Dating from 1940, this photograph depicts a sign at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, South Dakota, where 250 American Indians were killed in 1890. Photo by John Vachon / Library Of Congress / Getty ImagesAs initial reports of a mass murder of Lakota Native Americans on December 29, 1890, trickled across the nation, newspapers were quick to place the blame on the Lakota. Indian treachery once more made manifest, the headline in the Lincoln, Nebraska, State Journal read. Federal troops had killed between 150 and 300 people in southwestern South Dakota in an incident now known as the Massacre at Wounded Knee.It made sensational newswhat one paper called exciting scenes.But these breathless accounts only told the story of the immediate events that led to the massacre. Deeper forces were at play, and a larger context of wars between Plains Indians and the encroaching U.S. government charged the events of December 29.Created in the aftermath of the Civil War, the Seventh Cavalry regularly engaged in violent clashes with Native Americans. The frontier regiment was known for its infamous defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn under George Custer 14 years prior. Now, Sitting Bull, the Hunkpapa Lakota warrior who had roused his people at Little Bighorn, had been murdered by federal Indian police.The regiment was tasked with intercepting, disarming and escorting the Miniconjou, a subdivision of the Lakota, along Wounded Knee Creek on December 28. The Miniconjou had long resisted the compromises of reservation life. But after Sitting Bulls murder a fortnight prior, their chief, Sitanka, or Big Foot, decided to lead about 350 of his people to Pine Ridge to seek protection from Red Cloud, whom historian Dee Brown called the last of the great chiefs in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.Commanded by James W. Forsyth, the troops waited until bright and early the next morning to avoid provoking the tribe, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat wrote. With four Hotchkiss machine guns mounted on a bluff overlooking the camp, the troops demanded the tribe forfeit its weapons. The Miniconjou complied. But the troops were unconvinced that the Miniconjou had really given up all their weapons. They searched the camp, shaking out blankets and rifling through tepees.The troops only found two rifles. One belonged to Black Coyote, a deaf member of the tribe who either didnt understand the orders or didnt want to comply. By some accounts, he fired first. By others, a soldier tried to grab his gun and it went off. Either way, a shot rang out and the massacre began.In the first seconds of violence, Brown wrote, the firing of carbines was deafening, filling the air with powder smoke. Sitanka died early on. Then, soldiers fired the Hotchkiss guns.We tried to run, a Miniconjou named Louise Weasel Bear reportedly said afterward. But they shot us like we were a buffalo.Sensationalist white accounts agreed. The soldiers shot the Indians down wherever found, no quarter being given by anyone, the Globe-Democrat reported.To say that it was a most daring feat, 120 Indians attacking 500 cavalry, expresses the situation but faintly, the Globe-Democrat continued. It could only have been insanity which prompted such a deed.In an impassioned speech following the massacre, Red Cloud, the leader of the Oglala Lakota whom the Miniconjou wished to ask for protection, offered a fuller explanation.I will tell you the reason for the trouble, he said. When we first made treaties with the Government, our old life and our old customs were about to end; the game on which we lived was disappearing; the whites were closing around us, and nothing remained for us but to adopt their ways.Red Cloud spoke of a saga of promises and hope that his people would one day attain prosperity. But ultimately, the Lakota were left voiceless and misrepresented. We begged for life and the white men thought we wanted theirs, Red Cloud said.As the sun set on December 29, there was little life left at Wounded Knee. The U.S. Army killed 300 Miniconjou, by some estimates, leaving them in the frozen plains and in mass graves, wounds dug into the American earth.