December, 2025 - Faz Business | فاز الأعمال

Skin Deep Is 2025’s Best Cat Game

Posted on December 31, 2025 by faz_business

My favorite moment in Skin Deep, an immersive sim and stealth game about rescuing cats and fighting your evil clone in deep space, was always the one immediately after a thoroughly developed plan inevitably went sideways. The skittish way that I was forced to sprint and crawl under a table or into a vent. The manner in which my strategy devolved into simply batting things off of shelves in order to incapacitate a roaming guard or noisily distract them from looking in my direction. The way that I leapt onto a guard’s back, dug my claws in, and careened them into surfaces in order to knock them out. If you were to close your eyes, I’d argue you could almost hear that distinctive, feline yowl mid-action.

In short, I think Skin Deep best captures the experience of being a cat, even if Nina Pasadena, the game’s protagonist, is decidedly not one. And for this tremendous feat, I am rewarding it with the honor of being the best cat game of 2025. Long live Skin Deep.

In a typical Skin Deep mission, I often tried to keep to the shadows, as is the norm for a game in its genre. I would relegate myself to the ventilation, the pipework surrounding it, and the undersides of tables. Like Batman, I skulked around the perimeter looking for a precise opening that’d enable me to punch a hole in the level’s defenses while keeping my cover. Of course, in Skin Deep, it almost never worked out in my favor. Because I am not, in fact, Batman. I’m just a (cat) girl.

Eventually, I’d be made in the silliest way possible. I’d linger in the dust-covered vents a little too long and let out the world’s loudest sneeze, alerting the guards to my exact location. I’d throw down a bar of soap on one end of the room, be discovered while pickpocketing a guard on the other, and slip on my own trap as I ran back the way I came. Or, as is most often the case, I crouch-walked through a door or vent without first peeking into the room, jumpscared the first guard I saw, and threw the apple core I was holding in my hand at them. When you’re crouched like I often was, the camera’s perspective is so low to the ground, I almost always felt like a kitten traipsing through the halls and vents of a home I didn’t belong in. And just like a flustered orange tabby, my priority became to zoom to safety at the risk of endangering everything and everyone in my warpath the second I was found out.

I could sooner count the number of times a plan has gone right than wrong in Skin Deep, primarily because the former is a far lower number. Most of my successes stem from slapdash plans developed on the fly and from the wreckage of another plan. And yet, despite the failures, it has been more fun to improvise in Blendo Games’ deliberately slapstick sandbox and cosplay some kind of fumbling cat lady than come across as some calm and collected black-ops agent. To that end, I found I enjoyed leaning into the bit.

I much preferred stalking high and narrow walkways with a charming assortment of irreverent items (a bolt, some ground pepper, a banana, etc.) to looting a weapon. And when I was looting, I, like many cat owners can likely attest to, loved to snatch something I was really not supposed to have–in this case a walkie-talkie or key card–before scurrying back into the shadow and making off as if I got one out from right under those guards’ dumb noses.

Of course, when I was found by the guards for sticking my nose a little too close to the sun, I did combat like a cat too. Even in the most harried of situations, ones where I was backed into a corner and forced to face off against Skin Deep’s roving guards–an intergalactic goon squad straight out of pulpy sci-fi novel called the Numb Bunch–I still felt like a lithe and frenzied cat warrior rather than another human combatant. Melees were won not by hard blows but by swift strikes. A quick flick of the wrist launched one of my collected throwables at a guard. Disoriented, I climbed on their backs and sent them smashing into sinks, toilets, screens, pipes, etc. Anything that carried a high risk of causing CTE, really. Once they were conked out, I hurriedly popped their heads off (since these could fly towards respawn stations and revive a guard) and, like a cat secreting its stolen goods, I hid or threw them down a toilet or garbage chute, permanently incapacitating my foe.

Fights in Skin Deep were rarely decided, you see, by sheer willpower and force. It was always about thinking on your ~~feet~~ paws. It was about pulling a fast one on your unsuspecting combatants. It was about being a cat in a world filled with boorish humans and their brute dogs.

