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Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are a powerful and versatile supervised machine learning algorithm primarily used for classification and regression tasks. They excel in high-dimensional spaces and are particularly effective when dealing with complex datasets. The core principle behind SVM is to identify the optimal hyperplane that effectively separates data points into different classes while maximizing the margin between them.SVMs have gained significant popularity due to their ability to handle both linear and non-linear classification problems. By employing kernel functions, SVMs can map data into higher-dimensional feature spaces, capturing intricate patterns and relationships that may not be apparent in the original space.Why Use SVM?Effective in High-Dimensional Spaces: SVM can handle high-dimensional data without overfitting, making it suitable for complex problems.Versatile: It can be used for both linear and non-linear classification and regression tasks.Robust to Outliers: SVM is relatively insensitive to outliers, which can improve its performance on noisy datasets.Memory Efficient: SVM models are relatively compact, making them efficient in terms of storage and computational resources.Linear SVMIn a linearly separable dataset, the goal is to find the hyperplane that maximizes the margin between the two classes. The margin is the distance between the hyperplane and the closest data points from each class, known as support vectors.The equation of a hyperplane in d-dimensional space is:w^T * x + b = 0where:w: Weight vectorx: Input feature vectorb: Bias termThe decision function for a new data point x is:f(x) = sign(w^T * x + b)The optimization problem for maximizing the margin can be formulated as:Maximize: Margin = 2 / ||w||Subject to: yi * (w^T * xi + b) >= 1, for all iwhere:yi: Class label of the ith data pointNon-Linear SVMFor non-linearly separable data, SVM employs the kernel trick. The kernel function maps the data from the original space to a higher-dimensional feature space where it becomes linearly separable. Common kernel functions include:Polynomial Kernel:K(x, y) = (x^T * y + c)^dRadial Basis Function (RBF) Kernel:K(x, y) = exp(-gamma * ||x y||^2)Limitations of SVMSensitivity to Kernel Choice: The choice of kernel function significantly impacts SVMs performance.Computational Complexity: Training SVM can be computationally expensive, especially for large datasets.Difficulty in Interpreting Results: SVM models can be difficult to interpret, especially when using complex kernel functions.Understanding Where to Apply the SVM AlgorithmAre you unsure where to use the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm? Lets explore its ideal applications and the types of tasks and data it excels at.Key Applications of SVMText ClassificationImage ClassificationBioinformaticsFinancial Data AnalysisSVM works best with well-defined classes, clear decision boundaries, and a moderate amount of data. It is particularly effective when the number of features is comparable to or larger than the number of samples.ConclusionSupport Vector Machine is a versatile and powerful algorithm for classification and regression tasks. Its ability to handle high-dimensional data, its robustness to outliers, and its ability to learn complex decision boundaries make it a valuable tool in the machine learning toolkit. However, to achieve optimal performance, careful consideration of the kernel function and computational resources is necessary. Pragati Jhunjhunwala+ postsPragati Jhunjhunwala is a consulting intern at MarktechPost. She is currently pursuing her B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kharagpur. She is a tech enthusiast and has a keen interest in the scope of software and data science applications. She is always reading about the developments in different field of AI and ML. LinkedIn event, 'One Platform, Multimodal Possibilities,' where Encord CEO Eric Landau and Head of Product Engineering, Justin Sharps will talk how they are reinventing data development process to help teams build game-changing multimodal AI models, fast

Author(s): Shashwat Gupta Originally published on Towards AI. The modification of dynamic spatial information through spatial transformer networks (STNs) allows models to handle transformations such as scaling and rotation for subsequent tasks. They enhance recognition accuracy by enabling models to focus on essential visual regions with minimal dependence on pooling layers. This blog delves into the functional advantages and disadvantages of STNs, despite the extensive coverage in multiple studies. We also examine P-STN, a potential upgrade from 2020 including enhanced transformations and increased efficiency. The construction of more adaptable and precise machine learning models relies on an understanding of STNs and their advancements.Disclaimer: Much of this section is inspired by the original paper on Spatial Transformer Networks [1,2,3]Spatial Transformer Networks (STN):STNs (Spatial Transformer Networks), by Max Jaderberg et al., are modules that can learn to adjust the spatial information in a model, making it more resistant to changes like warping. Before STNs, achieving this required many layers of Max-Pooling. Unlike pooling layers, which have fixed and small areas they examine, spatial transformers can dynamically change an image or feature map by applying different