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown significant potential in reasoning tasks, using methods like Chain-of-Thought (CoT) to break down complex problems into manageable steps. However, this capability comes with challenges. CoT prompts often increase token usage, leading to higher computational costs and energy consumption. This inefficiency is a concern for applications that require both precision and resource efficiency. Current LLMs tend to generate unnecessarily lengthy outputs, which do not always translate into better accuracy but incur additional costs. The key challenge is finding a balance between reasoning performance and resource efficiency.Researchers from Nanjing University, Rutgers University, and UMass Amherst have introduced a Token-Budget-Aware LLM Reasoning Framework. This framework dynamically estimates token budgets based on the complexity of a reasoning task and uses these estimates to guide the process. Known as TALE (Token-Budget-Aware LLM rEasoning), the approach seeks to reduce token usage without compromising the accuracy of responses. By integrating a token budget into CoT prompts, TALE provides a practical solution for enhancing cost-efficiency in LLMs while maintaining their performance.Technical Details and BenefitsTALE operates in two main phases: budget estimation and token-budget-aware reasoning. Initially, it estimates an appropriate token budget for a problem using methods such as zero-shot prediction or regression-based estimators. This budget is then embedded in the prompt to encourage the LLM to generate concise yet accurate responses.A key innovation in TALE is the concept of Token Elasticity, which identifies an optimal range of token budgets that minimizes token usage while preserving accuracy. Using iterative search techniques like binary search, TALE determines the optimal budget for various tasks and LLM architectures. On average, the framework achieves a 68.64% reduction in token usage with less than a 5% decrease in accuracy, making it a practical and adaptable approach for token efficiency.Results and InsightsExperiments demonstrate TALEs effectiveness across benchmarks like GSM8K and MathBench. For instance, on the GSM8K dataset, TALE achieved 84.46% accuracy, surpassing the Vanilla CoT method while reducing token costs from 318.10 to 77.26 on average. On GSM8K-Zero, it reduced token costs by 91%, maintaining an accuracy of 98.72%.TALE also generalizes well across different LLMs, such as GPT-4o-mini and Yi-lightning. When applied to the MathBench-College dataset, TALE reduced token costs by up to 70% while maintaining competitive accuracy. Additionally, the framework significantly lowers operational expenses, cutting costs by 59% on average compared to Vanilla CoT. These results highlight TALEs ability to enhance efficiency without sacrificing performance, making it suitable for a variety of applications.ConclusionThe Token-Budget-Aware LLM Reasoning Framework addresses the inefficiency of token usage in reasoning tasks. By dynamically estimating and applying token budgets, TALE strikes a balance between accuracy and cost-effectiveness. This approach reduces computational expenses and broadens the accessibility of advanced LLM capabilities. As AI continues to evolve, frameworks like TALE offer a pathway to more efficient and sustainable use of LLMs in both academic and industrial contexts.Check out the Paper and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences. [Download] Evaluation of Large Language Model Vulnerabilities Report (Promoted)

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Newscast: Eurogamer News Quiz of the Year 2024Old year's NiGHTs.Image credit: Pexels News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Dec. 29, 2024 Ho-ho-hello! And welcome to our annual Newscast quiz for the festive season: Eurogamer's big News Quiz of the Year 2024.From lawsuits to layoffs, alarm clocks to Switch 2 leaks, it has been another non-stop year. We've published nearly 4000 news stories since January began. But now, we've boiled it all down to this: 24 questions covering 2024.It's time to find out how much of this year you remember - and how Eurogamer's own news team did recalling the stories we all wrote. (Spoiler: once again, things get competitive.) If you'd like to join along at home, please do! We begin with 12 questions based on stories this year (one from each month of the year), some general knowledge (also about video game news), and then a smattering of headlines from just the past few weeks with missing words for our contestants to try and fill in. Joining me for one last time this year are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. Please enjoy, and we'll see you for much more news in 2025!To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Newscast: Eurogamer News Quiz of the Year 2024Watch on YouTubeTo see this content please enable targeting cookies.Prefer to listen elsewhere? Find us on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Audible and Spotify.

