One of Nothing’s boldest ideas, Essential Apps, is now available for Phone 3 users, unlocking a new way to create highly personalized, AI-generated widgets for your home screen without any coding wizardry.

The feature, currently rolling out in beta through the web-based Nothing Playground platform, is an early step toward the company’s long-term vision of an AI-native operating system called Essential OS.

What can Essential Apps do?

But what is Essential Apps anyway? Think of it as tiny yet useful tools that do very specific things for users, in the form of a widget.

Want a widget that can track your water intake? Or one that finds the highest-rated restaurants in the locality (could be very useful if you travel around)? Well, the promise here is that you can create personalized widgets that perform specific tasks (tailored to your daily requirements) without writing a single line of code.

Nothing’s own example includes a widget that finds the best days and time to run outside (taking into consideration the weather and calendar).

You should only have to describe what you want in a simple text-based command (the widget’s purpose, what it does, its size, etc.), and Nothing Playground should take care of the rest.

Essential Apps can only access three device permissions for now

You can even change or edit the widget’s design or functionality after creating it. The widgets can access information from the internet as well, so that’s a plus point.

For now, the Essential Apps can access three different permissions from your smartphone: Location, Calendar, and Contacts. So, you should be able to create location or calendar-based reminders, countdowns, and one-tap navigation widgets.

In the future, the widgets should be able to access additional permissions, including camera, microphone, notifications, calling, vibration, and Bluetooth.

As mentioned in the beginning, the Nothing Essentials Apps Beta is currently available to Phone 3 users via a waitlist. However, the company should extend support to more devices running Nothing OS 4.0 in the near future.

Parkour Kitties Fibers claims to be one of the first hand-dyed yarn businesses in Singapore

Mentioning “parkour” to anyone generally evokes a mental image of a particularly athletic individual, overcoming barriers and obstacles with ease. Or, maybe that specific scene from The Office may come to mind.

For 55-year-old Lois Teo, however, parkour is simply what her three relentlessly playful rescue cats were constantly up to. Their states of perpetual motion led Lois to label her felines as “parkour kitties”.

As an homage, Lois decided to name her business Parkour Kitties Fibers. Like the kittens, the brand would come to embody curiosity and a refusal to stay within rigid boundaries. Today, Parkour Kitties Fibers is recognised as one of Singapore’s earliest hand-dyed yarn businesses, operating in a niche that barely existed locally previously.

We spoke with indie yarn dyer Lois to find out what it means to be one of Singapore’s first hand-dyers.

Stitching through recovery

Since her teenage years, Lois had knitted and crocheted, learning from a knitting book she inherited from her sister. Over time, knitting became a quiet ritual—something she returned to whenever she needed calm.

In 2016, Lois took a one-year sabbatical from a stressful corporate job after suffering from a medical emergency during a business trip. During this period, knitting shifted from hobby to therapy. The repetitive motions, textures, and focus offered comfort at a time when her body and life felt uncertain.

When the overseas posting she was slated for offered no possibility of a part-time arrangement, Lois made the difficult decision to leave her corporate role entirely in 2017.

The following year was spent recovering, knitting, and learning to live at a slower pace. It was during this limbo that Parkour Kitties Fibres began to take shape—long before it had a name or customers.

During her usual shopping for yarns online, Lois discovered art of hand-dyed yarn, where the fibres saturated with layered colours, speckles, and gradients that felt alive. 

“I realised a lot of them dye the yarn at home, in a home studio or garage,” Lois said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I can do that at home too’ and started converting my kitchen into a home studio!”

The founder shared that previously, there was only one other person hand-dyeing yarn in Singapore at that time, and it was limited to a hobby.

Lois began researching the process, watching YouTube tutorials and learning about acid dyes—how they work, and how they can be safely used on natural fibres. Through much practice, what started as curiosity quickly turned into passion and eventually a business.

Learning the ropes and rinses

In 2019, Lois officially began dyeing yarn and selling it online. The earliest offerings were simple, basic colourways that were listed on Etsy. Unexpectedly, there were many customers from the US and Canada, who were willing to pay international shipping for yarn hand-dyed halfway across the world. 

Her strong Etsy presence caught the attention of a local Etsy team, who encouraged Lois to take part in her first pop-up at its annual Etsy Craftivist, a crafter’s market held at Esplanade in 2019.

That moment marked Parkour Kitties Fibers’ transition from a quiet online presence into a visible part of Singapore’s small but passionate yarn scene.

Today, Lois has expanded into novelty yarns, including bases embellished with sequins and beads. When dyed black, these yarns can become garments that feel classy and semi-formal.