transformations for each input. These transformations affect the entire feature map and can include scaling, cropping, rotating, and bending.This capability allows networks to focus on important parts of an image (a process called attention) and adjust these parts to a standard position, making it easier to recognize them in later layers. STNs expand on the idea of attention modules by handling spatial transformations. They can be trained using regular back-propagation, which means the entire model can be trained all at once. STNs are useful for various tasks, including image classification, locating objects, and managing spatial attention.Figure 1 : STN (Source: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1612.03897.pdf)The STN Consists of the following 3 parts:Localisation NetGrid GeneratorSampler1. Localisation Network:It takes the input feature map U R HWC , and outputs the parameters of transformation ( = floc(U)). It can take any form but should include a final regressor layer to produce the transformation parameters 2. Parametrised Grid Sampling :The output pixels are computed by applying a sampling kernel centred at each location of the input feature map. The only constraint is that the transformation should be different wrt the parameters to allow for back-propagation. A good heuristic is to predict the transformation parametrised in a low dimensional way so that the complexity of the task assigned to the localisation network is reduced, and it can also learn about the target grid representation. e.g. if _ = M_B, where B is the target representation. Thus, it is also possible to learn and B.In our case, we analyze 2D transformations, which the following equation can overall summarise:3. Differentiable Image Sampling:Differentiable Image Sampling To perform a spatial transformation of the input feature map, a sampler must take the set of sampling points T(G), along with the input feature map U, and produce the sampled output feature map V . Each (x s i , ys i ) coordinate in (G) defines the spatial location in the input where a sampling kernel is applied to get the value at a particular pixel in the output V . This can be written as:where and are the parameters of a generic sampling kernel k() which defines the image interpolation (e.g. bilinear), U^c_{nm} is the value at location (n, m) in channel c of the input, and V^c_i is the output value for pixel i at location (x^t_i , y^t_i ) in channel c. Note that the sampling is done identically for each channel of the input, so every channel is transformed identically (this preserves spatial consistency between channels).In theory, any sampling kernel can be used, as long as (sub-)gradients can be defined with respect to x^s_i and y^s_i . For example, using the integer sampling kernel reduces the above equation to:where [x+ 0.5] rounds x to the nearest integer and () is the Kronecker delta function. This sampling kernel equates to just copying the value at the nearest pixel to (x s i , ys i ) to the output location (x t i , yt i ). Alternatively, a bilinear sampling kernel can be used, givingTo allow backpropagation of the loss through this sampling mechanism, we can define the gradients with respect to U and G. For bilinear sampling above equation, the partial derivatives areThis gives us a (sub-)differentiable sampling mechanism, allowing loss gradients to flow back not only to the input feature map but also to the sampling grid coordinates and, therefore, back to the transformation parameters and localization network since x^{s}_i / and y^{s}_{i}/ can be easily derived. Due to discontinuities in the sampling functions, sub-gradients must be used. This sampling mechanism can be implemented very efficiently on GPU by ignoring the sum over all input locations and instead just looking at the kernel support region for each output pixel.For better warping, the STNs can be cascaded by passing the output of one STN to the next (as in [2]) and with additional input to condition (as in [1])Pros and cons of STNs :The overall pros of STNs are :STNs are very fast, and the application does not require making many modifications to the downstream modelThey can also be used to downsample or oversample a feature map (downsampling with fixed, small support might lead to an aliasing effect)Multiple STNs can be used. The combination can be in Series (for more complex feature learning, with the input of one STN going into another, with or without an unwarped conditional input.Parallel combinations are effective when there are more than one parts to focus on in images (It was shown that of 2 STNs used on the CUB-2002011 bird classification dataset, one became head-detector and the other became body-detector)However, STNs are notoriously known to suffer from the following 2 defects :1. Boundary effect arises as the image is propagated and not the geometric information (e.g. if an image is rotated, STNs can fix the rotation, but they do not fix the degraded boundary effects like cut corners etc.). This could be solved by boundary aware sampling:2. Single STN application is insufficient to learn complex transformations This could be solved by hierarcial cascaded STNs (i.e. STNs in series) with multi-scale transformations.3. Training Difficulty: Hard to train due to sensitivity to small mis-predictions in transformation parameters solved in P-STN (below)4. Sensitivity to Errors: Mis-predicted transformations can lead to poor localization, adversely affecting downstream