Shifting GearsFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth's producer says the team's actually pretty "satisfied" with the game's overall sales, but does seem to imply part 3 can't afford to release on just PS5"We cannot be exclusive to a single platform."Image credit: Square Enix News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Dec. 29, 2024 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth might not have met Square Enix's sales expectations, but the game's producer still says they're satisfied with them.Did you know Final Fantasy 7 is the second best selling PS1 title of all time? You might not have guessed, considering JRPGs don't sell quite as well as other genres these days, but nope, it was a damn popular game - there's a reason it's the one getting a trilogy of remakes. Comparatively, though, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth might not be doing quite as well, as earlier this year it was reported that both it and Final Fantasy 16 had fallen below Square Enix's sales expectations. That in turn led the developer to shift gears towards multiplatform releases for its games, and it seems like that that's something Rebirth's producer Yoshinori Kitase is keeping in mind too.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Speaking to IGN Brasil (as translated by Final Weapon), Kitase spoke of Rebirth's sales essentially claiming they weren't that bad, actually, but they weren't good enough to just stick with one platform. "While we are satisfied that were meeting a certain number of sales, with the current modernization state of games, we cannot be exclusive to a single platform," Kitase explained. "I think we need to [be able to] offer the game to as many players as we can."That obviously isn't a guarantee that Remake Part 3 will be available on PC or Xbox day one, Remake and Rebirth aren't even available on Microsoft's platform yet, but it does seem to suggest Square Enix is thinking very hard about make the trilogy more easily available than on just PS5. Rebirth is actually making its way to PC next month, less than a year after it was initially released on PlayStation, but those of you hoping to play on Xbox will have to keep your fingers crossed for some sort of announcement for a while longer.

Image: Nintendo LifeHello everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl!Last time, Capcom's SNES classic Breath of Fire II was put in the spotlight as North America and Europe joined forces against Japan. It wasn't even remotely close either, as Japan absolutely nailed it with 71% of the vote. Well done!This week, we sifted through all of the Box Art Brawls from yore and realised that, no, we actually haven't covered every single Zelda game yet. Crazy! So this week, we're looking at Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the NES. Yes, it's a bit of a divisive one, but it's still an important entry in the long-running series that deserves its spot in the brawling ring.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube790kWatch on YouTube It's another duel this week as North America and Europe team up once again, so without further ado, let battle commence! And save statesZelda II, have you any tough dungeons? Yes sir, yes sir...Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let's check out the box art designs themselves.Europe / North AmericaImage: Nintendo / MobygamesThe cover for the western market is that 'classic' Zelda composition of a simple, gold background with a single item adorned in the centre. Rather than a shield presented on the original game, we've got a sword this time (and it's a shame we never got a Zelda game that just shows Link's green hat on the cover, tbh) along with a basic yet suitable logo. There's also a nifty cutout shaped like a shield through which you can spy the golden NES cart. So cool!JapanImage: Nintendo / MobygamesJapan's box art consists of a piece of artwork that will no doubt be pretty recognisable to many Zelda fans. It's a beautiful piece, and we love the bold, impactful lettering that sits above, slightly overlapping the top of the image. It may lack the cool cutout of the western variant along with the iconic gold background, but it's a pretty sweet approach nevertheless.Which region got the best Zelda II: The Adventure of Link box art? (85 votes)North America / Europe60%Japan40%Thanks for voting! We'll see you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.Related GamesSee AlsoShare:00 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesPSA: Switch 2 Is Getting Revealed In The Next 100 DaysSet your AlarmosFeature: The Best Hidden Gems And Underrated Switch Games Of 2024Some shinies that may have slipped through your fingersBest Of 2024: Why Play Final Fantasy VII Remake When You Could Play FFVII 'Demake'?"more than just pirate versions"Reminder: Rate Your Favourite Switch Games Of The Year 2024Bring out your GOTYs!

