During Apple’s late-90s struggles with profitability, it made a few overtures toward licensing its software to other computer manufacturers, while at the same time trying to modernize its operating system, …read more

Take the Speakers, Headphones, and Earphones SurveyTake other PCMag surveys. Each completed survey is a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card. OFFICIAL SWEEPSTAKES RULESNO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Readers' Choice Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes") is governed by these official rules (the "Sweepstakes Rules"). The Sweepstakes begins on May 9, 2025, at 12:00 AM ET and ends on July 27, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET (the "Sweepstakes Period").SPONSOR: Ziff Davis, LLC, with an address of 360 Park Ave South, Floor 17, New York, NY 10010 (the "Sponsor").ELIGIBILITY: This Sweepstakes is open to individuals who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States of America or the District of Columbia. By entering the Sweepstakes as described in these Sweepstakes Rules, entrants represent and warrant that they are complying with these Sweepstakes Rules (including, without limitation, all eligibility requirements), and that they agree to abide by and be bound by all the rules and terms and conditions stated herein and all decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final and binding.All previous winners of any sweepstakes sponsored by Sponsor during the nine (9) month period prior to the Selection Date are not eligible to enter. Any individuals (including, but not limited to, employees, consultants, independent contractors and interns) who have, within the past six (6) months, held employment with or performed services for Sponsor or any organizations affiliated with the sponsorship, fulfillment, administration, prize support, advertisement or promotion of the Sweepstakes ("Employees") are not eligible to enter or win. Immediate Family Members and Household Members are also not eligible to enter or win. "Immediate Family Members" means parents, step-parents, legal guardians, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, or spouses of an Employee. "Household Members" means those individuals who share the same residence with an Employee at least three (3) months a year.HOW TO ENTER: There are two methods to enter the Sweepstakes: (1) fill out the online survey, or (2) enter by mail.1. Survey Entry: To enter the Sweepstakes through the online survey, go to the survey page and complete the current survey during the Sweepstakes Period.2. Mail Entry: To enter the Sweepstakes by mail, on a 3" x 5" card, print your first and last name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone number, and email address. Mail your completed entry to:Readers' Choice Sweepstakes - Audio 2025c/o E. Griffith 624 Elm St. Ext.Ithaca, NY 14850-8786Mail Entries must be postmarked by July 28, 2025, and received by Aug. 4, 2025.Only one (1) entry per person is permitted, regardless of the entry method used. Subsequent attempts made by the same individual to submit multiple entries may result in the disqualification of the entrant.Only contributions submitted during the Sweepstakes Period will be eligible for entry into the Sweepstakes. No other methods of entry will be accepted. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Entries are limited to individuals only; commercial enterprises and business entities are not eligible. Use of a false account will disqualify an entry. Sponsor is not responsible for entries not received due to difficulty accessing the internet, service outage or delays, computer difficulties, and other technological problems.Entries are subject to any applicable restrictions or eligibility requirements listed herein. Entries will be deemed to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email or telephone phone number submitted at the time of entry and qualification. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email address. Should multiple users of the same e-mail account or mobile phone number, as applicable, enter the Sweepstakes and a dispute thereafter arises regarding the identity of the entrant, the Authorized Account Holder of said e-mail account or mobile phone account at the time of entry will be considered the entrant. "Authorized Account Holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned an e-mail address or mobile phone number by an Internet access provider, online service provider, telephone service provider or other organization that is responsible for assigned e-mail addresses, phone numbers or the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. Proof of submission of an entry shall not be deemed proof of receipt by the website administrator for online entries. When applicable, the website administrator's computer will be deemed the official time-keeping device for the Sweepstakes promotion. Entries will be disqualified if found to be incomplete and/or if Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, that multiple entries were submitted by the same entrant in violation of the Sweepstakes Rules.Entries that are late, lost, stolen, mutilated, tampered with, illegible, incomplete, mechanically reproduced, inaccurate, postage-due, forged, irregular in any way or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules will be disqualified. All entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION: Sponsor shall select the prize winner(s) (collectively, the "Winner") on or about Aug. 11, 2025, ("Selection Date") by random drawing or from among all eligible entries. The Winner will be notified via email to the contact information provided in the entry. Notification of the Winner shall be deemed to have occurred immediately upon sending of the notification by Sponsor. Selected winner(s) will be required to respond (as directed) to the notification within seven (7) days of attempted notification. The only entries that will be considered eligible entries are entries received by Sponsor within the Sweepstakes Period. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to choose an alternative winner in the event that a possible winner has been disqualified or is deemed ineligible for any reason.Recommended by Our EditorsPRIZE: One (1) winner will receive the following prize (collectively, the "Prize"):One (1) $250 Amazon.com gift code via email, valued at approximately two hundred fifty dollars ($250).No more than the stated number of prize(s) will be awarded, and all prize(s) listed above will be awarded. Actual retail value of the Prize may vary due to market conditions. The difference in value of the Prize as stated above and value at time of notification of the Winner, if any, will not be awarded. No cash or prize substitution is permitted, except at the discretion of Sponsor. The Prize is non-transferable. If the Prize cannot be awarded due to circumstances beyond the control of Sponsor, a substitute Prize of equal or greater retail value will be awarded; provided, however, that if a Prize is awarded but remains unclaimed or is forfeited by the Winner, the Prize may not be re-awarded, in Sponsor's sole discretion. In the event that more than the stated number of prize(s) becomes available for any reason, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prize(s) by a random drawing among all legitimate, un-awarded, eligible prize claims.ACCEPTANCE AND DELIVERY OF THE PRIZE: The Winner will be required to verify his or her address and may be required to execute the following document(s) before a notary public and return them within seven (7) days (or a shorter time if required by exigencies) of receipt of such documents: an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release, and (where imposing such condition is legal) a publicity release covering eligibility, liability, advertising, publicity and media appearance issues (collectively, the "Prize Claim Documents"). If an entrant is unable to verify the information submitted with their entry, the entrant will automatically be disqualified and their prize, if any, will be forfeited. The Prize will not be awarded until all such properly executed and notarized Prize Claim Documents are returned to Sponsor. Prize(s) won by an eligible entrant who is a minor in his or her state of residence will be awarded to minor's parent or legal guardian, who must sign and return all required Prize Claim Documents. In the event the Prize Claim Documents are not returned within the specified period, an alternate Winner may be selected by Sponsor for such Prize. The Prize will be shipped to the Winner within 7 days of Sponsor's receipt of a signed Affidavit and Release from the Winner. The Winner is responsible for all taxes and fees related to the Prize received, if any.OTHER RULES: This sweepstakes is subject to all applicable laws and is void where prohibited. All submissions by entrants in connection with the sweepstakes become the sole property of the sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Winner assumes all liability for any injuries or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in this sweepstakes or by the use or misuse of any prize.By entering the sweepstakes, each winner grants the SPONSOR permission to use his or her name, city, state/province, e-mail address and, to the extent submitted as part of the sweepstakes entry, his or her photograph, voice, and/or likeness for advertising, publicity or other purposes OR ON A WINNER'S LIST, IF APPLICABLE, IN ANY and all