tasks solved in P-STN (below)P-STN : an improvement over STNProbabilistic Spatial Transformer Networks (P-STN) by Schwbel et al. [7], address the limitations 3 and 4 by introducing a probabilistic framework to the transformation process. Instead of predicting a single deterministic transformation, P-STN estimates a distribution over possible transformations (probabilistic Transformation).Figure 2 : The P-STN pipeline. From the observed image I, a distribution of transformations is estimated. Samples from this distribution are applied to the observed image to produce augmented samples, which are fed to a classifier that averages across samples. In the deterministic STN case, the localizer only computes one transformation (I), which can be thought of as the maximum likelihood solution. Instead of the multiple transformation samples, we obtain a single T_{}^{I} in this caseThis probabilistic approach offers several key improvements:Robustness Through Marginalization:Multiple Transformations: By sampling multiple transformations from the estimated distribution, P-STN effectively looks at the input from various perspectives. This marginalization over transformations mitigates the impact of any single mis-predicted transformation.Smoother Loss Landscape: The integration over multiple transformations results in a more stable and smoother loss landscape, facilitating easier and more reliable training.2. Enhanced Data Augmentation:Learned Augmentations: The stochastic transformations serve as a form of learned data augmentation, automatically generating diverse training samples that improve the models generalization capabilities.Improved Downstream Performance: This augmentation leads to better classification accuracy, increased robustness, and improved model calibration.3. Applicability to Diverse Domains:While initially designed for image data, P-STNs probabilistic nature allows it to generalize effectively to non-visual domains, such as time-series data, further demonstrating its versatility.The mathematical equations for the changes are as follows:Illustrative Benefits:Reduced Sensitivity to Transformation Errors:STN LossNegative Log-Likelihood of a Single TransformationP-STN LossAverage Negative Log-Likelihood Over Multiple TransformationsBy averaging over multiple transformations, P-STN reduces the impact of any single erroneous transformation, leading to a more stable and reliable training process.Improved Calibration:Calibration Error_STN > Calibration Error_P-STNP-STNs approach of considering multiple transformations results in better-calibrated probabilities, as evidenced by lower calibration errors compared to STN.Probabilistic Spatial Transformer Networks enhance the original STN framework by introducing a distribution over possible spatial transformations. This probabilistic approach leads to more robust training, effective data augmentation, improved classification performance, and better-calibrated models. The integration of variational inference and Monte Carlo sampling in P-STN provides a principled way to handle transformation uncertainties, making it a significant advancement over traditional STNs.I write about technology, investing and books I read. Here is an index to my other blogs (sorted by topic): https://medium.com/@shashwat.gpt/index-welcome-to-my-reflections-on-code-and-capital-2ac34c7213d9References :Paper: IC-STN: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1612.03897.pdfSTN: https://paperswithcode.com/method/stnVideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NOQC_fl1hQ&t=162s (with slides, CV reading group resources)Paper: Lenc and A. Vedaldi. Understanding image representations by measuring their equivariance and equivalence. CVPR, 2015 (defines affine invariance, equivariance, and equivalence criterion)STN PyTorch Implementation: https://pytorch.org/tutorials/ intermediate/spatial_transformer_tutorial.htmlScatter Nets: https://paperswithcode.com/paper/ invariant-scattering-convolution-networks#codeP-STN: https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/280953750/2004.03637.pdfJoin thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AI

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Looking forthe most recentMini 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 and Connections puzzles.TheNew York Times Crossword Puzzleis legendary. But if you don't have that much time, theMini Crosswordis an entertaining substitute. The Mini Crossword is much easier than the old-school NYT Crossword, and you probably can complete it in a couple of minutes. But if you're stuck, we've got the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times' games collection. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Strands answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini CrosswordLet's get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers. The completed NYT Mini Crossword for Nov. 18, 2024. NYT/Screenshot by CNETMini across clues and answers1A clue: __ Martin, frequent collaborator with 1-DownAnswer: STEVE6A clue: Parts of irrigation systemsAnswer: HOSES7A clue: BeginningAnswer: ONSET8A clue: Backup camera's place on a carAnswer: REAR9A clue: Make an attemptAnswer: TRYMini down clues and answers1D clue: Martin ___, frequent collaborator with 1-AcrossAnswer: SHORT2D clue: Stuff in a printer cartridgeAnswer: TONER3D clue: Common kind of test for a literature classAnswer: ESSAY4D clue: Make a sudden turnAnswer: VEER5D clue: Jokey suffix with bestAnswer: ESTHow to play more Mini CrosswordsThe New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day's Mini Crossword for free, but you'll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