Lois had also noticed that many customers treat her yarn as a “special occasion” material due to its uniqueness in colourways compared to mass-dyed yarn. 

“I’ve observed that many customers don’t use my yarn immediately but save it for more intricate projects,” Lois shared. 

Years later, customers would reach out to Lois with their finished projects, proudly sharing sweaters, shawls, and cardigans made from Parkour Kitties yarn. Sometimes, these posts spark renewed demand for past colourways, which Lois happily accommodates.

A single skein starts at S$32, a price point Lois maintains to reflect the reality of local production costs. 

However, Lois is persistent in making natural fibre, especially hand-dyed ones, more accessible and affordable.

To lower the barrier of entry, she also produces mini-skeins, allowing customers to experiment with smaller projects like headscarves and socks. These smaller quantities also let people feel the difference in texture and quality when knitting or crocheting with natural fibre, compared to synthetic ones.

Lois is also part of knitting groups where she and other knitters share their love, inspirations, and techniques for creating new works. 

The craft behind the colours

Lois works primarily with animal fibres such as merino wool and cashmere, while synthetic fibres like polyester are avoided as much as possible. Such synthetic materials may be cheaper, but they do not retain warmth and durability over time in the same way natural fibres do, Lois emphasised.

“If you buy synthetic, it’s $10 compared to $20 for a natural fibre. It depends on whether you are looking for value or quality.” Lois said.

While knitting with natural fibre is undeniably more expensive than synthetic ones, Lois believes natural yarn is worth it for its craftsmanship and longevity. A store-bought knitted sweater made from natural fibre, she estimated, would retail for S$500 to S$600.

Outside of formal collections, Lois draws inspiration from the world around her: the colours and patterns of insects, birds, and flowers, as well as visual culture such as animations. These influences have even been translated into one to two colourways released a month, and even bundled skein colourways, where multiple colours tell a cohesive story. 

“My Studio Ghibli-inspired skeins have surprisingly sold quite well and usually sell out as fast as I can produce them.” Lois reflected.

Each dye batch usually yields around six skeins in five different yarn weights per colourway. The full dyeing process—cooking the yarn with acid dye, allowing it to cool, rinsing, and drying—takes about two days. During rainy periods, drying time can stretch even longer, depending on the yarn weights involved.

Occasionally, the final hue turns out differently than expected because various yarn bases absorb the dye in diverse ways—a natural quirk of hand-dyeing that always offers Lois a fresh lesson in her art.

“No two skeins are identical, that’s the beauty of hand-dyed yarn,” Lois reflected on her craft.

Binding off Etsy

As Etsy grew more expensive and prone to imitators, Parkour Kitties moved fully to sell on her website through Shopify in 2024. 

Later that year, a customer-turned-friend opened a knitting shop, Cast On Yarn Shop, which gave Parkour Kitties Fibers a physical retail spot to stock yarn regularly. Lois now drops by often, functioning almost like an in-house dyer. 

As part of her love for knitting and the community, she also spends considerable time helping customers estimate how much yarn is needed for their projects, like sweaters—typically three to four skeins for a small to medium size, depending on yarn weight.

Moreover, that year, as part of a collaboration with the National Heritage Board and weaving and fibrecraft studio Craft Atelier, Lois created a yarn featuring a vibrant orange, green, and purple palette inspired by the culture and history of Geylang Serai. The yarn was offered in several blends, including merino and mulberry silk.

Besides stocking at Cast On Yarn Shop and Craft Atelier, Parkour Kitties Fibers has also found international stockists in Australia, Indonesia, and Japan, driven by interest in Lois’ novelty yarns—particularly her bold offerings like neon colourways amongst her other creations. Lois noticed that her core customers tend to be working adults ranging from their 20s to 60s, most of whom knit garments such as sweaters and cardigans.

At pop-ups, Lois offers ready-made products alongside her hand-dyed skeins, and the offerings shift according to the audience. High-end events like Boutique Fair feature large shawls, while festivals aimed at younger, budget-conscious crowds, such as Mercury Festival, will see Lois’ smaller bandanas, beanies and headscarves for sale. 

Custom dye requests are increasingly common. One recent order involved “chill colours” in blues and greens for a very large shawl, beginning with five skeins and later asked for an additional three skeins to complete the piece.

The pressure behind the palette

Among the usual creative challenges Lois has faced, the latest Peranakan Heritage 2025 Advent Calendar stands out as the most demanding, but also one of the most fulfilling ones. 

Her friend from Cast On Yarn Shop asked Lois to come up with 24 entirely new colourways. Lois got to work and decided on a Peranakan culture theme, where some colourways were inspired by butterflies and pink lotus in Peranakan motifs.