MEDIA WHETHER NOW KNOWN OR HEREINAFTER DEVELOPED, worldwide, without additional consent OR compensation, except where prohibited by law. By submitting an entry, entrants also grant the Sponsor a perpetual, fully-paid, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, exhibit, transmit, broadcast, televise, digitize, perform and otherwise use and permit others to use, and throughout the world, their entry materials in any manner, form, or format now known or hereinafter created, including on the internet, and for any purpose, including, but not limited to, advertising or promotion of the Sweepstakes, the Sponsor and/or its products and services, without further consent from or compensation to the entrant. By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants consent to receive notification of future promotions, advertisements or solicitations by or from Sponsor and/or Sponsor's parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, and business partners, via email or other means of communication.If, in the Sponsor's opinion, there is any suspected or actual evidence of fraud, electronic or non-electronic tampering or unauthorized intervention with any portion of this Sweepstakes, or if fraud or technical difficulties of any sort (e.g., computer viruses, bugs) compromise the integrity of the Sweepstakes, the Sponsor reserves the right to void suspect entries and/or terminate the Sweepstakes and award the Prize in its sole discretion. Any attempt to deliberately damage the Sponsor's website(s) or undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be in violation of U.S. criminal and civil laws and will result in disqualification from participation in the Sweepstakes. Should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek remedies and damages (including attorney's fees) to the fullest extent of the law, including pursuing criminal prosecution.DISCLAIMER: EXCLUDING ONLY APPLICABLE MANUFACTURERS' WARRANTIES, THE PRIZE IS PROVIDED TO THE WINNER ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT FURTHER WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. SPONSOR HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL FURTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE PRIZE.LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: BY ENTERING THE SWEEPSTAKES, ENTRANTS, ON BEHALF OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR HEIRS, EXECUTORS, ASSIGNS AND REPRESENTATIVES, RELEASE AND HOLD THE SPONSOR its PARENT COMPANIES, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATED COMPANIES, UNITS AND DIVISIONS, AND THE CURRENT AND FORMER OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS OF EACH OF THE FOREGOING, AND ALL THOSE ACTING UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE FOREGOING, OR ANY OF THEM (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL AGENCIES AND PRIZE SUPPLIERS) (EACH A "RELEASED PARTY"), HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, ACTIONS, INJURY, LOSS, DAMAGES, LIABILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (COLLECTIVELY, THE "CLAIMS") WHETHER KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, SUSPECTED OR UNSUSPECTED, WHICH ENTRANT EVER HAD, NOW HAVE, OR HEREAFTER CAN, SHALL OR MAY HAVE, AGAINST THE RELEASED PARTIES (OR ANY OF THEM), INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SWEEPSTAKES OR ENTRANT'S PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CLAIMS FOR LIBEL, DEFAMATION, INVASION OF PRIVACY, VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT OF PUBLICITY, COMMERCIAL APPROPRIATION OF NAME AND LIKENESS, INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT OR VIOLATION OF ANY OTHER PERSONAL OR PROPRIETARY RIGHT), AND THE RECEIPT, OWNERSHIP, USE, MISUSE, TRANSFER, SALE OR OTHER DISPOSITION OF THE PRIZE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CLAIMS FOR PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE). All matters relating to the interpretation and application of these Sweepstakes Rules shall be decided by Sponsor in its sole discretion.DISPUTES: If, for any reason (including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes), the Sweepstakes is not capable of being conducted as described in these Sweepstakes Rules, Sponsor shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes. The Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. The Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, or failure of any e-mail or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including, without limitation, any injury or damage to any entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading any materials in this Sweepstakes. Because of the unique nature and scope of the Sweepstakes, Sponsor reserves the right, in addition to those other rights reserved herein, to modify any date(s) or deadline(s) set forth in these Sweepstakes Rules or otherwise governing the Sweepstakes, and any such changes will be posted here in the Sweepstakes Rules. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Sweepstakes Rules shall not constitute a waiver of any provision.As a condition of participating in the Sweepstakes, entrant agrees that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between entrant and Sponsor, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Sweepstakes or these Sweepstakes Rules, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court of competent jurisdiction located in New York, New York, and entrant irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in New York, New York with respect to any such dispute, cause of action, or other matter. All disputes will be governed and controlled by the laws of the State of New York (without regard for its conflicts-of-laws principles). Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby irrevocably waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys' fees, other than entrant's actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs incurred directly in connection with entrant's participation in the Sweepstakes), and entrant further irrevocably waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased, if any. EACH PARTY EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.PRIVACY: Information collected from entrants in connection with the Sweepstakes is subject to Sponsor's privacy policy, which may be found here.SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION: Although the Sweepstakes may be featured on Twitter, Facebook, and/or other social media platforms, the Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or in association with Twitter, Facebook, and/or such other social media platforms and you agree that Twitter, Facebook, and all other social media platforms are not liable in any way for any claims, damages or losses associated with the Sweepstakes.WINNER(S) LIST: For a list of name(s) of prizewinner(s), after the Selection Date, please send a stamped, self-addressed No. 10/standard business envelope to Ziff Davis, LLC, Attn: Legal Department, 360 Park Ave South, Floor 17, New York, NY 10010 (VT residents may omit return postage).BY ENTERING, YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO ALL OF THESE SWEEPSTAKES RULES.

Secretly working multiple full-time remote jobs may sound like a nightmare — but Americans looking to make their financial dreams come true willingly hustle for it.Over the past two years, Business Insider has interviewed more than two dozen "overemployed" workers, many of whom work in tech roles. They tend to work long hours but say the extra earnings are worth it to pay off student debt, save for an early retirement, and afford expensive vacations and weight-loss drugs. Many started working multiple jobs during the pandemic, when remote job openings soared.One example is Sarah, who's on track to earn about $300,000 this year by secretly working two remote IT jobs. Over the last few years, Sarah said the extra income from job juggling has helped her save more than $100,000 in her 401(k)s, pay off $17,000 in credit card debt, and furnish her home.Sarah, who's in her 50s and lives in the Southeast, said working 12-hour days is worth it for the job security. This security came in handy when she was laid off from one of her jobs last year. She's since found a new second gig."I want to ride this out until I retire," Sarah previously told BI. Business Insider verified her identity, but she asked to use a pseudonym, citing fears of professional repercussions. BI spoke to one boss who caught an employee secretly working another job and fired him. Job juggling could breach some employment contracts and be a fireable offense.Overemployed workers like Sarah told BI how they've landed extra roles, juggled the workload, and stayed under the radar. Some said they rely on tactics like blocking off calendars, using separate devices, minimizing meetings, and sticking to flexible roles with low oversight. While job juggling could have professional repercussions or lead to burnout, and some readers have questioned the ethics of this working arrangement, many workers have told BI they don't feel guilty about their job juggling — and that the financial benefits generally outweigh the downsides and risks. In recent years, some have struggled to land new remote gigs, due in part to hiring slowdowns and return-to-office mandates. Most said they plan to continue pursuing overemployment as long as they can.Read the stories ahead to learn how some Americans have managed the workload, risks, and stress of working multiple jobs — and transformed their finances.