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Charles Hudson, managing partner of Precursor Ventures, told an audience at AfroTech the basics of knowing when to invest: A company should have product-market fit and some form of traction.But the next thing he said garnered some surprised looks from the audience: Founders should test investors with a small issue to see how they react to problems. Im on a board with someone who tends to blow up every time the founder brings them a problem, he said. As you can imagine, the founder has basically stopped bringing problems to them.And that, in itself, can be a problem both in investing and in life. When someone feels they cant trust you with little problems, odds are they will not trust you with big problems, either. Hudson said these little tests can help weed out the constructive problem solvers, and help to establish trust early on. There are people you would tell your deepest, darkest, secrets, and there are people that you would bring ordinary problems to.Hudson has a lot of experience in establishing trust with founders. His firm has invested in more than 400 companies, including the social networking apps why?! and Diem, as well as the diaper company Kudos. The firm has $250 million in assets under management, sitting on around $89 million in dry powder, according to PitchBook.He shared with the high-level executives in the audience what he looks for in a pitch deck (a balance of storytelling and data); a good team (to see whether the founder has good hiring judgment; and even founders previous startup experience. But what really stuck out was how he spoke about the importance of vulnerability and the skills needed to build trust, including how to have a conversation, and how to convey emotional intelligence.Its quite rare to hear an investor be so open about the importance of being so open. Not every investor that passes or gives you feedback is going to say the truth, he said. The moderator then asked if investors should tell the truth more, to which Hudson responded that this whole ecosystem would work better if people just told the truth.He and his team try to give a founder as much feedback as they want to hear. But they often aim to go deeper than that.I think its a beautiful thing when an investor and a founder can get to a place where they trust each other to be honest and open, he said. Vulnerability can go both ways.He said hes met a lot of investors who think they deserve a founders trust. But thats something that should be earned, he said. You wouldnt approach any other relationship in your life, expecting a stranger to tell you their deepest darkest secrets and trust you with them.He said he always tells founders that his goal is to get to a place where they can trust each other. That way, hard feedback can be taken as if it is coming from a place of care.For similar reasons, Hudson said he puts a lot of weight on emotional intelligence, because I do think it underpins a lot of the challenges youll have as a startup, he continued.Founders need to learn how to hire, evaluate, and influence people, a company, partners, and investors. There is a relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional well-being, he said. One of the things Im always testing for is, do I think this person is going to be able to manage the emotional ups and downs of startup life, he said. This is why he always looks for other challenging tasks a founder has taken on as a clue to see how they handle stress.That could be a hobby, that could be travel, that could be a startup, that could be a nonprofit, he said. I just want to see some evidence that a person has worked on something difficult and stuck with it. Because startups are a big bundle of challenges.

In today's digital age, the need for ample computer storage has never been more critical. With the increasing reliance on digital files, from high-resolution photos and videos to extensive libraries of music and software applications, many individuals and businesses find themselves running out of space on their devices. Cloud storage solutions offer some relief, but that often come with ongoing subscription fees and limited access without an internet connection. This is why I believe that investing in physical storage options, such as external hard drivesor SSDs, has become essential for managing and safeguarding valuable data.Also: The best Black Friday deals live nowHowever, the high cost of computer storage can be a significant barrier for many consumers. External drives, especially those with larger capacities and faster speeds, can be quite pricey. This is where Black Friday-- now only two weeks away! -- and the following Cyber Monday come into play. Retailers typically offer deep discounts on electronics, including storage solutions, making it an ideal time to purchase. By taking advantage of Black Friday deals, shoppers can secure the additional storage they need at a fraction of the regular price, ensuring they have enough space for their digital lives without breaking the bank.Below, I've rounded up some of the best storage and SSD deals you can find ahead of Black Friday sales.Shop deals at AmazonOur favorite early storage and SSD deals for Black Friday 