‘Improved’ Grok criticizes Democrats and Hollywood’s ‘Jewish executives’On Friday morning, Elon Musk declared, “We have improved @Grok significantly. You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions.”

Diagnosing Whisker Failure Mode in AF114 and Similar TransistorsThe inside of this AF117 transistor can was a thriving whisker ecosystem. (Credit: Anthony Francis-Jones)
AF114 germanium transistors and related ones like the AF115 through AF117 were quite popular during the 1960s, but they quickly developed a reputation for failure. This is due to what should have made them more reliable, namely the can shielding the germanium transistor inside that is connected with a fourth ‘screen’ pin. This failure mode is demonstrated in a video by [Anthony Francis-Jones] in which he tests a number of new-old-stock AF-series transistors only for them all to test faulty and show clear whisker growth on the can’s exterior.
Naturally, the next step was to cut one of these defective transistors open to see whether the whiskers could be caught in the act. For this a pipe cutter was used on the fairly beefy can, which turned out to rather effective and gave great access to the inside of these 1960s-era components. The insides of the cans were as expected bristling with whiskers.
The AF11x family of transistors are high-frequency PNP transistors that saw frequent use in everything from consumer radios to just about anything else that did RF or audio. It’s worth noting that the material of the can is likely to be zinc and not tin, so these would be zinc whiskers. Many metals like to grow such whiskers, including lead, so the end effect is often a thin conductive strand bridging things that shouldn’t be. Apparently the can itself wasn’t the only source of these whiskers, which adds to the fun.
In the rest of the video [Anthony] shows off the fascinating construction of these germanium transistors, as well as potential repairs to remove the whisker-induced shorts through melting them. This is done by jolting them with a fairly high current from a capacitor. The good news is that this made the component tester see the AF114 as a transistor again, except as a rather confused NPN one. Clearly this isn’t an easy fix, and it would be temporary at best anyway, as the whiskers will never stop growing.

Hipgnosis is back: Merck Mercuriadis launching new company with ‘hundreds of millions’ in investment secured (report)Merck Mercuriadis aims to buy back the music rights he sold to the private equity firm while building a new investment company
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Polyverse release Filterverse 1.2 Along with five completely new filter types, the latest iteration of Filterverse benefits from a number of performance improvements and workflow enhancements. 

Polarity Audio MixFlow - VocalVocal Mixing. Analog Feel. Modern Flow. MixFlow // Vocal is a powerful vocal processor plugin by Polarity Audio, designed to help producers, engineers, and vocalists achieve polished, radio-ready vocals — fast. Combining the warmth of analog emulation with an intuitive, modern interface, MixFlow brings together everything you need in a single streamlined vocal chain. Whether you're mixing pop, R&B, gospel, rock, or voiceovers, MixFlow makes your vocal stand out — loud, clear, and emotionally rich. Key Features Analog Emulation Preamp: Choose from four distinct analog characters — Tube, Tape, Alloy, and Vinyl — to shape your vocal tone with authentic saturation. The built-in Clarity knob brings out detail and presence instantly. Multi-Mode Compressor: Versatile compression modes for everything from transparent control to aggressive punch, designed specifically for vocals. Maag-Inspired Equalizer: A musical EQ based on the classic Maag design, including the famous "air band" to bring sparkle and warmth to your vocals. Shine Enhancer: A dedicated tone shaper to make your vocals shine and cut through the mix effortlessly. Doubler: Add stereo width and thickness with a smooth, natural-sounding doubling effect. Ducking Delay: A smart vocal delay with automatic ducking — delay tucks under the lead vocal and rises in the gaps, keeping your mix clean and dynamic. Analog Space with Shimmer: An atmospheric reverb unit with analog-style reflections and a shimmer tail — perfect for emotional, ambient, and gospel-style vocals. De-Esser: Precise yet natural sibilance control to tame harsh "S" sounds without dulling the vocal tone. Transparent Limiter: A smooth final limiter that holds your vocals steady without crushing the life out of them. Demo Videos https://youtu.be/idNR3KnxE_A Demo Sounds https://soundcloud.com/polarity-audio/mixflow-vocal-after?in=polarity-audio/sets/mixflow-vocal Read More

HITS Act tax deductions now law in Trump’s Big Beautiful BillThe Help Independent Tracks Succeed HITS Act tax deductions for musicians became law as part of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.
The post HITS Act tax deductions now law in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill appeared first on Hypebot.