There has been a new update to the ongoing Stratasys v. Bambu Lab patent infringement lawsuit.  Both parties have agreed to consolidate the lead and member cases (2:24-CV-00644-JRG and 2:24-CV-00645-JRG) into a single case under Case No. 2:25-cv-00465-JRG.  Industrial 3D printing OEM Stratasys filed the request late last month. According to an official court document, Shenzhen-based Bambu Lab did not oppose the motion. Stratasys argued that this non-opposition amounted to the defendants waiving their right to challenge the request under U.S. patent law 35 U.S.C. § 299(a). On June 2, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, ordered Bambu Lab to confirm in writing whether it agreed to the proposed case consolidation. The court took this step out of an “abundance of caution” to ensure both parties consented to the procedure before moving forward. Bambu Lab submitted its response on June 12, agreeing to the consolidation. The company, along with co-defendants Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Lunkuo Technology Co., Ltd., and Tuozhu Technology Limited, waived its rights under 35 U.S.C. § 299(a). The court will now decide whether to merge the cases. This followed U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap’s decision last month to deny Bambu Lab’s motion to dismiss the lawsuits.  The Chinese desktop 3D printer manufacturer filed the motion in February 2025, arguing the cases were invalid because its US-based subsidiary, Bambu Lab USA, was not named in the original litigation. However, it agreed that the lawsuit could continue in the Austin division of the Western District of Texas, where a parallel case was filed last year.  Judge Gilstrap denied the motion, ruling that the cases properly target the named defendants. He concluded that Bambu Lab USA isn’t essential to the dispute, and that any misnaming should be addressed in summary judgment, not dismissal.        A Stratasys Fortus 450mc (left) and a Bambu Lab X1C (right). Image by 3D Printing industry. Another twist in the Stratasys v. Bambu Lab lawsuit  Stratasys filed the two lawsuits against Bambu Lab in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, in August 2024. The company claims that Bambu Lab’s X1C, X1E, P1S, P1P, A1, and A1 mini 3D printers violate ten of its patents. These patents cover common 3D printing features, including purge towers, heated build plates, tool head force detection, and networking capabilities. Stratasys has requested a jury trial. It is seeking a ruling that Bambu Lab infringed its patents, along with financial damages and an injunction to stop Bambu from selling the allegedly infringing 3D printers. Last October, Stratasys dropped charges against two of the originally named defendants in the dispute. Court documents showed that Beijing Tiertime Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yinhua Laser Rapid Prototyping and Mould Technology Co., Ltd were removed. Both defendants represent the company Tiertime, China’s first 3D printer manufacturer. The District Court accepted the dismissal, with all claims dropped without prejudice. It’s unclear why Stratasys named Beijing-based Tiertime as a defendant in the first place, given the lack of an obvious connection to Bambu Lab.  Tiertime and Stratasys have a history of legal disputes over patent issues. In 2013, Stratasys sued Afinia, Tiertime’s U.S. distributor and partner, for patent infringement. Afinia responded by suing uCRobotics, the Chinese distributor of MakerBot 3D printers, also alleging patent violations. Stratasys acquired MakerBot in June 2013. The company later merged with Ultimaker in 2022. In February 2025, Bambu Lab filed a motion to dismiss the original lawsuits. The company argued that Stratasys’ claims, focused on the sale, importation, and distribution of 3D printers in the United States, do not apply to the Shenzhen-based parent company. Bambu Lab contended that the allegations concern its American subsidiary, Bambu Lab USA, which was not named in the complaint filed in the Eastern District of Texas. Bambu Lab filed a motion to dismiss, claiming the case is invalid under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19. It argued that any party considered a “primary participant” in the allegations must be included as a defendant.    The court denied the motion on May 29, 2025. In the ruling, Judge Gilstrap explained that Stratasys’ allegations focus on the actions of the named defendants, not Bambu Lab USA. As a result, the official court document called Bambu Lab’s argument “unavailing.” Additionally, the Judge stated that, since Bambu Lab USA and Bambu Lab are both owned by Shenzhen Tuozhu, “the interest of these two entities align,” meaning the original cases are valid.   In the official court document, Judge Gilstrap emphasized that Stratasys can win or lose the lawsuits based solely on the actions of the current defendants, regardless of Bambu Lab USA’s involvement. He added that any potential risk to Bambu Lab USA’s business is too vague or hypothetical to justify making it a required party. Finally, the court noted that even if Stratasys named the wrong defendant, this does not justify dismissal under Rule 12(b)(7). Instead, the judge stated it would be more appropriate for the defendants to raise that argument in a motion for summary judgment. The Bambu Lab X1C 3D printer. Image via Bambu Lab. 3D printing patent battles  The 3D printing industry has seen its fair share of patent infringement disputes over recent months. In May 2025, 3D printer hotend developer Slice Engineering reached an agreement with Creality over a patent non-infringement lawsuit.  The Chinese 3D printer OEM filed the lawsuit in July 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Gainesville Division. The company claimed that Slice Engineering had falsely accused it of infringing two hotend patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 10,875,244 and 11,660,810. These cover mechanical and thermal features of Slice’s Mosquito 3D printer hotend. Creality requested a jury trial and sought a ruling confirming it had not infringed either patent. Court documents show that Slice Engineering filed a countersuit in December 2024. The Gainesville-based company maintained that Creaility “has infringed and continues to infringe” on both patents. In the filing, the company also denied allegations that it had harassed Creality’s partners, distributors, and customers, and claimed that Creality had refused to negotiate a resolution.   The Creality v. Slice Engineering lawsuit has since been dropped following a mutual resolution. Court documents show that both parties have permanently dismissed all claims and counterclaims, agreeing to cover their own legal fees and costs.  In other news, large-format resin 3D printer manufacturer Intrepid Automation sued 3D Systems over alleged patent infringement. The lawsuit, filed in February 2025, accused 3D Systems of using patented technology in its PSLA 270 industrial resin 3D printer. The filing called the PSLA 270 a “blatant knock off” of Intrepid’s DLP multi-projection “Range” 3D printer.   San Diego-based Intrepid Automation called this alleged infringement the “latest chapter of 3DS’s brazen, anticompetitive scheme to drive a smaller competitor with more advanced technology out of the marketplace.” The lawsuit also accused 3D Systems of corporate espionage, claiming one of its employees stole confidential trade secrets that were later used to develop the PSLA 270 printer. 3D Systems denied the allegations and filed a motion to dismiss the case. The company called the lawsuit “a desperate attempt” by Intrepid to distract from its own alleged theft of 3D Systems’ trade secrets. Who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us on LinkedIn, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.Featured image shows a Stratasys Fortus 450mc (left) and a Bambu Lab X1C (right). Image by 3D Printing industry.

