OpenAI’s existential questionsOn the latest episode of Equity, we discuss OpenAI's latest acquisitions and whether they address "two big existential problems" for the company.

2026 Green Powered Challenge: The Eternal HeadphonesNoise cancelling headphones are a great way to insulate yourself from the bustle of the city, but due to their power requirements, continuous use means frequent recharging. [Alessandro Sgarzi] has an elegant and unique solution — powering the noise cancelling electronics by harvesting energy from the ambient noise of the city via a sheet of piezoelectric film.
This impressive feat is achieved using a LTC3588-1 power harvesting IC and a pair of supercapacitors, while an STM32L011K4T6 microcontroller processes the input from a MEMS microphone and feeds a low-power class D amplifier. This circuit consumes an astounding 1.7 nW, a power that a noisy city is amply able to supply. Audio meanwhile comes via a traditional 3.5 mm connector, which we are told is the cool kids’ choice nowadays anyway.
We like this project, and since it’s part of our 2026 Green Powered Challenge, it’s very much in the spirit of the thing. You’ve just got time to get your own entry in, so get a move on!

quietformat TOYKEYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLNlPyp6n5Y TOYKEY is a virtual instrument built from a vintage 1980s toy keyboard from producer KION's studio. It keeps the raw charm, playful tone, and distinctive character of the original instrument while expanding it into something much more flexible for real-world music production. Four voices, layered freely At the center of TOYKEY are four core voice layers: Organ, String, Clarinet, and Piano. Each layer includes independent volume and pan control, making it easy to blend tones freely and build sounds with much more depth than the original hardware could ever produce on its own. Small origin. Much bigger range. OYKEY keeps the charm of a small vintage toy keyboard, but it is not limited to simple playback. With filters, envelopes, modulation, built-in effects, unison, mono, and portamento, it can move into much deeper sound design territory while still holding onto the raw and playful character that makes the source so special. Pitch MPE Support TOYKEY supports Pitch MPE, allowing pitch to be controlled independently for each note. Even within a single chord, one note can vibrate, another can bend, and others can move with glide-like motion on their own. Used with an MPE-compatible controller or environment such as Ableton Live, it opens up a much more expressive and alive style of performance. Requirements macOS 10.13 or later / Windows 10 or later (64-bit only). VST3 / AU compatible DAW. Minimum 4GB RAM (8GB recommended). Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) support. Read More

Waves update Sync Vx Waves have recently released an update that extends their vocal-alignment plug-in’s capabilities to all DAWs — even those without ARA support.

Xilentch XMVari - Mastering Vari-Mu Tube CompressorThe newest member joining the XM series family had actually been in development for quite some time. Along the road ahead, we wanted to add a tube behavior that could respond dynamically to the signal of course, in a way that fits the XM design philosophy. What makes it special is that it does not emulate any particular model. XMVari belongs to its own unique design philosophy. It carries the same level of precision that was shown while building the flagship XMLimiter. But this time more colorful. "My friend, sending huge love and appreciation to the honorable Jordan Faulknor. He handles all of our graphic work, and as always, everything on the visual side belongs to him video/visual promotion, plugin interfaces, and more... I should once again express how grateful I am from here." Launch Trailer: YouTube/ZjXNLaBG_Jo. Read More

Tesla brings its robotaxi service to Dallas and HoustonTesla is expanding its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston, according to a social media post from the company. The post says simply that “Robotaxi is now rolling out in Dallas & Houston 🤠” and includes a 14-second video showing Tesla vehicles driving without human monitors or drivers in the front seat. The company now […]

Solana futures open interest rose by 20% this week: Is $100 SOL next?SOL’s steady recovery alongside the wider crypto market has traders debating whether $100 could be the next stop for the altcoin.

Three-Monitor Ridge Racer Machine Emulated in MAMEWhen Ridge Racer hit the arcades in the early 1990s, it came in a few different versions. The last variant used three large CRTs to create a wraparound display for the player. Incredibly rare, it’s believed that only a single-digit number of machines remain in existence. [beaumotplage] has secured a remaining example, and been working to preserve this historical artifact.
The first mission when it comes to this machine was to dump the ROMs, which have thus far not been preserved in any major archive. With that done, [beaumotplage] worked to hack a version of MAME that could emulate the Three Monitor Version’s unique mode of operation. As it turns out, each screen is driven by its own arcade board, with the three boards linked via C139 serial links. To emulate this, the trick was simply to write some C139 linkup code and run three versions of MAME all at once, letting them communicate with each other as the original boards would have. It’s a little janky in operation right now, but it does work!
You can download the hacked version of MAME for three-monitor operation here, though note that this does not include the ROM dumps from the machine itself. We look forward to seeing if the hardware ends up getting a full restoration back to operational standard, too.
Overall, this work goes to show that arcade preservation and archival work sometimes requires getting deep into the nitty-gritty technical stuff.

Blackmagic Design introduce Fairlight Live Fairlight Live is a new software mixer that’s aimed at broadcast and high-end live audio duties, and offers built-in support for a wide range of immersive audio formats. 

Russia introduces bill to criminalize unregistered crypto servicesIndividuals and groups would be required to register with the Bank of Russia before offering certain crypto services, or potentially face fines and prison time.