I found Skin Deep’s interpretation of cat-like design immediately refreshing. The industry is no stranger to cat games, many of which are charming in their own ways. However, I typically found that when I engaged with them, they were more preoccupied with the aesthetics of cats than the ways in which their mechanics could convey the feeling of being one.

In Stray, I performed and looked like a cat, but never quite felt like one. In Skin Deep, the inverse is true. It is as if, untethered by the expectations of having to make an aesthetically pleasing feline protagonist, Skin Deep was more free to recreate environments a cat would thrive and play in and design systems that rewarded that fantasy. By my estimate, it nailed it. Across its frenetic combat, slapstick stealth, and skittish movement, Skin Deep more wholly realizes the idea of being a cat than any other game I’ve played. For sticking that landing, it deserves 10/10 toe beans. Or y’know, however many cats have.

The 2026 Service Desk Blueprint

Posted on December 31, 2025 by faz_business

Why the traditional service desk fails

IT teams struggle to keep pace with rising demand when support still relies on tiered queues and manual processes. Particularly for smaller teams:

Ticket volumes grow faster than the IT staff
Employees expect quick, seamless support
Manual work makes scaling too expensive

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Track ESAT, FCR, and reopens through custom dashboards to uncover what truly impacts employee experience.

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About Freshworks Inc.

Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH) creates AI-boosted business software anyone can use. Purpose-built for IT, customer support, and sales and marketing teams, our products are designed to let everyone work more efficiently and deliver more value for immediate business impact. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks operates around the world to serve more than 67,000 customers, including American Express, Blue Nile, Bridgestone, Databricks, Fila, Klarna, and OfficeMax. For the freshest company news, visit www.freshworks.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X

The post The 2026 Service Desk Blueprint appeared first on Tech Research Online.

‘Stranger Things’ finale: What time does it hit Netflix?

Posted on December 31, 2025 by faz_business

Well, Hellfire Club, it’s finally here.

The very, very end of Stranger Things, after almost 10 years and five seasons of the Duffer Brothers’ smash Netflix series. We’ve ridden our bikes through Scoops Ahoy sundaes and Spider Monster battles in the Starcourt Mall, through Billy’s Mind Flayer recruitment drive, all the way to shredding Metallica in the Upside Down and staring into the Abyss.

The final battle against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) looms for our Hawkins heroes, with the penultimate episode bringing everyone together in the Squawk radio station, ready to face the mind-bending villain once and for all. But when, exactly, can you settle in with your Demogorgon plushie for the last stand?

Mashable Top Stories

What exact time does the Stranger Things finale air?

The series finale of Stranger Things premieres Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Netflix.

Of course, you can also watch it in the cinema (but by this time, you’ll be lucky to get a seat).

Topics
Netflix
Stranger Things

c# – Visual Studio Test Explorer hangs indefinitely on .NET 10 xUnit project, but dotnet test passes

Posted on December 31, 2025 by faz_business

Problem Description: I am working on a simple console application (Advent of Code) using .NET 10. I have set up an xUnit test project.

The Issue: When I try to run tests in Visual Studio’s Test Explorer, the icons just spin indefinitely (or remain blue/not run). It never completes.
The Catch: When I run dotnet test in the terminal, all tests pass successfully.

Environment:

My .csproj file:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector" Version="6.0.4" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.14.1" />
    <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.9.3" />
    <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.8.2" /> 
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <ProjectReference Include="..\AoC\AoC.csproj" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <Using Include="Xunit" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

What I have tried so far:

Clean / Rebuild Solution.
Deleted .vs, bin, and obj folders manually and restarted Visual Studio.
Downgraded xunit.runner.visualstudio from v3.x to v2.8.2 to match the xUnit version.
Checked “Use previews of the .NET SDK” in Tools -> Options (although the interface seems different in my version).
Verified that tests satisfy criteria (public class, public methods, [Fact] attribute).