Drive Capital’s second act –  how the Columbus venture firm found success after a splitThe venture capital world has always had a hot-and-cold relationship with the Midwest. Investors rush in during boom times, then retreat to the coasts when markets turn sour. For Columbus, Ohio-based Drive Capital, this cycle of attention and disinterest played out against the backdrop of its own internal upheaval several years ago -- a co-founder split that could have ended the firm but may have ultimately strengthened it.

Mapping Tool Helps Identify Usable Land For BuildingHow would you go about identifying usable land that suits your building tastes? [Scott Sexton] was specifically, looking for land that’s not to steep to build on, and realized that existing resources didn’t easily offer him this information. He thus dived into the world of GIS to try and solve this issue for himself.
[Scott] hoped that USGS maps might provide the information he needed, but found they lacked grade information, only presenting elevation and topographic data instead. From past experience reading such maps, he knew that seeing a lot of topographical lines close together tended to indicate steeper areas, but wasn’t sure on how to actually get the computer to parse this and spit out the information on steepness and grade that he wanted.
Ultimately, he set about downloading USGS elevation data in three meter resolution. He then applied some calculus to determine the rate of change of the slope across areas of the data in order to mathematically find what he was looking for. Namely, flatter areas that would be more suitable for future construction. He then took the work even further, tweaking the output of his tools and automating until he could quickly and readily generate usability maps of areas of interest. He was even able to sanity check his work by seeing if it correctly identified roads as obvious flatter areas.
If you’ve ever tinkered with GIS work, [Scott’s] usability project may be of some interest. We’ve also seen amusing examples of what can go wrong when digital mapping data is used without sanity checks. Meanwhile, if you’re got your own GIS hacks on the go, don’t hesitate to notify us via the tipsline!

Mercado Bitcoin announces tokenization of $200M in RWAs on XRPLTokenized real-world assets (RWAs) continue to gain traction as crypto firms push for clear regulations for onchain financial instruments.

Gorilla DSP Old Vintage FuzzOld Vintage Fuzz is a guitar effects plugin designed to emulate the tone and behavior of analog germanium fuzz pedals. It is intended to be placed before amp simulations in the signal chain, responding naturally to input levels—such as volume knob roll-off—just like a physical fuzz unit. Read More

Indie Musician News Last Week: Music Teams, Mental Health & MoreTop indie musician news last week included a guide to global music success, how to protect yourself on social media, and more...
The post Indie Musician News Last Week: Music Teams, Mental Health & More appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Business News Last Week: Spotify, Startups & AI SuccessIn top music business news last week, indie band Deerhoof pulled its music off Spotify, applications for 2025's Music Tectonics Startup Competition opened, an AI created band made waves and much more.
The post Music Business News Last Week: Spotify, Startups & AI Success appeared first on Hypebot.

Fors introduce Pivot FM soft synth The result of years of research and development and inspired by the company’s love of FM synthesis, the latest addition to the Fors range promises to deliver just the right balance of flexibility and simplicity. 

Brazil’s central bank service provider hacked, $140M stolenThe theft occurred after the hackers allegedly compromised an employee of C&M, a software service provider, by buying the employee’s login credentials.

3D Printer Turbo-Charges a Vintage Vehicle[Ryan] of [Fat Lip Collective] has been on a streak of using 3D printing for his car mod projects. From spark plug adapters to exhaust pipes to dash panels, his CAD skills and additive manufacturing tech have played a number of roles in his process.
Most recently, [Ryan] has embarked on a mission to equip an ’80s-era Toyota KE70 Corolla with a turbo engine. The main question there being how to fit the engine back into the car once he’s inserted a salvaged turbo into the exhaust line.
There is a non-trivial amount of stuff that needs to be packed in with the rest of the engine and finding a working configuration that doesn’t get in the way of anything else requires some trial and error. Furthermore, the alignment of the many twisting and turning pieces of schedule 40 pipe that will direct gasses where they need to go needs to be pretty precise.
Juggling all of this would be tedious, time consuming, and error prone if it were not for [Ryan’s] mighty 3D printer. He printed a set of the different elbows and reducers modeled on the schedule 40 pipe that he would likely be using. He added degree markers for easy reference later and flat sections at the ends of each piece so they could be bolted to each other. With this kit of parts in hand, he was able to mock up different arrangements, re-configuring them as he considered the position of other nearby components.

The project is still ongoing. but we’re looking forward to seeing [Ryan] roaring around in his souped-up Corolla soon. In the meantime you can go deeper on ways of adding turbo to vehicles from the ’90s, the innovation of the Mercedes Formula 1 split turbo engine, and see the evolution of a 3D-printed pulsejet turbocharger.
Thanks to [Ryan Ralph] (not the same Ryan) for tipping us off.