Live Review of MaanuSony Hall, New York, NY

Web: yain.coContact: sikki@sylaforever.comPlayers: Maanu, vocals; Asfandyar Ali, instrumental accompaniment

New Yorkers braved the cold at the end of January to see Maanu at Sony Hall. They arrived in droves, packing the theater wall to wall with a buzzing energy.

From Lahore, Maanu’s music blends pop, R&B, ballads, and hip-hop with his local culture to create something new and enthralling. Primarily in Urdu or Punjabi, his music leaves its hooks in the audience, making it impossible to forget. Maanu sprang on stage with high energy, amplified by hip-hop beats and bright lights. A slight tinge of melancholy from the vocal melody bubbled below, adding a deeper color than that of the high hats and fast beats. From the first note, the audience was dancing and singing along, utterly enamored.

Maanu’s stage set up was simple—he was joined only by Asfandyar Ali. Ali opened the show with his own set, playing stripped back tracks to warm up the crowd. He remained on stage playing live guitar and beats from a laptop. Together they created an intimate yet impactful dynamic. Throughout the show, beats ranged from mallets to sizzling high hats to dark bass drum. After a few minutes, Maanu chatted with the crowd, welcoming them in and announcing his recent marriage. Serving as a segue, Maanu shifted from upbeat anthems to tender ballads. Sweet guitar riffs from Ali and lilting melodies paired with pink lights to fill the room with an endearing atmosphere. Maanu’s ballad melodies swelled with emotion, filled with impressive vocal runs and gentle reverb in the guitar. Maanu and Ali rounded out the ballads with a pivot to R&B before bringing back some of the energy.

After this tender and earnest section, bright guitar and 2010’s hip-hop beats returned. The audience reacted immediately. These tracks were accompanied by enthusiastic singing, shouting, and clapping from the crowd. Grittier vibes in the guitar, deeper colors in the beat, and quicker lyrics had everyone on their feet dancing along. It felt like a party instead of a concert. Maanu’s connection with his audience is palpable, and they fed off each other’s energy all night long.

 Maanu does not tour in the United States often but embarked on a North American tour following the release of his album thikaana in 2025. There’s no news yet of any future projects, but I’m sure Maanu will be back with something new before long.The post Live Review of Maanu first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles exit OpenAI as company continues to shed ‘side quests’Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles are leaving OpenAI as the company shuts down Sora and folds its science team, signaling a sharp pivot away from consumer moonshots toward enterprise AI.

Cooking With Plasma (Not Fire)Cooking food with fire is arguably the technology that propelled humans to become the dominant species on Earth. It’s pretty straightforward to achieve, just requiring a fuel source, a supply of oxygen from the air, and a way to initiate the reaction; then it self-sustains. You wouldn’t think there’s much to improve, but what about cooking with plasma? [Jay] from the plasma channel is no stranger here, and he thinks that there may be something in this idea, certainly enough to actually build something.
Now, let’s be straight with you, this isn’t a new concept, and you can buy a plasma-based cooking appliance right now. But they are all AC-powered devices. What if you want to go camping? [Jay] attempts (and succeeds) in building a portable, rechargeable 600W plasma cooking device that can actually cook food, but it was not all plain sailing.
The existing off-the-shelf ZVS driver modules available were a bit weak and unreliable, and the required flyback coils were hard to find with the right specs, so he needed to get down to work building custom parts. First off, the coils. Custom formers were resin-printed and machine-wound with 4000 turns of fine wire, and then resin-sealed into the former. [Jay] takes care to explain that it is crucial to get all the air out of the windings, or else local flashover breakdown will occur and wreck the coil in a short time. We reckon the resulting coils look amazing in their own right!

We do love a nicely wound coil. Oooh!
Next, the ZVS drivers on hand had low-quality capacitors (well, not enough capacitance anyway) and cheap driver transistors, so both were upgraded. The initial plan was to have four driver/coil pairs, each driving a single pair of electrodes, with a common ground ring connecting them all. It turns out this was a terrible idea: the drivers were not synchronised, so they were pulling on each other, causing catastrophic damage to the PCBs in a very short time. The solution was more complicated wiring, to give each coil secondary output a dedicated electrode pair, so there was no direct electrical connection between neighbouring coils and no coupling between them. A clever electrode arrangement meant that a pan would sit on top of a ring of electrodes, causing plasma discharges to jump directly to the pan, thereby concentrating localised heating there. We were wondering how this new direct connection (the pan is now a common connection!) didn’t also cause backfeeding and kill the ZVS drivers again, but it didn’t seem to happen.
Bang, smell, oops. The copper is supposed to be stuck to the PCB.
Anyway, [Jay] demonstrates what is possibly the world’s first rechargeable, portable plasma cooker capable of making breakfast. Which we think is very important in its own right, however, we would like a plasma-based solution to making toast next, perhaps a plasma knife that cooks the bread as you slice it?
If this plasma cooking lark rings a bell, yes, we did touch upon this way back in 2017. And whilst not strictly plasma cooking, you can make an amazing microwave plasma in this ridiculously upgraded appliance. Definitely do not try that one at home.

Kris Bowers on finding honesty in music and the art of film scoring
In this exclusive interview, award-winning composer Kris Bowers (Bridgerton, The Wild Robot) shares his insights on writing character themes, finding inspiration in honesty, and more.

From Live Nation’s antitrust trial loss to Max Lousada and Julie Greenwald’s 26.2 launch… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days...
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