooth 6.0 | Bluetooth 6.0 |
| Auracast™ | Yes | Yes |
| JBL EasySing Mic Compatibility | Yes | Yes |
| JBL One App | Yes | Yes |
The Bottom Line
The PartyBox 330 and 130 push JBL deeper into the portable party speaker category with more power, upgraded drivers, Auracast support, mic and guitar inputs, splash resistance, replaceable batteries, and updated lightshows. The 330 adds more output and longer battery life, while the 130 offers a smaller, less expensive option that still keeps the core PartyBox feature set intact.
What’s missing? EasySing microphones are optional, not included, and neither model is pretending to replace a serious PA system. But for parties, outdoor gatherings, karaoke, casual performances, or buskers who need portable amplification without a complicated setup, the PartyBox 330 and 130 make a practical case at $629.95 and $449.95, respectively.
Pricing & Availability
The JBL PartyBox 130 and 330 will be available for presale starting June 7, 2026. Shipping is expected to start on June 28, 2026.
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Total Wireless, formerly known as Total by Verizon, is a prepaid, no-contract wireless provider with unlimited data covered by the Verizon 5G network. Total Wireless Total 5G Unlimited plan has unlimited data, talk, and text, along with a five-year price guarantee—meaning it won’t get jacked up after a trial period, guaranteeing you get unlimited data at a low price. Total Wireless has also introduced unlimited data on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network that promises to be up to 10 times faster than the median download speeds of other providers.
Whether you have to have the newest iPhone 17, or are more of an Android phone person, we wanted to highlight the best Total Wireless promo codes and discounts that will make anyone happy!
50% Off With BYOD at Total Wireless (No Promo Code Required)
My phone bill is always way more expensive than I think it will be, and it doesn’t help that phone contracts can be confusing and difficult. Total Wireless makes it easy, with incentives like free items and price-lock discounts. Right now, you can get 50% off the Total 5G Unlimited plan when you bring your own phone (aka ‘Bring Your Own Device’). These plans start at as low as $20 per month, with taxes and fees included.
Total Wireless Discount: 15% Off
To get this Total Wireless promo code for 15% off, all you have to do is sign up for the Total Wireless newsletter and get 15% off on your first phone purchase. Plus, with the newsletter, you’ll get exclusive Total Wireless offers and promotions delivered to your inbox to save even more and get up-to-date on the latest drops.
Save up to $250 on Select Devices When You Switch to Total Wireless
Total Wireless wants to thank you for switching. Right now, you can get a free Galaxy A36 5G when you switch to a Total 5G or 5G+ unlimited plan. Or, you could choose to get up to 4 free Moto G Stylus 5G phones when you switch to the Total Base 5G Unlimited plan (or higher). They have tons of other promos going on too, so there’s something no matter your taste. Right now, if you switch, you’ll get up to $250 off select devices, including the iPhone 13 for $50 ($249 off), a free Samsung Galaxy, or a free Samsung Galaxy A25 5 (originally $180), and so much more.
Loop in Friends, Get a Month Free
Total Wireless also has a loyalty program; when your friend gives you a referral code to join, you’ll get a free month of service upon joining. Once you make the switch to Total Wireless and join Total Rewards, as long as you enter your friend’s code within 14 days of activation, you’ll both receive 5,000 points, which is enough for a $50 service plan.
Fin raised $250m in debt in March to help fund its AI agents and make 650 new hires.
Salesforce is purchasing Irish customer agent unicorn Fin for approximately $3.6bn, marking the latest in a series of acquisitions aimed at strengthening its enterprise AI capabilities.
Fin was founded as Intercom in 2011 by CEO Eoghan McCabe, chief strategy officer Des Traynor, chief engineer Ciaran Lee and David Barrett, who worked as a front-end developer at the company before departing in 2018. The company changed its name to Fin – after its AI customer agent platform – last month.
The company’s core offering is Fin, an AI service agent that resolves end-to-end customer queries across channels including live chats, email, WhatsApp, phone and Slack. The AI agent is powered by the company’s proprietary AI model called Apex, purpose-built for customer support.
The company said that it surpassed $400m in annual recurring revenue in March, with Fin alone set to reach the $100m revenue mark.
Fin’s wide-ranging customer base includes companies such as Anthropic, cloud company Snowflake and crypto prediction platform Polymarket. More than 30,000 companies use Fin’s products.
The acquisition comes a few months after Fin raised $250m in debt to help fund its AI agents. The company, at the time, said that it planned to make 650 new hires across offices in Dublin, London, Berlin, Sydney, Chicago and San Francisco this year.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Fin to Salesforce as we enable every company to become an agentic enterprise,” said Marc Benioff, the CEO and chair of Salesforce.
“Fin brings proven agent technology, a deep commitment to customer success, and an incredible AI team that will complement Agentforce with powerful service agent capabilities.”