2024Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD 2TB: $135 (save $45 at Amazon): The 990 EVO Plus is built using the latest NAND memory, boosting sequential read/write speeds up to 7,250/6,300MB/s.SamData 16GB USB flash drives 5-pack: $13 (save $4 at Amazon): Cheap and cheerful yet reliable flash drives for convenient data storage.Crucial T705 1TB PCIe SSD: $119 (save $127 at Amazon): The T705 installs easily in your M.2 slot, and its copper-clad label is designed to effectively transfer heat from the drive, allowing it to hit sequential reads/writes of up to 13,600/10,200MB/s.Ugreen NASync DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay Desktop NAS: $630 (save $70 at Amazon): The perfect storage box for heavy home users of small offices. Samsung Current price: $169Original price: $285Here you get a super-fast external SSD that's almost twice as fast as the T5 thanks to it's embedded with PCIe NVME technology, and it has been built to resist water, dust, and drops. The drive is compatible with PC, Mac, Android devices, gaming consoles and more View now at Amazon Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Current price: $212Original price: $250The USB-C interface supportsApple iPhone 15 and later, allowing ProRes 4K 60fps video to be recorded direct to the external drive, making it more portable and freeing up mobile phone memory space. View now at Amazon Transcend Current price: $177Original price: $209This is a 2TB external SSD that makes use of 3D NAND flash memory to offer transfer speeds up to 2,000MB/s. And the whole thing in encased in a tough silicone case to protect it from bumps and drops. View now at Amazon Crucial Current price: $128Original price: $178Take a high performance external SSD capable of read and write speeds up to 1,050MB/s and high sustained performance writes up to 975MB/s, and encase that in a shell capable that is IP55 rated for water and dust resistance and offers drop-proof durability up to 7.5 feet/2 meters, and you have a go-anywhere data storage platform. It is also iPhone 15/16 Pro ready, capable of having ProRes video directly recorded to the drive. View now at Amazon Ugreen Current price: $360Original price: $400The two SATA bays support up to 24TB each, and you can also install two additional compact M.2 NVMe SSD drives up to 4TB each (for SSD caching additional fast storage). With all slots used, the maximum capacity is a vast 56TB. View now at Amazon FAQsWhen is Black Friday?Black Friday takes place on Nov. 29, 2024 this year. This day of big sales follows Thanksgiving and kicks off the holiday shopping season with a bang, offering big deals and discounts across a wide array of products.When is Cyber Monday?Cyber Monday is the first Monday following Thanksgiving, and this year, it falls on Dec. 2, 2024. This shopping event follows Black Friday and is known for offering great online deals, making it one of the busiest days for e-commerce.Are storage and SSD deals really better on Black Friday?In a word, yes. But as always, vigilance is needed to keep retailers and manufacturers honest. Taking ten bucks off the price of something costing several hundred dollars is not the sort of deal that would make the cut here, so you can always be guaranteed to find the best deals here. What's the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping events of the year, but they cater to different shopping preferences and experiences. Black Friday, which occurs the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally known for its in-store sales and literal doorbuster deals. Cyber Monday takes place the following Monday and is all about online shopping.Dating back to 2005, it was historically a day when retailers took advantage of people being back at work and having access to the internet, allowing them to do some sneaky shopping while they were supposed to be working.How did we choose these Black Friday deals?Over the past year, I've handled and reviewed lots of different storage devices, from tiny SSDs you can slip into a pocket to massive NAS units with terabytes of storage. I have a solid understanding of what's available, what's worth it, and what constitutes a fair price.I've also examined customer reviews to understand what matters to real users of the storage devices I'm recommending. My personal experiences-whether positive or negative-may not reflect the broader consensus, so it's important to consider the opinions of others.Where can you shop the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals?Historically, I've found the best deals to be on Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy.What are the best Black Friday deals?ZDNET's experts have been searching through Black Friday sales live now to find the best discounts by category. These are the best Black Friday deals so far, by category:You can also find the best Black Friday deals by price:And the best Black Friday deals by retailer:Top holiday deals