What were the biggest 3D printing stories of 2024? The 3D Printing Industry Review of the Year continues.There was an update to Arevos January 3D printing hardware auction, with a major industry player acquiring the firms entire technology and intellectual property portfolio. Binder jet 3D printer manufacturer voxeljet pursued cost-cutting measures, while a new metal 3D printing startup launched from stealth mode.The 2024 AMUG conference also dominated this months news. The annual event returned to Chicago to connect 3D printing users, spotlight expert insights, and introduce new additive manufacturing technologies. Keynote presentations ranged from 3D printing for the film industry, to additive manufacturing-enabled hydrogen combustion. A talk from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT) discussed 3D printed guns and issues around them. This appearance began a more direct approach to industry engagement on this issue.Elsewhere, efforts to optimize US-based supply chains ramped up in the defense, aerospace, and aviation sectors. Microscale 3D printing was also in the news. One research breakthrough could help scale resin additive manufacturing to mass production.Read on for more of the key stories from March, including updates from Stratasys, Siemens, Meltio, Materialise, GE Aerospace, Velo3D, and more.Hilton Chicago hosted AMUG 2024. Photo via Hilton Chicago.Asset acquisitions, cost-cutting initiatives and a new 3D printing companyEarlier in the year, an auction of Arevo assets marked the end of the once-promising venture. Despite raising $70 million, including $7 million in crowdfunding for its 3D printed Superstrata bikes, the company ceased operations in January.Three months into 2024, it was announced that leading 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys acquired Arevos entire technology and IP portfolio. The purchased patents cover Arevos carbon fiber 3D printing, localized laser melting process, AI-powered build monitoring, and hardware designs. These added to Stratasys existing 2,600 granted and pending patents.Stratasys said that the acquisition expanded its addressable manufacturing applications, helping to increase the adoption of its FDM 3D printing technology. The technology weve acquired allows for increasingly improved isotropy of physical properties in FDM parts, which opens up additional use for customers, commented Rich Garrity, Stratasys Chief Industrial Business Officer.Stratasys Headquarters in Rehovot, Isreal. Photo via Stratasys.Following similar initiatives by Desktop Metal and Velo3D earlier this year, March also saw binder jet 3D printer manufacturer voxeljet pursue cost-cutting measures. The company revealed plans to withdraw from the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and terminate its registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This decision ended the firms financial reporting obligations with the SEC and saw it begin trading on the over-the-counter (OTC) markets under the ticker VJTTY. According to voxeljet CEO Rudolf Franz on LinkedIn, these steps were made to reduce expenses associated with being a public company and further strengthen our financial position.Voxeljet also agreed to amend and restate an existing loan note issued to Anzu Partners industrial technology investment fund. The net loan proceedings were used to facilitate the delisting processes and fund the firms operating activities. This decision followed the news in 2023 that the company initiated a formal review process to evaluate strategic alternatives. Concerns were raised regarding voxeljets finances in Q3 2023 when the firm announced -2.8 million operating loss, up 12% YoY.On a more positive note, March witnessed the introduction of a new metal 3D printing company. Fluent Metal launched from stealth after raising $5.5 million in venture capital funding. The company was founded to develop and commercialize its drop-on-demand technology. This production-scale, wire-based, liquid metal printing (LMP) process reportedly facilitates waste-free 3D printing, making it cheaper and more sustainable than existing powder-based approaches.Fluent Metal Co-Founder and CEO Peter Schmitt. Photo via Fluent Metal.AMUG 2024: expert insights and 3D printing awardsIn March, the 2024 Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) conference welcomed 1,479 members of the 3D printing community to the Hilton Chicago. The event boasted a packed keynote presentation schedule, featuring insights from a range of industry experts.One notable talk came from Jason Lopes, Chief Technical Officer at Gentle Giant Studios. He provided insights into the role of 3D printing in the film industry. Lopes touched on several of Gentle Giants projects, including the production of Disney collectables and 3D printed art installations in Miami. To Emphasize the studios ability to handle high-volume production, he pointed to a project involving 110,000 units.The companys adaptability has allowed it to explore metal 3D printing and the additive manufacturing of translucent or clear objects. One project saw the studio 3D print 200 masks for influencers, meeting a tight two-and-a-half-week deadline. It has also conducted efforts to integrate traditional color techniques into advanced 3D printing. Lopes noted that the company has completed substantial R&D work in this area. It was clearly evident that we were going to win the market with