By TREVOR HOGG Images courtesy of Chocolate Tribe. Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt, Owner and CEO, Chocolate Tribe After initially pursuing a career as an attorney, Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt discovered her true calling was to apply her legal knowledge in a more artistic endeavor with her husband, Rob Van den Bragt, who had forged a career as a visual effects supervisor. The couple co-founded Chocolate Tribe, the Johannesburg and Cape Town-based visual effects and animation studio that has done work for Netflix, BBC, Disney and Voltage Pictures. “It was following my passion and my passion finding me,” observes Maketo-van den Bragt, Owner and CEO of Chocolate Tribe and Founder of AVIJOZI. “I grew up in Soweto, South Africa, and we had this old-fashioned television. I was always fascinated by how those people got in there to perform and entertain us. Living in the townships, you become the funnel for your parents’ aspirations and dreams. My dad was a judge’s registrar, so he was writing all of the court cases coming up for a judge. My dad would come home and tell us stories of what happened in court. I found this enthralling, funny and sometimes painful because it was about people’s lives. I did law and to some extent still practice it. My legal career and entertainment media careers merged because I fell in love with the storytelling aspect of it all. There are those who say that lawyers are failed actors!” Chocolate Tribe hosts what has become the annual AVIJOZI festival with Netflix. AVIJOZI is a two-day, free-access event in Johannesburg focused on Animation/Film, Visual Effects and Interactive Technology. This year’s AVIJOZI is scheduled for September 13-14 in Johannesburg. Photo: Casting Director and Actor Spaces Founder Ayanda Sithebe (center in black T-shirt) and friends at AVIJOZI 2024. A personal ambition was to find a way to merge married life into a professional partnership. “I never thought that a lawyer and a creative would work together,” admits Maketo-van den Bragt. “However, Rob and I had this great love for watching films together and music; entertainment was the core fabric of our relationship. That was my first gentle schooling into the visual effects and animation content development space. Starting the company was due to both of us being out of work. I had quit my job without any sort of plan B. I actually incorporated Chocolate Tribe as a company without knowing what we would do with it. As time went on, there was a project that we were asked to come to do. The relationship didn’t work out, so Rob and I decided, ‘Okay, it seems like we can do this on our own.’ I’ve read many books about visual effects and animation, and I still do. I attend a lot of festivals. I am connected with a lot of the guys who work in different visual effects spaces because it is all about understanding how it works and, from a business side, how can we leverage all of that information?” Chocolate Tribe provided VFX and post-production for Checkers supermarket’s “Planet” ad promoting environmental sustainability. The Chocolate Tribe team pushed photorealism for the ad, creating three fully CG creatures: a polar bear, orangutan and sea turtle. With a population of 1.5 billion, there is no shortage of consumers and content creators in Africa. “Nollywood is great because it shows us that even with minimal resources, you can create a whole movement and ecosystem,” Maketo-van den Bragt remarks. “Maybe the question around Nollywood is making sure that the caliber and quality of work is high end and speaks to a global audience. South Africa has the same dynamics. It’s a vibrant traditional film and animation industry that grows in leaps and bounds every year. More and more animation houses are being incorporated or started with CEOs or managing directors in their 20s. There’s also an eagerness to look for different stories which haven’t been told. Africa gives that opportunity to tell stories that ordinary people, for example, in America, have not heard or don’t know about. There’s a huge rise in animation, visual effects and content in general.” Rob van den Bragt served as Creative Supervisor and Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt as Studio Executive for the “Surf Sangoma” episode of the Disney+ series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire. Rob van den Bragt, CCO, and Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt, CEO, Co-Founders of Chocolate Tribe, in an AVIJOZI planning meeting. Stella Gono, Software Developer, working on the Chocolate Tribe website. Family photo of the Maketos. Maketo-van de Bragt has two siblings. Film tax credits have contributed to The Woman King, Dredd, Safe House, Black Sails and Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning shooting in South Africa. “People understand principal photography, but there is confusion about animation and visual effects,” Maketo-van den Bragt states. “Rebates pose a challenge because now you have to go above and beyond to explain what you are selling. It’s taken time for the government to realize this is a viable career.” The streamers have had a positive impact. “For the most part, Netflix localizes, and that’s been quite a big hit because it speaks to the demographics and local representation and uplifts talent within those geographical spaces. We did one of the shorts for Disney’s Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and there was huge global excitement to that kind of anthology coming from Africa. We’ve worked on a number of collaborations with the U.K., and often that melding of different partners creates a fusion of universality. We need to tell authentic stories, and that authenticity will be dictated by the voices in the writing room.” AVIJOZI was established to support the development of local talent in animation, visual effects, film production and gaming. “AVIJOZI stands for Animation Visual Effects Interactive in JOZI [nickname for Johannesburg],” Maketo-van den Bragt explains. “It is a conference as well as a festival. The conference part is where we have networking sessions, panel discussions and behind-the-scenes presentations to draw the curtain back and show what happens when people create avatars. We want to show the next generation that there is a way to do this magical craft. The festival part is people have film screenings and music as well. We’ve brought in gaming as an integral aspect, which attracts many young people because that’s something they do at an early age. Gaming has become the common sport. AVIJOVI is in its fourth year now. It started when I got irritated by people constantly complaining, ‘Nothing ever happens in Johannesburg in terms of animation and visual effects.’ Nobody wanted to do it. So, I said, ‘I’ll do it.’ I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and four years later I have lots of gray hair!” Rob van den Bragt served as Animation Supervisor/Visual Effects Supervisor and Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt as an Executive Producer on iNumber Number: Jozi Gold (2023) for Netflix. (Image courtesy of Chocolate Tribe and Netflix) Mentorship and internship programs have been established with various academic institutions, and while there are times when specific skills are being sought, like rigging, the field of view tends to be much wider. “What we are finding is that the people who have done other disciplines are much more vibrant,” Maketo-van den Bragt states. “Artists don’t always know how to communicate because it’s all in their heads. Sometimes, somebody with a different background can articulate that vision a bit better because they have those other skills. We also find with those who have gone to art school that the range within their artistry and craftsmanship has become a ‘thing.’ When you have mentally traveled where you have done other things, it allows you to be a more well-rounded artist because you can pull references from different walks of life and engage with different topics without being constrained to one thing. We look for people with a plethora of skills and diverse backgrounds. It’s a lot richer as a Chocolate Tribe. There are multiple flavors.” South African director/producer/cinematographer and drone cinemtography specialist FC Hamman, Founder of FC Hamman Films, at AVIJOZI 2024. There is a particular driving force when it comes to mentoring. “I want to be the mentor I hoped for,” Maketo-van den Bragt remarks. “I have silent mentors in that we didn’t formalize the relationship, but I knew they were my mentors because every time I would encounter an issue, I would be able to call them. One of the people who not only mentored but pushed me into different spaces is Jinko Gotoh, who is part of Women in Animation. She brought me into Women in Animation, and I had never mentored anybody. Here I was, sitting with six women who wanted to know how I was able to build up Chocolate Tribe. I didn’t know how to structure a presentation to tell them about the journey because I had been so focused on the journey. It’s a sense of grit and feeling that I cannot fail because I have a whole community that believes in me. Even when I felt my shoulders sagging, they would be there to say, ‘We need this. Keep it moving.’ This isn’t just about me. I have a whole stream of people who want this to work.” Netflix VFX Manager Ben Perry, who oversees Netflix’s VFX strategy across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, at AVIJOZI 2024. Netflix was a partner in AVIJOZI with Chocolate Tribe for three years. Zama Mfusi, Founder of IndiLang, and Isabelle Rorke, CEO of Dreamforge Creative and Deputy Chair of Animation SA, at AVIJOZI 2024. Numerous unknown factors had to be accounted for, which made predicting how the journey would unfold extremely difficult. “What it looks like and what I expected it to be, you don’t have the full sense of what it would lead to in this situation,” Maketo-van den Bragt states. “I can tell you that there have been moments of absolute joy where I was so excited we got this project or won that award. There are other moments where you feel completely lost and ask yourself, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ The journey is to have the highs, lows and moments of confusion. I go through it and accept that not every day will be an award-winning day. For the most part, I love this journey. I wanted to be somewhere where there was a purpose. What has been a big highlight is when I’m signing a contract for new employees who are excited about being part of Chocolate Tribe. Also, when you get a new project and it’s exciting, especially from a service or visual effects perspective, we’re constantly looking for that dragon or big creature. It’s about being mesmerizing, epic and awesome.” Maketo-van den Bragt has two major career-defining ambitions. “Fostering the next generation of talent and making sure that they are ready to create these amazing stories properly – that is my life work, and relating the African narrative to let the world see the human aspect of who we are because for the longest time we’ve been written out of the stories and narratives.”