Initially hesitant, Lois only decided to go ahead with it later and had two weeks ahead of a Dec 1 delivery deadline to deliver the colourways. Nonetheless, she managed to do it with intense discipline, research and trial-and-error.  Moreover, Lois visited the Peranakan Museum to ensure the heritage-inspired colourways were accurate and respectfully represented.

Operational challenges have also emerged, particularly in international shipping. Severe restrictions and high flat fees introduced by SingPost for US-bound parcels has forced Lois to find slightly more affordable shipping companies.

To manage still high shipping costs, Parkour Kitties lists shipping fees transparently on its website and offers refunds for any difference. 

“Despite the higher shipping prices, US customers continue to place orders and are willing to pay for it!” Lois shared.

Picking up the next stitch

Besides personal milestones in launching the Peranakan Heritage 2025 Advent Calendar, popular Studio Ghibli bundles and becoming a near-resident dyer at a friend’s yarn shop, Lois’ SG60-themed colourways inspired by Peranakan Kebaya prints also marked a new phase of visibility and collaboration.

Looking ahead, Lois hopes to develop more kits and curated sets. New colourways frequently sell out upon release—sometimes before they even reach physical shelves—necessitating frequent dyeing sessions.

In terms of scale, Lois has been increasingly receiving a rising number of custom requests, apart from creating over 100 colourways so far.

One of the most ambitious ideas on the horizon emerged from a conversation with her yarn shop–owning friend: the possibility of opening a yarn shop in the airport. Lois believes tourists would be drawn to locally hand-dyed yarn as a meaningful gift or a portable souvenir.

For others considering turning their love for craft into a business, Lois offered a firm piece of advice: “Do not under-sell your craft just because everybody’s doing it. Do not under-sell the time you spend on your craft.”

In every skein of Parkour Kitties Fibers’ yarn lies not just colour, but care, labour, and the conviction that slow, intentional making is worth every effort in this fast-paced world.

• Learn more about Parkour Kitties Fibers here.
• Read more stories we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Featured Image Credit: Parkour Kitties Fibers

USB ports are used to connect external devices such as the mouse, keyboard, joystick, and printers to your computer. Different ports are used to connect different external devices at a time. And it is so frustrating if any of them stops working while you are using any external device, or even if you want to connect any device.

In this article, you will find the reason why your USB ports are not working properly or are stopping working in Windows.

Identifying Issues in Port

To fix the USB port issue, it is necessary to find out the reason behind the problem occurring while using these devices.

To identify the reason, here is a list of some issues that occur in USB ports in Windows.

Device Not Recognized: This is the basic reason for the USB ports to stop working. When you connect your external device, your computer does not recognize the device.

Error Messages: You may encounter messages like ‘USB device not recognized,’ ‘Power on the USB port,’ and ‘Overvoltage on USB port.’ These pop up for a lot of reasons, like outdated drivers, power management settings, connectivity issues, or faulty ports.

Intermittent Connectivity: This is the unstable connectivity of the external device after connecting to your computer. The external device connects and disconnects repeatedly.

Slow in Data Transfer: The transfer process becomes unusually slow when the USB device is not connected to the computer properly.

These are the issues you face while connecting any external device, such as a mouse, keyboard, joystick, and many others. To resolve some basic problems, you can simply install drivers for external devices like the USB Joystick Driver and for any other device.

How to Fix USB Port Issues?

Follow the given steps when you face issues with USB ports in Windows, and resolve those issues in quick and easy ways.

Physical Damage

The first step to follow to fix the USB port is to check the external device in the port you are connecting to. Ensure that the USB port or the device you are connecting to is dust-free. Check for the loose connections of the device from your computer.

Restarting the Computer

Restarting your computer simply refreshes the system and automatically installs new drivers in your operating system. After restarting the computer, it recognizes the missing USB drivers.

Check for BIOS Settings

Enable all the USB ports in your computer. Keep the USB ports enabled for easy connectivity from the external devices to your computer.

The following are the steps used to enable the BIOS settings.

Step 1: Turn on the power switch in your CPU.

Step 2: Press the F2 key repeatedly until your computer starts.

Step 3: BIOS settings configuration appears on your screen.

Step 4: Open USB configuration, or USB ports, in ‘Integrated Devices.’

Step 5: Select and enable USB ports. Save changes and exit.

Now your USB port or external port is enabled; if it is not working yet, follow the next steps.

Adjust Power Management Settings

Your operating system may have disabled the USB devices to save power. To enable these USB ports, here are the steps.