the use of color, he added.A Skrull mask made for the launch of Marvels Secret Invasion at AMUG 2024. Photo by Michael PetchTad Steinberg also took to the stage to highlight how Siemens Energy is advancing hydrogen combustion and gas turbines with additive manufacturing. He pointed to the companys vision that, by 2030, every new gas turbine Siemens sells will be able to run on 100% hydrogen. This would represent a significant shift from the firms traditional focus on natural gas and methane.Additive manufacturing is set to play a crucial role in this transition. Additive has really helped us accelerate getting into that [hydrogen] space because of the challenges that hydrogen brings to the table, explained Steinberg. He identified how 3D printing can overcome key barriers limiting the adoption of hydrogen energy. For instance, additive manuring has facilitated rapid prototyping, allowing Siemens to quickly iterate and test new designs to meet the unique demands of hydrogen combustion.Steinberg also emphasized the cost advantages of additive manufacturing. Despite the higher initial costs of 3D printed parts, he pointed to the long-term savings and efficiency gains. A reduced need for physical inventories also translates to lower inventory management and taxation costs.Tad Steinberg from Siemens Energy at AMUG 2024. Photo by Michael Petch.The conference also saw industry figures receive sought-after AMUG awards. The recipients of five Distinguished INnovator Operator (DINO) awards and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award were announced.The highly coveted DINO awards are granted to those with the highest levels of additive manufacturing expertise. All holders must have demonstrated a willingness to share their knowledge through at least 10 years of industry involvement. The 2024 recipients were Jamie Cone, Steve Grundahl, Thomas Murphy, Vadim Pikhovich, and Bob Renella.The AMUG Lifetime Achievement Award is a prestigious title recognizing those who exemplify leadership and excellence within Additive Manufacturing. Gary Rabinovitz, AM/3D Printing Lab Manager at Boston-based shoe manufacturer Reebok, received this award. He became only the second recipient in the AMUGs 36-year history, after Thomas Sorovetz in 2018.DINOs from the past 26 years gathered to celebrate the 2024 AMUG Conference. Photo via AMUG. New technology at AMUG 2024AMUG 2024 also saw several companies introduce new 3D printing technologies. On the hardware side, Meltio introduced the M600, a laser metal deposition (LMD) 3D printer. Featuring a Blue Laser deposition head, the metal 3D printer is targeted to machine shops and 24/7 production environments requiring industrial-scale manufacturing capabilities.Meltio stated that the M600 overcomes challenges associated with long lead times, high-cost stock-keeping, and supply chain insecurities. Its autonomous production capabilities minimize manual user input and facilitate 24-hour light-out operation. In addition to fabricating metal parts, the M600 can add features to existing components and repair damaged surfaces.Large glass mold 3D printed with the new Meltio M600 at AMUG 2024. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.Several software companies also showcased new offerings at AMUG 2024. Chicago-based 3D printing quality assurance specialist Phase3D released its True Layer Thickness toolkit. This monitoring and inspection software measures, in microns, the quantity of metal powder distributed across a 3D printers build platform. This guarantees an even distribution of material for each layer during powder bed fusion 3D printing.Phase3Ds product seeks to address the needs of regulated industries like aerospace, medical, and energy to guarantee high-quality and certifiable parts. The company claims it worked with an unnamed prominent aerospace company to develop the toolkit.Phase3Ds Fringe structured light in-situ monitoring system technology. Photo via Phase3D.Belgian 3D printing company Materialise introduced its e-Stage for Metal+ software. This platform uses physics-based modeling to streamline data and build preparation for laser powder bed fusion 3D printing. By automating the generation of support structures, the tool seeks to make metal additive manufacturing accessible to more customers.Notably, the software can predict areas prone to deformation and generate needle-thin and cone supports to counteract this. As such, the company claims e-Stage for Metal+ eliminates the trade-off between part quality and production expenses, increasing the affordability of metal 3D printing.Away from AMUG, another software launch came from French start-up Spare Parts 3D which initiated the beta program of Thia. This digital tool can automatically create 3D models from 2D technical drawings. The platform leverages AI technology to reduce conversion times from days to minutes.According to Spare Parts 3D, this will allow more companies to leverage additive manufacturing for spare parts production, cutting inventory costs. The company claims Thia can collectively save companies $34 billion a year through inventory digitization.Materialise e-Stage for metal 3D printing. Photo by Michael Petch.Strengthening global supply chainsIn March, GE Aerospace announced plans to invest $650 million into its global manufacturing plants and supply chains. The Ohio-based company hopes this investment will increase its production capacity