The Minions pose during the world premiere of the film "Despicable Me 4" in New York City, June 9, 2024.  (REUTERS/Kena Betancur) NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:- Major Hollywood studios sue AI company over copyright infringement in landmark move- Meta's Zuckerberg aiming to dominate AI race with recruiting push for new ‘superintelligence’ team: report- OpenAI says this state will play central role in artificial intelligence development The website of Midjourney, an artificial intelligence (AI) capable of creating AI art, is seen on a smartphone on April 3, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)'PIRACY IS PIRACY': Two major Hollywood studios are suing Midjourney, a popular AI image generator, over its use and distribution of intellectual property.AI RACE: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a team of experts to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that can meet or exceed human capabilities.TECH HUB: New York is poised to play a central role in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), OpenAI executives told key business and civic leaders on Tuesday. Attendees watch a presentation during an event on the Apple campus in Cupertino, Calif., Monday, June 9, 2025.  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)APPLE FALLING BEHIND: Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off on Monday and runs through Friday. But the Cupertino-based company is not making us wait until the end. The major announcements have already been made, and there are quite a few. The headliners are new software versions for Macs, iPhones, iPads and Vision. FROM COAL TO CODE: This week, Amazon announced a $20 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the form of new data centers, the largest in the commonwealth's history, according to the eCommerce giant.DIGITAL DEFENSE: A growing number of fire departments across the country are turning to artificial intelligence to help detect and respond to wildfires more quickly. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)SHIELD FROM BEIJING: Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., is introducing a new bill Thursday imploring the National Security Administration (NSA) to develop an "AI security playbook" to stay ahead of threats from China and other foreign adversaries. ROBOT RALLY PARTNER: Finding a reliable tennis partner who matches your energy and skill level can be a challenge. Now, with Tenniix, an artificial intelligence-powered tennis robot from T-Apex, players of all abilities have a new way to practice and improve. DIGITAL DANGER ZONE: Scam ads on Facebook have evolved beyond the days of misspelled headlines and sketchy product photos. Today, many are powered by artificial intelligence, fueled by deepfake technology and distributed at scale through Facebook’s own ad system.  Fairfield, Ohio, USA - February 25, 2011 : Chipotle Mexican Grill Logo on brick building. Chipotle is a chain of fast casual restaurants in the United States and Canada that specialize in burritos and tacos. (iStock)'EXPONENTIAL RATE': Artificial intelligence is helping Chipotle rapidly grow its footprint, according to CEO Scott Boatwright. AI TAKEOVER THREAT: The hottest topic nowadays revolves around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential to rapidly and imminently transform the world we live in — economically, socially, politically and even defensively. Regardless of whether you believe that the technology will be able to develop superintelligence and lead a metamorphosis of everything, the possibility that may come to fruition is a catalyst for more far-leftist control.FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIASIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERSDOWNLOAD OUR APPSWATCH FOX NEWS ONLINEFox News GoSTREAM FOX NATIONFox NationStay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here. This article was written by Fox News staff.

Barricades, as we know them today, are thought to date back to the European wars of religion. According to most historians, the first barricade went up in Paris in 1588; the word derives from the French barriques, or barrels, spontaneously put together. They have been assembled from the most diverse materials, from cobblestones, tyres, newspapers, dead horses and bags of ice (during Kyiv’s Euromaidan in 2013–14), to omnibuses and e‑scooters. Their tactical logic is close to that of guerrilla warfare: the authorities have to take the barricades in order to claim victory; all that those manning them have to do to prevail is to hold them.  The 19th century was the golden age for blocking narrow, labyrinthine streets. Paris had seen barricades go up nine times in the period before the Second Empire; during the July 1830 Revolution alone, 4,000 barricades had been erected (roughly one for every 200 Parisians). These barricades would not only stop, but also trap troops; people would then throw stones from windows or pour boiling water onto the streets. Georges‑Eugène Haussmann, Napoleon III’s prefect of Paris, famously created wide boulevards to make blocking by barricade more difficult and moving the military easier, and replaced cobblestones with macadam – a surface of crushed stone. As Flaubert observed in his Dictionary of Accepted Ideas: ‘Macadam: has cancelled revolutions. No more means to make barricades. Nevertheless rather inconvenient.’   Lead image: Barricades, as we know them today, are thought to have originated in early modern France. A colour engraving attributed to Achille‑Louis Martinet depicts the defence of a barricade during the 1830 July Revolution. Credit: Paris Musées / Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris. Above: the socialist political thinker and activist Louis Auguste Blanqui – who was imprisoned by every regime that ruled France between 1815 and 1880 – drew instructions for how to build an effective barricade Under Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann widened Paris’s streets in his 1853–70 renovation of the city, making barricading more difficult Credit: Old Books Images / Alamy ‘On one hand, [the authorities] wanted to favour the circulation of ideas,’ reactionary intellectual Louis Veuillot observed apropos the ambiguous liberalism of the latter period of Napoleon III’s Second Empire. ‘On the other, to ensure the circulation of regiments.’ But ‘anti‑insurgency hardware’, as Justinien Tribillon has called it, also served to chase the working class out of the city centre: Haussmann’s projects amounted to a gigantic form of real-estate speculation, and the 1871 Paris Commune that followed constituted not just a short‑lived anarchist experiment featuring enormous barricades; it also signalled the return of the workers to the centre and, arguably, revenge for their dispossession.    By the mid‑19th century, observers questioned whether barricades still had practical meaning. Gottfried Semper’s barricade, constructed for the 1849 Dresden uprising, had proved unconquerable, but Friedrich Engels, one‑time ‘inspector of barricades’ in the Elberfeld insurrection of the same year, already suggested that the barricades’ primary meaning was now moral rather than military – a point to be echoed by Leon Trotsky in the subsequent century. Barricades symbolised bravery and the will to hold out among insurrectionists, and, not least, determination rather to destroy one’s possessions – and one’s neighbourhood – than put up with further oppression.   Not only self‑declared revolutionaries viewed things this way: the reformist Social Democrat leader Eduard Bernstein observed that ‘the barricade fight as a political weapon of the people has been completely eliminated due to changes in weapon technology and cities’ structures’. Bernstein was also picking up on the fact that, in the era of industrialisation, contention happened at least as much on the factory floor as on the streets. The strike, not the food riot or the defence of workers’ quartiers, became the paradigmatic form of conflict. Joshua Clover has pointed out in his 2016 book Riot. Strike. Riot: The New Era of Uprisings, that the price of labour, rather than the price of goods, caused people to confront the powerful. Blocking production grew more important than blocking the street. ‘The only weapons we have are our bodies, and we need to tuck them in places so wheels don’t turn’ Today, it is again blocking – not just people streaming along the streets in large marches – that is prominently associated with protests. Disrupting circulation is not only an important gesture in the face of climate emergency; blocking transport is a powerful form of protest in an economic system focused on logistics and just‑in‑time distribution. Members of Insulate Britain and Germany’s Last Generation super‑glue themselves to streets to stop car traffic to draw attention to the climate emergency; they have also attached themselves to airport runways. They form a human barricade of sorts, immobilising traffic by making themselves immovable.   