Step 1: Right-click on the Windows option present in the left corner of the taskbar.

Step 2: Go to USB controllers.

Step 3: Right-click on ‘USB root hub’ and then go to ‘Properties.’

Step 4: Go to the ‘Power Management’ tab. Unselect ‘Allow computer to turn off this device to save power.’

Step 5: Repeat the process for all ‘USB Root Hubs,’ and then restart your system.

Disable Selective Suspend

The selective suspend feature works for the interference of external devices in your system.

Here are the steps to disable this feature.

Step 1: Go to the ‘Start’ menu and search for ‘Edit Power Plan.’

Step 2: Open ‘Change Advance Power Settings.’

Step 3: Select USB settings, and then open ‘USB selective suspend,’ and disable it.

Step 4: Restart your system to save changes.

Uninstall and Reinstall USB Controllers

Malicious controller drivers in your system are a reason why your system is not recognizing external devices.

Here are the steps to uninstall and reinstall your drivers.

Step 1: Go to the ‘Start’ button on the taskbar.

Step 2: Select ‘Device Manager’ and open the ‘USB controller.’

Step 3: Go to every option in the list and select it, then right-click ‘Uninstall Device.’

Step 4: Restart your computer or laptop.

Step 5: Your system automatically reinstalls the essential drivers.

To connect external devices, the USB ports are the quickest method. And if these USB ports stop working, follow the given steps and information and fix USB port issues in your computer and laptops.

A big pendulum hangs in Tom Stanton’s workshop, ready to go. He heaves the weighted arm to one side, lets it go, and watches it swing for a long time thanks to the low friction bearings. This is a simple device for storing energy, as gravity converts potential energy into kinetic energy with each pass, then back the other way again. Most people store electricity in batteries, but Stanton took a different approach, storing it mechanically and then converting it back to electricity on demand.

He begins with a basic experiment involving a magnet dangling from a piece of rope and swinging over a solid copper block. As the magnet passes past the copper, the moving magnetic field induces a current in the copper, and those currents form their own opposing fields, slowing the magnet and converting its motion into heat, but Stanton noticed something interesting. Instead of letting the heat triumph, he reasoned, why not replace the copper block with a coil of wire? When the magnet swings by, the current passes through the wire rather than being dissipated as heat.

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Stanton began with some fairly basic versions and obtained alternating current that would light an LED for a moment or two during its swing, but to make the output more useful for devices that require a steady supply, he added a full-bridge rectifier, which is four diodes arranged to allow current to flow in only one direction. He also used a capacitor to smooth out the pulses and provide a steady voltage. Even with small swings, the capacitor would now charge sufficiently to keep the LED light between swings.

Then he got to have some fun by scaling everything up. He used an existing triangular frame from a prior trebuchet build as the foundation. He mounted an aluminum arm on precision bearings and then installed many powerful magnets along the arm in an alternating pole pattern. He also added several small magnets that rotated between the bigger ones to make a Halbach array, which directed the magnetic field strongly in one direction. To strengthen the field even further, he attached a mild steel plate behind the magnets, which focused the field by creating a convenient return path for the magnetic field lines.

The coils came next, with thick enameled copper wire twisted onto 3D-printed shapes to make six pickup coils. Each pair of coils is connected to its own rectifier on a small circuit board. To store the rectified energy, he used two enormous capacitor banks totaling 100,000 microfarads.

Energy calculations demonstrate how limited it is. With a 40-kilogram weight lifted 18 centimeters, the pendulum can carry around 51 joules, which is comparable to 0.014 watt-hour. That amount of energy is sufficient to power six LEDs at an average of 0.28 watts for three minutes, while the swing height decreases by 13 centimeters. However, higher swings provide a higher voltage because the speed of the swing is more important than the height in induction, but they also reduce the amount of time you can use the energy. Getting the appropriate combination of swing height and weight produces more stable power.

So he put it all to the test by shorting the coils, which caused the pendulum to come to a halt in a single swing due to the magnetic field’s enormous braking effect. An oscilloscope revealed that the peaks of the AC voltage mid-swing were around 80 volts, but after rectification, it settled down to roughly 30 volts DC. The stored charge is sufficient to operate a small fan for a short period of time, as well as an electromagnetic launcher that propels a paper plane across the room with a single swing. Phone charging is a sluggish process; a normal battery would only last about a thousand full cycles because its energy density is not as high as that of lithium batteries.
[Source]

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer?  Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? A couple of the clues took me a few minutes, especially 2-Down, which is an unusual animal. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Flying ___ (kind of bat, despite its name)
Answer: FOX