of 3D printed aircraft engines to meet demand from commercial and defense customers.Specifically, GE Aerospaces investment seeks to scale the production of its 3D printing-enabled LEAP engines. These engines, developed in collaboration with French aerospace manufacturer Safran, power the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, and COMAC C919 aircraft. Additionally, the new capital will facilitate full-scale production of the firms GE9X engines which feature over 300 3D printed parts and power Boeing 777X jets.GE Aerospace LEAP engine. Image via GE Aerospace.In defense news, Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. selected metal 3D printing technology from Velo3D to support the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. This partnership continues the US Department of Defenses efforts to re-shore supply chains and reduce lead times for critical components. With 300 vessels currently in operation, many of which have been in service for decades, the US Navy faces challenges in maintaining ageing equipment.The technology, which includes Velo3Ds Sapphire XC large format 3D printer, is being operated by materials company ATI in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Additive manufacturing will facilitate the production of parts previously made through more time-consuming casting techniques.Velo3D Sapphire XC larger format 3D printer. Image via Velo3D.Development in microscale 3D printingMarchs research news saw a prominent focus on microscale 3D printing. One team from Stanford University developed a high-speed 3D printing process that can produce up to one million complex microscale particles per day. The researchers leveraged the resin-based continuous liquid interface production, or CLIP, process co-developed by Carbon founder Joseph DeSimone. This was integrated into a production-line workflow to create a new technique, dubbed roll-to-roll CLIP (r2rCLIP). This allowed batches of micro-scale models to be 3D printed, washed, cured and removed automatically without manual input, accelerating production speeds.The team claimed that this approach unlocks high-volume 3D printing of intricate microscopic designs. They identified potential for biomedical, analytical and advanced materials applications. In particular, r2rCLIP could be used for the mass production of components ranging from microrobots to drug delivery vessels.In another study, Stanford researchers successfully 3D printed shapeshifting nanoparticles. Archimedean truncated tetrahedrons have long been recognized for their ability to form new materials that can change form, but are difficult to fabricate with conventional manufactring techniques. 3D nanoprinting was used to produce the microscale particles, which successfully self-assembled into different crystal structures.The team noted that these materials can shift between phases by applying external stimuli, similar to the atomic arrangement that creates tempered steel from iron. This capability reportedly offers value for engineering and materials science applications. For example, the 3D printed nanoparticles could create solar panel coatings that change throughout the day to increase energy efficiency.The 3D-printed DeSimone lab logo, featuring a buckyball geometry. Image via DeSimone Research Group, SEM courtesy of Stanford Nano Shared Facilities.3D Printing News Highlights from 2024: Innovations, Trends, and AnalysisAll the news from Formnext 2024.Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.Featured image shows DINOs from the past 26 years gathering to celebrate the 2024 AMUG Conference. Photo via AMUG.

HMD FusionEwan SpenceThe HMD Fusion brings the chance to add new functionality through smart cases., and you can download the plans to make your own. Is that enough to stand out in a crowded market?Ive spent time this month to find out.The HMD Fusion As A PhonePriced at 229 in the UK, the HMD Fusion is a competent smartphone that delivers what the market expects at this price point. It's equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset backed up by 6 GB of memory. You have 128 GB of internal storage, while support for SD Cards means you can comfortably add 1TB if you feel the need for more.Your regular day-to-day mix of social media apps, web browsing, and PDA functionality can all be run on the Fusion, but don't expect anything more advanced to run smoothly.The screen resolution is 720p, and the display technology is decidedly average; colors quickly wash out under medium lighting, and sunlight can have a noticeable negative impact on the screen's clarity.HMD FusionEwan SpenceSoftware-wise, the Fusion will receive two Android version updates and three years of security updates. However, as it launches with Android 14, your two versions will only take you up to Android 16, presumably in early 2026.MORE FOR YOUIf the Fusion package were just the phone, it would be easily lost in a sea of smartphones at this price. Yet, there is one design decision HMD hopes will help the Fusion stand out. Not only can you purchase additional cases that extend the functionality of the phone, but you can also download the plans and build one for yourself or others.The HMD Fusion And Its Smart CasesHMD has christened these accessories as Smart Fusion Outfits.Six electrical contacts offering power, data, and control lines are tucked away on the back of the Fusion. Pogo pins inside a case can