Today’s protesters have made themselves consciously vulnerable. They in fact follow the advice of US civil rights’ Bayard Rustin who explained: ‘The only weapons we have are our bodies, and we need to tuck them in places so wheels don’t turn.’ Making oneself vulnerable might increase the chances of a majority of citizens seeing the importance of the cause which those engaged in civil disobedience are pursuing. Demonstrations – even large, unpredictable ones – are no longer sufficient. They draw too little attention and do not compel a reaction. Naomi Klein proposed the term ‘blockadia’ as ‘a roving transnational conflict zone’ in which people block extraction – be it open‑pit mines, fracking sites or tar sands pipelines – with their bodies. More often than not, these blockades are organised by local people opposing the fossil fuel industry, not environmental activists per se. Blockadia came to denote resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline as well as Canada’s First Nations‑led movement Idle No More. In cities, blocking can be accomplished with highly mobile structures. Like the barricade of the 19th century, they can be quickly assembled, yet are difficult to move; unlike old‑style barricades, they can also be quickly disassembled, removed and hidden (by those who have the engineering and architectural know‑how). Think of super tripods, intricate ‘protest beacons’ based on tensegrity principles, as well as inflatable cobblestones, pioneered by the artist‑activists of Tools for Action (and as analysed in Nick Newman’s recent volume Protest Architecture).   As recently as 1991, newly independent Latvia defended itself against Soviet tanks with the popular construction of barricades, in a series of confrontations that became known as the Barikādes Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Inversely, roadblocks can be used by police authorities to stop demonstrations and gatherings from taking place – protesters are seen removing such infrastructure in Dhaka during a general strike in 1999 Credit: REUTERS / Rafiqur Rahman / Bridgeman These inflatable objects are highly flexible, but can also be protective against police batons. They pose an awkward challenge to the authorities, who often end up looking ridiculous when dealing with them, and, as one of the inventors pointed out, they are guaranteed to create a media spectacle. This was also true of the 19th‑century barricade: people posed for pictures in front of them. As Wolfgang Scheppe, a curator of Architecture of the Barricade (currently on display at the Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation in Venice), explains, these images helped the police to find Communards and mete out punishments after the end of the anarchist experiment. Much simpler structures can also be highly effective. In 2019, protesters in Hong Kong filled streets with little archways made from just three ordinary bricks: two standing upright, one resting on top. When touched, the falling top one would buttress the other two, and effectively block traffic. In line with their imperative of ‘be water’, protesters would retreat when the police appeared, but the ‘mini‑Stonehenges’ would remain and slow down the authorities. Today, elaborate architectures of protest, such as Extinction Rebellion’s ‘tensegrity towers’, are used to blockade roads and distribution networks – in this instance, Rupert Murdoch’s News UK printworks in Broxbourne, for the media group’s failure to report the climate emergency accurately Credit: Extinction Rebellion In June 2025, protests erupted in Los Angeles against the Trump administration’s deportation policies. Demonstrators barricaded downtown streets using various objects, including the pink public furniture designed by design firm Rios for Gloria Molina Grand Park. LAPD are seen advancing through tear gas Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Roads which radicals might want to target are not just ones in major metropoles and fancy post‑industrial downtowns. Rather, they might block the arteries leading to ‘fulfilment centres’ and harbours with container shipping. The model is not only Occupy Wall Street, which had initially called for the erection of ‘peaceful barricades’, but also the Occupy that led to the Oakland port shutdown in 2011. In short, such roadblocks disrupt what Phil Neel has called a ‘hinterland’ that is often invisible, yet crucial for contemporary capitalism. More recently, Extinction Rebellion targeted Amazon distribution centres in three European countries in November 2021; in the UK, they aimed to disrupt half of all deliveries on a Black Friday.   Will such blockades just anger consumers who, after all, are not present but are impatiently waiting for packages at home? One of the hopes associated with the traditional barricade was always that they might create spaces where protesters, police and previously indifferent citizens get talking; French theorists even expected them to become ‘a machine to produce the people’. That could be why military technology has evolved so that the authorities do not have to get close to the barricade: tear gas was first deployed against those on barricades before it was used in the First World War; so‑called riot control vehicles can ever more easily crush barricades. The challenge, then, for anyone who wishes to block is also how to get in other people’s faces – in order to have a chance to convince them of their cause.        2025-06-11 Kristina Rapacki Share

Meta is reportedly set to invest $15 billion to acquire a 49% stake in Scale AI, in a deal that would make Scale CEO Alexandr Wang head of the tech giant’s new AI unit dedicated to pursuing “superintelligence.”Scale AI, founded in 2016, is a leading data annotation firm that hires workers around the world to label or create the data that is used to train AI systems.The deal is expected to greatly enrich Wang and many of his colleagues with equity in Scale AI; Wang, already a billionaire, would see his wealth grow even further. For Meta, it would breathe new life into the company’s flagging attempts to compete at the “frontier” of AI against OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.However, Scale’s contract workers, many of whom earn just dollars per day via a subsidiary called RemoTasks, are unlikely to benefit at all from the deal, according to sociologists who study the sector. Typically data workers are not formally employed, and are instead paid for the tasks they complete. Those tasks can include labeling the contents of images, answering questions, or rating which of two chatbots’ answers are better, in order to teach AI systems to better comply with human preferences.(TIME has a content partnership with Scale AI.)“I expect few if any Scale annotators will see any upside at all,” says Callum Cant, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, U.K., who studies gig work platforms. “It would be very surprising to see some kind of feed-through. Most of these people don’t have a stake in ownership of the company.”Many of those workers already suffer from low pay and poor working conditions. In a recent report by Oxford University’s Internet Institute, the Scale subsidiary RemoTasks failed to meet basic standards for fair pay, fair contracts, fair management, and fair worker representation.Advertisement“A key part of Scale’s value lies in its data work services performed by hundreds of thousands of underpaid and poorly protected workers,” says Jonas Valente, an Oxford researcher who worked on the report. “The company remains far from safeguarding basic standards of fair work, despite limited efforts to improve its practices.”The Meta deal is unlikely to change that. “Unfortunately, the increasing profits of many digital labor platforms and their primary companies, such as the case of Scale, do not translate into better conditions for [workers],” Valente says.A Scale AI spokesperson declined to comment for this story. “We're proud of the flexible earning opportunities offered through our platforms,” the company said in a statement to TechCrunch in May. Meta’s investment also calls into question whether Scale AI will continue supplying data to OpenAI and Google, two of its major clients. In the increasingly competitive AI landscape, observers say Meta may see value in cutting off its rivals from annotated data — an essential means of making AI systems smarter. Advertisement“By buying up access to Scale AI, could Meta deny access to that platform and that avenue for data annotation by other competitors?” says Cant. “It depends entirely on Meta’s strategy.”If that were to happen, Cant says, it could put downward pressure on the wages and tasks available to workers, many of whom already struggle to make ends meet with data work.A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on this story.