Portable power stations are incredibly versatile and useful tools for a variety of situations, making them a must-have for anyone who enjoys outdoor activities or needs backup power at home. These compact devices allow you to charge multiple electronics simultaneously, from smartphones and laptops to appliances, ensuring you stay connected and powered up wherever you are or whatever is happening. Whether you're camping in the wilderness, hosting a backyard barbecue, or facing a sudden and unexpected power outage, a portable power station provides a reliable source of energy that enhances convenience and peace of mind.Also: The best Black Friday deals live nowHowever, the downside to these handy devices is their price tag, which can often be quite steep. Investing in a quality portable power station can feel like a significant financial commitment, especially when you're looking for one with decent capacity and features. This is why taking advantage ofBlack Friday -- now only two weeks away -- is such a savvy move. During this shopping extravaganza, which is slowly but surely creeping up on us, you can find substantial discounts on portable power stations, allowing you to secure a high-quality unit at a fraction of the regular price. By planning ahead and shopping smartly on Black Friday, you can enjoy the benefits of a portable power station without breaking the bank.And I'm here to help you do just that. After reviewing well over 100 power stations this year alone, and having close contact with the big names, I've been able to find you the very best deals live ahead of Black Friday.Shop deals at AmazonOur favorite early portable power station deals for Black Friday 2024Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station: $459 (save $340 at Amazon + $60 off on-page coupon): This unit features 1,500W AC output and 3000W surge peak, and can handle multiple appliances, including AC units, fridges, and electric pots. It also features PD fast USB-C charging which gives you rapid charging speed without power adaptors.EcoFlow Delta 2 Max with 4 x 100W solar panels: $1,299 (save 1,000 at Amazon): The perfect whole-home solution that an harvest 400W of power when the sun is shining.Bluetti AC200L: $999 (save $1,000 on Amazon): This is a fantastic power station, boasting 2,400W output, as well as supporting expansion with diverse battery packs, fora maximum capacity of 8192Wh.EcoFlow River 3: $159 (save $100 at Amazon): Equipped with 6 outlets, this power station that's small enough to fit on your nightstand can charge 6 devices at once with an AC output of 300W (600W surge).Bluetti Power Station AC300&B300K Expansion Battery: $1,699 (save $1,300 at Amazon): This is a powerhouse, with the inverter offering an array of AC and USB ports for outputting that power, while the B300K brings 3,072Wh of power (and you can daisy chain up to four B300K units!).EcoFlow Delta 3 Pro: $2,959 (save $740 at Amazon): The EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 supports both 120V and 240V voltages and has a 4,000W output (6,000W with X-Boost, scalable up to 12,000W), allowing this unit to power nearly every home appliance out there, even massive 3-ton AC units or 1 HP water pumps.Jackery 1000 Plus Solar Generator Kit: $1,399 (save $700 at Amazon): With a massive 1,264Wh capacity, this unit supports up to three add-on battery packs at a time, expanding from 1.25kWh to a huge 5kWh. This powerhouse is the ideal solution for off-grid living, road trips, photography, and a variety of outdoor activities.EcoFlow River 3 with 45W solar panel: $199 (save $140 at Amazon): A great portable solution, perfect for throwing into a backpack or vehicle.Bluetti EB3A: $198 (save $71 at Amazon): This portable power station has it all -- a 600W AC inverter, 268Wh LiFePO4 battery pack, and 9 outlets, enough to keep your devices powered while you are out and about off-grid or during a power outage. EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra Maria Diaz/ZDNET Current price: $4,649Original price: $6,299The EcoFlow Pro Ultra is a whole house generator that features triple inverters and a battery. Each inverter supports 120V & 240V and has an massive 7,200W output, allowing you to run almost any heavy household appliance, even a 3-ton central air conditioner. Multiply that by three and the inverters can handle an incredible 21.6kW AC output. View now at Amazon Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET The AC180, as is the case for all Bluetti units I've tested recently, absolutely excels in this area as well. Its display is bright and clear, complemented by just three backlit buttons, striking the perfect balance between simplicity and functionality. View now at Amazon Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Current price: $459Original price: $699This power station is aimed at those drone pilots who are away from a power outlet for extended periods. Along with the usual AC and USB ports, this power station also has SDC ports designed specifically for fast-charging DJI drone batteries with each port being used to charge one battery at a time. View now at Amazon Jackery Current price: $2,599Original price: $4,999Featuring 4,085.6 Wh capacity, this is a portable power station that is capable of powering heavy load devices of up to 3,000W, which means that heavy loads such as air conditioners are not off the list. Perfect for RVs, this unit is more than capable of more meeting all your power needs for outdoor exploration or home use. Additionally, it is whisper quiet, producing only 30dB when in operation. View now at Amazon Jackery Current price: $3,499Original price: $4,999The Solar Generator 5000 Plus includes several standout features that put it head and shoulders over the competition. First, the 5kWh capacity is enough to run a home for a day, and with every Battery Pack 5000 Plus you add, you add an extra day of running, up to a colossal 60kWh.The unit also supports 120V and 240V voltage output, so it can handle