make contact, and from that point on, the imagination of the case designer can take flight.HMD FusionEwan SpenceHMD demonstrated a case with an integrated ring light (the Flashy Outfit), a case with improved protection rated to IP68 (the Rugged Outfit), and analogue sticks in a control pad format (the Gaming Outfit). You also have various colors of Casual Outfit, including the transparent case that comes in the Fusion's retail packaging.Alongside the review unit of the Fusion, HMD also supplied a Flashy Outfit. This is a camera ring that lights up the subject of any picture or video. Power is drawn through the pins and into an LED ring that sits around the primary camera - it's a similar setup to many webcams with a ring light. In addition, it flips up to sit across the top of the phone to help light selfie shots on the forward-facing camera.HMD FusionEwan SpenceThere's not much to go wrong here; it's a fill light for your camera and does what it needs to do. It's practical for photography and demonstrating what an Outfit can do.HMD FusionEwan SpenceI would note that it's a relatively tight fit around the Fusion, as is the default 'does nothing' case that comes in the retail packaging, so it feels like quite an effort to switch them over; that's not something I would want to do often.The HMD Fusions Historical ChallengeThe idea of modular attachments is not a new one in the smartphone space. The recent Moto Mods on the Moto Z handsets used magnetic attachment points on the rear of the smartphone with a series of pogo pin points to offer the power and data lines needed.I can remember the fanfare in 2012 with the launch of the Nokia Lumia 820 with its replaceable shells and the release of the associated CAD files for 3D printing new shells.Neither of these gathered much commercial success. They lacked both the volume of handsets required to make a significant investment by peripheral manufacturers and the implicit support of the manufacturer in terms of ongoing software support and open access to the platform.HMD FusionEwan SpenceHMD offers the necessary production files and specifications directly from the website so individuals can make their own accessories. In theory, that should allow anything to be built into the Fusion. But without a significant install base, this is going to stay in the realm of the hobbyist makers and creatives, at least on the consumer side of things.Are Custom Cases Enough?The HMD Fusion sits awkwardly between two ideas. The first is that it has the tinkerers, the makers, and the creatives in mind and offers them the ability to build their own cases that interface seamlessly with their smartphones. Yet those same tinkerers are the sort of consumers who would not normally consider a smartphone with an all-plastic construction, a limited 720p display, two years of updates and, crucially, a locked bootloader.I love the idea of the outfits, but manufacturing at scale requires a user base, and I don't think even HMD would be under the illusion that the Fusion is going to be up there with the Galaxys, Pixels and iPhones of the world.This leaves me wondering where the audience is for the Fusion. Perhaps there is space for it in the enterprise marketbulk B2B sales and outfits, including barcode scanners or proprietary scanning tech, could be a potential avenue. That's a space in which the HMD Fusion could excel. It's not quite the modular phone many want, but it has a modular component that could deliver for specific use cases.HMD FusionEwan SpenceI'm glad that HMD has taken a risk on the Fusion. I'm sure that a target market was identified during the design process, and it reaches that market. I think the consumer market is simply a cherry on top of what I suspect is a more enterprise-focused approach.Disclaimer: HMD supplied an HMD Fusion and Flashy Outfit for review purposes.

Here's what not to do when you update your PCNurPhoto via Getty ImagesRepublished on December 29 with new reports into another Windows update issue hitting users.Microsoft has confirmed an unusual warning for Windows users updating their PCs. If you make a simple mistake, your PC might remain in a state where it cannot accept further Windows security updates. Bad news, especially as it will clearly be confusing if and when it happens.As Windows Latest reported on Christmas Day, if you use a USB or drive to install Windows 11 24H2 with the October 2024 or November 2024 security updates included, you might end up breaking Windows Update. By default, Windows 11 24H2 ships without October or November security patches.What Microsoft says in its documentation is that when using media to install Windows 11, version 24H2, the device might remain in a state where it cannot accept further Windows security updates. This occurs only when the media is created to include the October 2024, or November 2024, security updates as part of the installation (these updates were released between October 8, 2024 and November 12, 2024)... This only occurs when utilizing media - such as CD and USB flash drives - to install Windows 11, version 24H2. This issue does not occur for devices where the October 2024 security update or the November 2024 security updates are installed via Windows Update.Still, a confusing way to spend Christmas Day catching up on belated security updates to find yourself in something of a frozen update state. Windows Latest puts the issue down too the way in which