Despite dotnet test reporting success, Test Explorer refuses to show the results.

Is there a known issue with .NET 10 and the current Test Explorer?

Commodore 64 Ultimate Review: An Astonishing Remake

Posted on December 31, 2025 by faz_business

Boot up the C64U, and you’re greeted by a re-creation of the C64’s menu. Here, you can type in operation commands just as you would back in the day, using the BASIC programming language. Problem: I don’t have the first clue about BASIC. However, in what is possibly the greatest throwback of all, the C64U comes with a spiral-bound, 273-page user guide. It is an absolute tome. Somewhat surprisingly, it’s not a reprint of anything that came with the original, but rather a tailored guide to what the C64U does, where it differs from the C64, and how to get to grips with the computer’s capabilities. Equal parts history book and instruction manual, it starts out teaching you some simple commands and builds up to teaching you how to code. I’m still very much working my way through it, but that tactile approach—referring to the book, trying something out on the computer, back and forth—is a great touch.

Hidden Upgrades

If you don’t fancy having to do homework, the C64U’s own default menu, accessed at any time with a flick of the multifunction power button on the right-hand side of the unit, is a simple list of options and settings. Hit RETURN to go into any section—say, “Video Setup” to adjust whether the C64U outputs in original resolution, in PAL or NTSC modes (surprisingly important, given some games will only work with one display standard or the other), or a crystal clear 1080p with scanlines removed—and back out to save any changes to the system’s flash memory. It’s still a minimalist approach, but feels fairly intuitive.

This is also where you can start playing around with some of the other modern touches of the C64U, like how to leverage its far greater power. Well, “greater” in comparison to 1982. Spec-wise, this isn’t going to threaten any more modern machine, but running on an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA chip and packing 128-MB DDR2 RAM—compared to the 64 KB of the C64—it blows its inspiration out of the water. While at baseline it replicates the performance of the 1982 hardware, meaning it operates as if there’s only the original 64 KB were there, you can menu-dive to activate a virtualized RAM Expansion Unit, or activate a “Turbo Boost” to accelerate the clock speed to a lightning-fast (in this particular context) 64 MHz.

Top 38 Platforms to Hire Electronic Enclosure Design Freelancers and Electronics Engineers

Posted on December 31, 2025 by faz_business

It is not a matter of sifting through hundreds of CVs of experienced electronic enclosure design freelancers and electronics designers. It is a matter of where. Your favourite platform can halve your time, eliminate the irrelevant, and put you face-to-face with the people who actually know what your project’s all about. Cad Crowd is where you begin, from talent pool to help with making technical ideas into working designs. And in case that’s not said explicitly enough, we sorted through 38 sites so that you can get the cream ready for your next project.

1. Cad Crowd

Cad Crowd is where you get the top electronic enclosure design freelancers and electronics engineers. It delivers the company’s pre-screened CAD design professionals, PCB design professionals, prototype designers, and case designers. Cad Crowd is among the freelance platforms in overall management of engineering and design, and therefore, it is easy to locate technical professionals. Businesses can post an ad, run a contest, or employ directly. Intellectual property rights and safe project management software are available on the platform. Regardless of the kind of top-level enclosure design modeling or overall product design assistance you need, Cad Crowd assures quality delivery by the world’s top professionals.

Website: Cadcrowd.com

2. GoFreelance

GoFreelance is a simple gateway providing matching freelance experts with employers for work assignments across different industries, from electronics to engineering. It is a job posting service by which firms can hire selected candidates on a project or part-time basis. It is less internet-based compared to those websites available, but more than you would employ in looking for generic technical freelancers. Since so many are passing through, there is a relatively good chance that you will be able to cover all your leads pretty well, with the expectation of getting that one that can help in fulfilling your project needs. Although GoFreelance brings you to a majority of individuals, it is for small projects and small work, but not massive engineering projects.