Are you in search of a company that resonates with your proactive spirit and entrepreneurial mindset? Your search ends here with Premier Truck Rental! Company Overview At Premier Truck Rental (PTR), we provide customized commercial fleet rentals nationwide, helping businesses get the right trucks and equipment to get the job done. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, PTR is a family-owned company built on a foundation of integrity, innovation, and exceptional service. We serve a wide range of industriesincluding construction, utilities, and infrastructureby delivering high-quality, ready-to-work trucks and trailers tailored to each customers needs. At PTR, we dont just rent truckswe partner with our customers to drive efficiency and success on every job site. Please keep reading Not sure if you meet every requirement? Thats okay! We encourage you to apply if youre passionate, hardworking, and eager to contribute. We know that diverse perspectives and experiences make us stronger, and we want you to be part of our journey. Inside Sales Representative (ISR) at PTR is a friendly, people-oriented, and persuasive steward of the sales process. This role will support our Territory Managers with their sales pipeline while also prospecting and cross-selling PTR products themselves. This support includes driving results by enrolling the commitment and buy-in of other internal departments to achieve sales initiatives. The Inside Sales Representative will also represent PTRs commitment to being our customers easy button by serving as the main point of contact. They will be the front-line hero by assisting them in making informed decisions, providing guidance on our rentals, and resolving any issues they might face. We are seeking someone eager to develop their sales skills and grow within our organization. This role is designed as a stepping stone to a Territory Sales Manager (TSM) position, providing hands-on experience with customer interactions, lead qualification, and sales process execution. Ideal candidates will demonstrate a strong drive for results, the ability to build relationships, and a proactive approach to learning and development. High-performing ISRs will have the opportunity to be mentored, trained, and considered for promotion into a TSM role as part of their career path at PTR. COMPENSATION This position offers a competitive compensation package of base salary ($50,000/yr) plus uncapped commissions =OTE $85,000 annually. RESPONSIBILITIES Offer top-notch customer service and respond with a sense of urgency for goal achievement in a fast-paced sales environment. Build a strong pipeline of customers by qualifying potential leads in your territory. This includes strategic prospecting and sourcing. Develop creative ways to engage and build rapport with prospective customers by pitching the Premier Truck Rental value proposition. Partner with assigned Territory Managers by assisting with scheduling customer visits, trade shows, new customer hand-offs, and any other travel requested. Facilitate in-person meetings and set appointments with prospective customers. Qualify and quote inquiries for your prospective territories both online and from the Territory Manager. Input data into the system with accuracy and follow up in a timely fashion. Facilitate the onboarding of new customers through the credit process. Drive collaboration between customers, Territory Managers, Logistics, and internal teams to coordinate On-Rent and Off-Rent notices with excellent attention to detail. Identify and arrange the swap of equipment from customers meeting the PTR de-fleeting criteria. Manage the sales tools to organize, compile, and analyze data with accuracy for a variety of activities and multiple projects occurring simultaneously.Building and developing a new 3-4 state territory! REQUIREMENTS MUST HAVE2+ years of strategic prospecting or account manager/sales experience; or an advanced degree or equivalent experience converting prospects into closed sales. Tech-forward approach to sales strategy. Excellent prospecting, follow-up, and follow-through skills. Committed to seeing deals through completion. Accountability and ownership of the sales process and a strong commitment to results. Comfortable with a job that has a variety of tasks and is dynamic and changing. Proactive prospecting skills and can overcome objections; driven to establish relationships with new customers. Ability to communicate in a clear, logical manner in formal and informal situations. Proficiency in CRMs and sales tracking systems Hunters mindsetsomeone who thrives on pursuing new business, driving outbound sales, and generating qualified opportunities. Prospecting: Going on LinkedIn, Looking at Competitor data, grabbing contacts for the TM, may use technology like Apollo and LinkedIn Sales Navigator Partner closely with the Territory Manager to ensure a unified approach in managing customer relationships, pipeline development, and revenue growth. Maintain clear and consistent communication to align on sales strategies, customer needs, and market opportunities, fostering a seamless and collaborative partnership with the Territory Manager. Consistently meet and exceed key performance indicators (KPIs), including rental revenue, upfit revenue, and conversion rates, by actively managing customer accounts and identifying growth opportunities. Support the saturation and maturation of the customer base through strategic outreach, relationship management, and alignment with the Territory Manager to drive long-term success. Remote in the United States with some travel to trade shows, quarterly travel up to a week at a time, and sales meetingsNICE TO HAVE Rental and/or sales experience in the industry. Proficiency in , Apollo.io , LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Power BI, MS Dynamics, Chat GPT. Established relationships within the marketplace or territory. Motivated to grow into outside territory management position with relocation On Target Earnings: ($85,000)EMPLOYEE BENEFITSWellness & Fitness: Take advantage of our on-site CrossFit-style gym, featuring a full-time personal trainer dedicated to helping you reach your fitness goals. Whether you're into group classes, virtual personal training, personalized workout plans, or nutrition coaching, weve got you covered!Exclusive Employee Perks: PTR Swag & a Uniform/Boot Allowance, On-site Micro-Markets stocked with snacks & essentials, discounts on phone plans, supplier vehicles, mobile detailing, tools, & equipmentand much more!Profit SharingYour Success, rewarded: At PTR, we believe in sharing success. Our Profit-SharingComprehensive BenefitsStarting Day One:Premium healthcare coverage (medical, dental, vision, mental health & virtual healthcare)401(k) matching & long-term financial planning Paid time off that lets you recharge Life, accidental death, and disability coverage Ongoing learning & development opportunitiesTraining, Growth & RecognitionWe partner with Predictive Index to better understand your strengths, ensuring tailored coaching, structured training, and career development. Performance and attitude evaluations every 6 months keep you on track for growth.Culture & ConnectionMore Than Just a JobAt PTR, we dont just build relationships with our customerswe build them with each other. Our tech-forward, highly collaborative culture is rooted in our core values. Connect and engage through:PTR Field Days & Team EventsThe Extra Mile Recognition ProgramPTR Text Alerts & Open CommunicationPremier Truck Rental Is an Equal Opportunity Employer We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need support or accommodation due to a disability, contact us at PI6e547fa1c5-

Join the event trusted by enterprise leaders for nearly two decades. VB Transform brings together the people building real enterprise AI strategy. Learn more When DeepSeek released its R1 model this January, it wasn’t just another AI announcement. It was a watershed moment that sent shockwaves through the tech industry, forcing industry leaders to reconsider their fundamental approaches to AI development. What makes DeepSeek’s accomplishment remarkable isn’t that the company developed novel capabilities; rather, it was how it achieved comparable results to those delivered by tech heavyweights at a fraction of the cost. In reality, DeepSeek didn’t do anything that hadn’t been done before; its innovation stemmed from pursuing different priorities. As a result, we are now experiencing rapid-fire development along two parallel tracks: efficiency and compute.  