users might create their Windows 11 external media copy to install the OS with newer updates.Read More: Samsungs Android 15 LeakBad News For Nearly All Galaxy OwnersMicrosoft remains in a bind with Windows 11. The stats are refusing to budge in its favor, as hundreds of millions of users vote with their PCs to stick to Windows 10. And to add to the messy situation, conflicting media reports suggest the company either is or is not relaxing its hardware hurdle for taking. the leap from Windows 10 to Windows 11. It is not.At first it was thought that only relatively few users would be impacted. Microsoft told Windows Latest the company is aware of these reports and that they only affect a very small number of PCs... What can you do if youre unable to install new cumulative updates after installing Windows 11 24H2? Youll need to download the Media Creation tool, create a fresh media file, and reinstall the OS.But 48-hours on from the initial story and it has created something of a buzz, suggesting either more users than first thought would be affected or it has added to the unfortunate Windows 11 narrative that Microsoft is battling. Per Bleeping Computer, Microsoft is currently working on a permanent fix The installation media issue is added to a long string of problems that impacts 24H2, the latest major feature update for Microsoft's operating system, which was released earlier this year to offer enhanced security, usability, and performance.As The Register explains, according to Microsoft's marketing for its flagship OS: "Your Windows 11 PC brings layers and layers of security measures to help keep your digital life in safe handsyours... Unfortunately, for some users, what it does not bring are security updates. While Microsoft's marketing and compatibility requirements for Windows 11 might imply that the security situation is all tickety-boo, the reality for the operating system and much of the rest of the software world is that a relentless stream of updates is required to keep out the miscreants.There have been a raft of these type of update and upgrade issues in recent weeks. Certain brands of PC or PCs with certain software installed being taken off update lists as software conflicts cause crashes or worse. Its not been smooth running. And that has two serious security implications for Windows users. First, undermining confidence in or even delaying updates to Windows 11 PCs, and perhaps even more acutely, giving Windows 10 users more reasons sot keep holding out.And theres now more of the same, with another recurring issue reported by Windows Latest on Sunday. In October 2024, [we] reported that Windows 11 24H2 has a bug that renders Wi-Fi connections useless, which means the PC no longer have internet access after the update. Turns out the issue is widespread and still not patched.The website explains that after some people started using Windows 11 24H2, they noticed that their devices were not getting an IP address. Instead, some of you might see APIPA address. For those unaware, APIPA is basically Automatic Private IP Addressing, where Windows 11 tries to automatically assign a random IP address. This happens when DHCP server is not available. In other words, if your computers Wi-Fi uses DHCP and Windows 11 tries to automatically assign an IP address, it means the DHCP isnt working as it is supposed to.As one Redditor posted on this issue in a new thread, I am a sysadmin for a mid size company and we have been plagued by DHCP issues on all of our devices that were running the 24h2 October update... I found a forum post on netgate that described the same issues and had been discussing option 43 in DHCP as a possible cause of the issue, which we had enabled for locating the controller for our APs. After removing DHCP option 43, the issues stopped completely and we were able to get proper DHCP information from the server. Just posting this in case it can help anyone else.Which means theres some light at the end of the tunnel at least on this issue. Another Redditor picking up the thread confirmed the fix. We are experiencing very heavy issues, too since 24H2, but we are having no clue where they come from. We are also using Option 43 - I Hope this is finally it. I want to give you an award!! Thank you for sharing!!!As per the other issues, this is patchy. But when hundreds of millions of users are updating, even a very small percentage impacted is a large number of peopleand those people can be vocal and can take to forums and social media to make their point, and that gets picked up and amplified, and before long theres a perception issue. While [Windows 11 24H2] works well for most users, Windows Latest says, its a huge mess for some people, and we dont know how many PCs are affected.What remains clear is that 2025 is the critical year for Windows 11, with its more popular older sibling scheduled to hit end-of-support in October. Yes, users can now elect to pay Microsoft $30 to extend security support for 12-months, but there are hundreds of millions of holdouts so far refusing to budge, and many that cannot given they fail the hardware test. All told, Microsoft will want this tided up quickly. Microsoft is currently working on a permanent fix, Bleeping Computer reports, and recommends that media-based Windows 11 24H2 installations use the December 2024 security update, released on December 10, to avoid encountering subsequent updating problems.