4A clue: Furniture retailer known for its sprawling stores
Answer: IKEA

6A clue: Drug cops, informally
Answer: NARCS

8A clue: Geological time period spanning several ages
Answer: EPOCH

9A clue: Like F, in the alphabet
Answer: SIXTH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Penalties for parking violations
Answer: FINES

2D clue: African mammal whose striped legs resemble a zebra’s
Answer: OKAPI

3D clue: Make a copy of
Answer: XEROX

5D clue: Bank customer’s holding: Abbr.
Answer: ACCT

7D clue: “Quiet, you!”
Answer: SHH

Malaysia’s artificial intelligence ambitions took a visible step forward this week as Strateq Group (Strateq), one of the nation’s longest-standing tech integrators turned digital solutions firm, hosted the Strateq AI Forum 2026.

Held on January 27, the forum brought together voices from government, industry, and academia with one shared message: AI is a central means for organisations to operate, compete, and create value.

The event also saw Strateq announce a strategic partnership with MaiStorage, a fast-growing AI and data-centric tech company, in a bid to drive enterprise-ready AI solutions in Malaysia.

The forum was officiated by YB Datuk Wilson Ugak Anak Kumbong, Deputy Minister of Digital, who underscored the government’s view that AI is now a strategic national asset rather than an optional add-on.

“The year 2025 marked a pivotal turning point for Malaysia’s digital landscape,” the YB said, referencing the shift in how organisations are investing in AI tools, talent, and regulatory frameworks. 

“Through initiatives such as Malaysia AI Nation 2030, supported by strong regulatory frameworks, ethical AI principles and close collaboration between government and industry, Malaysia remains committed to building a trusted, inclusive and sustainable AI ecosystem.”

An ecosystem designed for practical adoption

From keynotes to panel sessions, the forum’s discussions centred on how AI can tangibly benefit organisations across sectors, such as boosting productivity and automating routine tasks to enable entirely new digital experiences.

At the heart of Strateq’s forum, though, was the firm’s AI Ecosystem, a structured platform built with input from partners, customers, and government agencies. Its goal is to move enterprises from experimentation to real-life AI use-case deployment.

As part of this initiative, Strateq Group will roll out AI Learning programmes and AI Transformation Workshops to equip organisations with the capabilities and roadmap required to execute their AI transformation agendas.

“This AI Ecosystem is our commitment to delivering not just incremental improvements, but a step-change in productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage,”  said Datuk Tan Seng Kit, Group Managing Director of Strateq.

Strateq and MaiStorage also showcased its aiDAPTIV+ solutions suite, a set of AI components and use cases that organisations can immediately adopt to operationalise AI across functions and verticals.

Bridging national policy and enterprise adoption

At the event, Dato’ Pua Khein Seng, Founder and Group CEO of Phison Electronics & MaiStorage Technology, described AI progress as something that must be built from the ground up with people and experience at the centre. 

“While AI is advancing rapidly and thought leadership is becoming commoditised, user

experience and the people who build AI within companies remain crucial,” he emphasised.

MaiStorage has itself been in the spotlight recently for its talent development initiatives, including plans to train engineers in IC design and AI technologies with the long-term goal of strengthening Malaysia’s capabilities in both tech and semiconductor sectors.

The strategic partnership with Strateq aims to combine Strateq’s enterprise footprint with MaiStorage’s AI and data engineering prowess. According to the firms, this partnership will make AI solutions more accessible and relevant to local businesses.

This aligns with the advice from one of the forum’s speakers Mr Hoo Chuan Wei, Chief Information Security Officer of StarHub Inc., who encouraged companies to build AI models that are fit for Malaysia’s context and industry needs.

With strong government backing, he argued that Malaysia is now well-positioned to lead ASEAN in driving AI adoption.

Closing the gap between ambition and execution

Strateq Group’s journey began as a system integrator back in 1983. Over four decades later, the company has transformed into a full-spectrum digital solutions provider with operations across Southeast Asia, China, and the United States.

Today, Strateq’s portfolio spans everything from data centre services and industry solutions to data analytics, enterprise platforms, and now AI frameworks.

Though it isn’t a household name like some of the newer AI startups, Strateq Group has quietly amassed partnerships and projects with large organisations across both public and private sectors. 

Through the Strateq AI Forum 2026, Strateq reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with government ministry and agencies, industry and academia to build a robust and future-ready AI ecosystem that will strengthen Malaysia’s digital competitiveness and support its aspiration to become a regional leader in artificial intelligence.

• Learn more about Strateq Group here.
• Read other stories we’re written about Malaysian startups here.

Featured Image Credit: Strateq Group