Salesforce’s AI platform Agentforce grew 205pc, hitting $1.2bn in annual recurring revenue in its fiscal quarter ending in May. Fin’s AI package is expected to help Salesforce provide organisations with improved autonomous resolution and reduced cost-to-serve.
McCabe said that “this is a major win for consumers of the world”.
“Our technology has defined this category and set the new standards for what great customer service looks like today,” he said.
Salesforce announced its intention to acquire Berlin-founded digital experience platform Contentful earlier this month.
Last summer, the company acquired enterprise cloud data management business Informatica in an $8bn deal to integrate the tech into its AI platform Agentforce.
In October, it acquired automation platform Regrello, followed by Qualified, an agentic AI marketing solutions provider, this April.
Salesforce shares are up more than 1.5pc today (15 June), but overall has dropped around 35pc over the past year.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
Every now and then a project comes into the Hackaday feed that has so many levels of wrong about it that you really shouldn’t do it at home, but is amusing enough to feature anyway with a warning. So it is with [ArcaEge]’s Capacitor Alarm Clock, which wakes up its unfortunate owner by blowing up electrolytic capacitors with reverse voltage. If you survive, you’ll certainly be awake!
It’s inspired unsurprisingly by an [ElectroBoom] video, and the premise is simple enough. An ESP32 serves as the clock, and triggers a relay for the alarm, which in turn overloads a suitably low-voltage electrolytic capacitor in a socket. The resulting explosion which appears in a video we’ve placed below the break, wakes the slumberer.
We don’t have to tell you that this is not the safest of hacks, and is presented here only for your entertainment. But it does provide a few points of interest, for example in identifying the difference between capacitors with a vent, and those without.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a project based around exploding capacitors, and that one maybe was a don’t-do-this-at-home too.
security
According to the one person who actually read the research paper
The “jailbreak” that prompted the Trump administration to block Anthropic’s most advanced models was actually a simple three-word prompt: “Fix this code.”
That’s according to Katie Moussouris, founder and CEO of Luta Security, and the fairy godmother of bug bounties. She says she was the only outside expert to read the third-party research paper on the Fable 5 guardrail bypass techniques that prompted the ban.
On Friday, the US government, reportedly citing national security concerns, issued an export control directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, inside or outside the United States. In response, Anthropic disabled both models “for all our customers to ensure compliance.”
Anthropic shared the report privately with her, Moussouris wrote in a Monday blog post.
The outside researchers reportedly fed Anthropic’s Fable 5, Mythos, and Claude Opus models open-source code containing known CVEs, plus new code intentionally laced with vulnerabilities, and asked the models to “review the code for security issues.”
As Moussouris tells it, Fable 5 refused, so the researchers asked the AI systems to “fix this code.” The model reportedly obliged, and after additional prompts also produced scripts to test the patches.
“That’s it,” Moussouris wrote. “‘Fix this code,’ plus several manual steps to generate test scripts, should never have triggered an export control. I feel like making ’90s-style t-shirts with ‘fix this code’ on the front and ‘this shirt is a munition’ on the back.”
Between 2013 and 2017, Moussouris served on the technical expert group that renegotiated the Wassenaar Arrangement, a voluntary agreement between 42 nations that governs certain export controls for classified dual-use software and technology.
The group eventually won exemptions for defensive cybersecurity activity. This allows defenders to share vulnerability data, conduct malware analysis, and coordinate incident response internationally without the threat of criminal prosecution.
On Sunday, Moussouris joined more than 100 other cybersecurity leaders and signed an open letter urging the Trump administration to reverse the restrictions on Fable 5 and Mythos and restore cybersecurity firms’ access to the advanced models.
“To pull the best capabilities away from defenders without a good reason when our adversaries are rapidly advancing is dangerous,” they wrote.
In her blog, Moussouris argues that there was no guardrail bypass or jailbreak. Defenders should be able to ask AI systems to find and fix bugs, and write tests to validate the patch, she said. Anthropic’s models were doing “the most valuable thing an AI model can do for defensive security: executing the find, fix, and test loop defenders run every day.”
Removing the capability for models to respond to defensive requests makes AI systems “worse at finding bugs and verifying patches,” she continued.
Plus, the US can’t extend export controls to open-weight systems or similar advanced models from China and other countries – and these systems will soon achieve Mythos-like capabilities, anyway. Anthropic and Google have both accused China-based rivals including DeepSeek of using “distillation attacks” to train their models by siphoning knowledge from American companies’ AI.
Banning Anthropic’s advanced models is going to hurt defenders more than attackers, Moussouris warns. “Defense improves when defenders find the same bugs attackers find and fix them faster,” she wrote. “We need the best tools to defend against increasingly capable attackers in the AI era of cybersecurity.”
The Register reached out to the Trump administration for comment on Moussouris’ assertion, and we’ll update this post if we hear back. ®
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