everyday devices like lights and laptops, along with heavy-duty equipment such as dryers, water pumps, and ovens. It can also be used to recharge electric vehicles.The 0ms response time in UPS mode is also useful for situations where you want the unit to start immediately when the power dips, making it perfect for powering sensitive devices such as routers, backup devices, and medical devices such as CPAP.And, to top all that off, it's whisper quiet, running at only 30 dB, so the unit won't disturb anyone's slumber. View now at Amazon EcoFlow Current price: $1,099 (with Amazon Prime)Original price: $1,899With a huge 2,400W output (3,600W surge) and 2,026Wh of power, this single unit can power up to 15 devices simultaneously. Throw in the 160W solar panel and you have a perfect system for keeping the lights on when the power goes out. View now at Amazon EcoFlow Current price: $2,999Original price: $3,199This is the perfect system to choose as a home backup system or if you want to harvest power using solar and use that to power your home. The system can output a whopping 3,500W of power, enough for the heaviest of workloads. But at 90 pounds, this is not something you're going to want to be taking in and out of a car. View now at Amazon Jackery Current price: $700Original price: $1,299The perfect portable off-grid solution in the form of a power station with 1,070Wh of power capacity and hefty 1,500W power output (3,000W surge), this is a power station that can handle most home appliances with ease. If you're looking for a backup system that done't consume a whole room and cost the earth, this is a great starting point.The panel can charge the unit in about 6 hours. View now at Amazon Jackery Current price: $89Original price: $129While Jackery's most compact offering yet may resemble a power bank, it's truly a solar generator, built to the rigorous standards of its larger counterparts. The Explorer 100 Plus can even be recharged using solar panels like theSolarSaga 100.Want to buy kit that includes the solar panel? No problem,Jackery has you covered. View now at Amazon Best Black Friday portable power station solar panel dealsBluetti 200W solar panel: $350 (save $150 at Amazon with coupon): This 200W solar panel is 200W solar panel is built to survive bumps and scratches, and is IP65 rated to shrug off water splashes.Jackery Solar Saga 100W: $210 (save $64 at Amazon with coupon): This is the perfect solar panel for smaller portable power station. It folds away, has a kickstand for easy setup, and the IP65 water-resistant rating means that it is protected against water splashes.Jackery SolarSaga 200W: $474 (save $225 at Amazon): This is the perfect solar panel for larger portable power station. Same as it's smaller counterpart, this one It folds away, has a kickstand for easy setup, and is IP65 rated.FAQsWhen is Black Friday?Black Friday is set to dazzle shoppers on Nov. 29, 2024. This exciting day of shopping follows Thanksgiving in the US and kicks off the holiday shopping season with a bang, offering major deals and discounts across a wide array of products.When is Cyber Monday?Cyber Monday is the first Monday following Thanksgiving, and this year it falls on Dec. 2, 2024. This shopping event follows Black Friday and is known for offering fantastic online deals, making it one of the busiest days for e-commerce.Are portable power station deals really better on Black Friday?In a word, yes. But as always, vigilance is needed to keep retailers and manufacturers honest. Taking ten bucks off the price of something costing several hundred dollars is not the sort of deal that would make the cut here, so you can always be guaranteed that we'll help you identify the best deals.What's the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping events of the year, but they cater to different shopping preferences and experiences. Black Friday, which occurs the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally known for its in-store sales and literal doorbuster deals. Cyber Monday takes place the following Monday and is all about online shopping.Dating back to 2005, Cyber Monday was historically a day when retailers took advantage of people being back at work and having access to the internet, allowing them to do some sneaky shopping while they were supposed to be working.How did we choose these Black Friday deals?Over the past year, I've handled and reviewed dozens of power stations, ranging from small handheld units to large, wheeled systems that can power a home for days. I have a solid understanding of what's available, what's worth it, and what constitutes a fair price.I've also examined customer reviews to understand what matters to real users of the power stations I'm recommending. My personal experiences, whether positive or negative, may not reflect the broader consensus, so it's important to consider the opinions of others.Where can you shop the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals?Historically, I've found that the best power station deals are found on Amazon, but I do keep an eye on the likes of Walmart and Best Buy, as well as the manufacturers themselves.What are the best Black Friday deals?ZDNET's experts have been searching through Black Friday sales live now to find the best discounts by category. These are the best Black Friday deals so far, by category:You can also find the best Black Friday deals by price:And the best Black Friday deals by retailer:Top holiday deals