As DeepSeek prepares to release its R2 model, and as it concurrently faces the potential of even greater chip restrictions from the U.S., it’s important to look at how it captured so much attention. Engineering around constraints DeepSeek’s arrival, as sudden and dramatic as it was, captivated us all because it showcased the capacity for innovation to thrive even under significant constraints. Faced with U.S. export controls limiting access to cutting-edge AI chips, DeepSeek was forced to find alternative pathways to AI advancement. While U.S. companies pursued performance gains through more powerful hardware, bigger models and better data, DeepSeek focused on optimizing what was available. It implemented known ideas with remarkable execution — and there is novelty in executing what’s known and doing it well. This efficiency-first mindset yielded incredibly impressive results. DeepSeek’s R1 model reportedly matches OpenAI’s capabilities at just 5 to 10% of the operating cost. According to reports, the final training run for DeepSeek’s V3 predecessor cost a mere $6 million — which was described by former Tesla AI scientist Andrej Karpathy as “a joke of a budget” compared to the tens or hundreds of millions spent by U.S. competitors. More strikingly, while OpenAI reportedly spent $500 million training its recent “Orion” model, DeepSeek achieved superior benchmark results for just $5.6 million — less than 1.2% of OpenAI’s investment. If you get starry eyed believing these incredible results were achieved even as DeepSeek was at a severe disadvantage based on its inability to access advanced AI chips, I hate to tell you, but that narrative isn’t entirely accurate (even though it makes a good story). Initial U.S. export controls focused primarily on compute capabilities, not on memory and networking — two crucial components for AI development. That means that the chips DeepSeek had access to were not poor quality chips; their networking and memory capabilities allowed DeepSeek to parallelize operations across many units, a key strategy for running their large model efficiently. This, combined with China’s national push toward controlling the entire vertical stack of AI infrastructure, resulted in accelerated innovation that many Western observers didn’t anticipate. DeepSeek’s advancements were an inevitable part of AI development, but they brought known advancements forward a few years earlier than would have been possible otherwise, and that’s pretty amazing. Pragmatism over process Beyond hardware optimization, DeepSeek’s approach to training data represents another departure from conventional Western practices. Rather than relying solely on web-scraped content, DeepSeek reportedly leveraged significant amounts of synthetic data and outputs from other proprietary models. This is a classic example of model distillation, or the ability to learn from really powerful models. Such an approach, however, raises questions about data privacy and governance that might concern Western enterprise customers. Still, it underscores DeepSeek’s overall pragmatic focus on results over process. The effective use of synthetic data is a key differentiator. Synthetic data can be very effective when it comes to training large models, but you have to be careful; some model architectures handle synthetic data better than others. For instance, transformer-based models with mixture of experts (MoE) architectures like DeepSeek’s tend to be more robust when incorporating synthetic data, while more traditional dense architectures like those used in early Llama models can experience performance degradation or even “model collapse” when trained on too much synthetic content. This architectural sensitivity matters because synthetic data introduces different patterns and distributions compared to real-world data. When a model architecture doesn’t handle synthetic data well, it may learn shortcuts or biases present in the synthetic data generation process rather than generalizable knowledge. This can lead to reduced performance on real-world tasks, increased hallucinations or brittleness when facing novel situations.  Still, DeepSeek’s engineering teams reportedly designed their model architecture specifically with synthetic data integration in mind from the earliest planning stages. This allowed the company to leverage the cost benefits of synthetic data without sacrificing performance. Market reverberations Why does all of this matter? Stock market aside, DeepSeek’s emergence has triggered substantive strategic shifts among industry leaders. Case in point: OpenAI. Sam Altman recently announced plans to release the company’s first “open-weight” language model since 2019. This is a pretty notable pivot for a company that built its business on proprietary systems. It seems DeepSeek’s rise, on top of Llama’s success, has hit OpenAI’s leader hard. Just a month after DeepSeek arrived on the scene, Altman admitted that OpenAI had been “on the wrong side of history” regarding open-source AI.  With OpenAI reportedly spending $7 to 8 billion annually on operations, the economic pressure from efficient alternatives like DeepSeek has become impossible to ignore. As AI scholar Kai-Fu Lee bluntly put it: “You’re spending $7 billion or $8 billion a year, making a massive loss, and here you have a competitor coming in with an open-source model that’s for free.” This necessitates change. This economic reality prompted OpenAI to pursue a massive $40 billion funding round that valued the company at an unprecedented $300 billion. But even with a war chest of funds at its disposal, the fundamental challenge remains: OpenAI’s approach is dramatically more resource-intensive than DeepSeek’s. Beyond model training Another significant trend accelerated by DeepSeek is the shift toward “test-time compute” (TTC). As major AI labs have now trained their models on much of the available public data on the internet, data scarcity is slowing further improvements in pre-training. To get around this, DeepSeek announced a collaboration with Tsinghua University to enable “self-principled critique tuning” (SPCT). This approach trains AI to develop its own rules for judging content and then uses those rules to provide detailed critiques. The system includes a built-in “judge” that evaluates the AI’s answers in real-time, comparing responses against core rules and quality standards. The development is part of a movement towards autonomous self-evaluation and improvement in AI systems in which models use inference time to improve results, rather than simply making models larger during training. DeepSeek calls its system “DeepSeek-GRM” (generalist reward modeling). But, as with its model distillation approach, this could be considered a mix of promise and risk. For example, if the AI develops its own judging criteria, there’s a risk those principles diverge from human values, ethics or context. The rules could end up being overly rigid or biased, optimizing for style over substance, and/or reinforce incorrect assumptions or hallucinations. Additionally, without a human in the loop, issues could arise if the “judge” is flawed or misaligned. It’s a kind of AI talking to itself, without robust external grounding. On top of this, users and developers may not understand why the AI reached a certain conclusion — which feeds into a bigger concern: Should an AI be allowed to decide what is “good” or “correct” based solely on its own logic? These risks shouldn’t be discounted. At the same time, this approach is gaining traction, as again DeepSeek builds on the body of work of others (think OpenAI’s “critique and revise” methods, Anthropic’s constitutional AI or research on self-rewarding agents) to create what is likely the first full-stack application of SPCT in a commercial effort. This could mark a powerful shift in AI autonomy, but there still is a need for rigorous auditing, transparency and safeguards. It’s not just about models getting smarter, but that they remain aligned, interpretable, and trustworthy as they begin critiquing themselves without human guardrails. Moving into the future So, taking all of this into account, the rise of DeepSeek signals a broader shift in the AI industry toward parallel innovation tracks. While companies continue building more powerful compute clusters for next-generation capabilities, there will also be intense focus on finding efficiency gains through software engineering and model architecture improvements to offset the challenges of AI energy consumption, which far outpaces power generation capacity.  Companies are taking note. Microsoft, for example, has halted data center development in multiple regions globally, recalibrating toward a more distributed, efficient infrastructure approach. While still planning to invest approximately $80 billion in AI infrastructure this fiscal year, the company is reallocating resources in response to the efficiency gains DeepSeek introduced to the market. Meta has also responded, With so much movement in such a short time, it becomes somewhat ironic that the U.S. sanctions designed to maintain American AI dominance may have instead accelerated the very innovation they sought to contain. By constraining access to materials, DeepSeek was forced to blaze a new trail. Moving forward, as the industry continues to evolve globally, adaptability for all players will be key. Policies, people and market reactions will continue to shift the ground rules — whether it’s eliminating the AI diffusion rule, a new ban on technology purchases or something else entirely. It’s what we learn from one another and how we respond that will be worth watching. Jae Lee is CEO and co-founder of TwelveLabs. 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