Website: Gofreelance.com

3. Twine.net

Twine.net is well-known for freelance 3D designers but has expanded to technical disciplines like electronics and engineering. You can list and accept bids from freelancers worldwide. Twine is never electronics or designing enclosures, but if you can shove people who are not necessarily going to be using the same skill set, then it is still out there. The platform is fun to work with, and the talent pool of seasoned veterans and up-and-coming star freelancers is there. Firms willing to outsource hiring specialized expertise on contractual terms need to wade through the CVs of job applicants carefully, but Twine can readily serve as an intermediary while recruiting engineering freelancers.

Website: Twine.net

4. Naukri

Naukri is India’s leading job portal and largest recruitment website, catering to professionals and organizations across industry sectors. It is an open-bid job board and a smaller job board site, and thus it would be optimal for businesses that are able to employ full-time or long-term electronics engineers. There are set advert sizes, employers are able to sort by experience, and they are able to reach out to a mass of talent made up of technical design engineering professionals and engineers. It is not a freelance design enclosure, but Naukri will be useful to companies working with in-house staff regardless.

Website: Naukri.com

5. Integra Sources

Integra Sources isn’t an engineering firm or a freelancer site, but also a design firm of custom electronics and software. They hire professional technical electronics engineers to work on projects from case design up to embedded system manufacturing. Through the services of Inegra Sources, one gets enhanced experience, efficient project management, and assured delivery compared to freelance personnel. The business can be utilized by firms with end-to-end engineering solutions as opposed to ad-hoc freelance solutions. The clients can leverage expert advisory services, success track, and proven process. It is appropriate for businesses that would like a company to have work done on their behalf rather than freelancing specialists.

Website: Integrasources.com

6. Freelancermap

Freelancermap is a technology-enabled IT project marketplace and therefore the best place to look for freelance electronics design engineers. It also has an international pool of talents ranging from product design skills to PCB and embedded system design skills. Even freelancers can post the job themselves and receive applicants. It also boasts open profiles with experience, rate, and skill to screen through. Even though technologically capable experts are not particularly invested in constructing enclosures, technologically capable experts seem to be flooding in. Freelancermap is ideal for companies that need engineers accustomed to freelancing and IT certified.

Website: Freelancermap.com

7. Freelancer.international

Freelancer.international uses the directory system in a bid to find experts around the globe in such specialized areas as electronics and engineering. The freelancers’ CV are made accessible to the clients where they can check the described proficiency, and talk to them directly about a possible job. Unlike bidding websites, it is done through direct one-on-one communication that can actually be a business time-saver since they already have an idea of what type of talent they require in advance. Not too specialized in enclosed construction, electrical engineers just so happen to be a part of its members. This website would be perfect for clients who are fed up with having to sift through lists of qualified leads rather than deals. To the point and ought to be perfected as much as practicing power and project feasibility.

Website: Freelancer.international

8. ElevateX

ElevateX is a platform that matches businesses with pre-screened freelance masters, and most of them are technology and engineering masters. It is all about giving business companies an opportunity to fill skills gaps in the future through exposure to seasoned experts. It is the quality and compatibility that the site offers that offer smoother access to opening markets. ElevateX is design-focused for enclosures, not technical, but it is a satisfactory niche to search for electronics engineers with the right skill sets. Clients are graced with a filtered choice to aid in project risk delivery mitigation. ElevateX is best for companies that need experienced engineering design freelancers to be involved in order to undertake middle-order to high-degree technical work.

Website: Elevatex.solutions

9. ElectroHire

ElectroHire is a niche platform focusing on electronics engineering and is best placed to carry out enclosure design work. It is ideal for companies that require circuit design specialists, PCB layout design specialists, embedded system developers, and case modelers. Capabilities refine it from any other freelancing website because the customers not only save time but also don’t spend time searching for the best candidate. ElectroHire is for businesses that most prioritize technical correctness and expertise in their business niche. It is the second-best way to use engineers to design tailored electronics projects.

Website: Electrohire.com

10. Freelance Electronics SRL

Freelance Electronics SRL is distinct from any other freelance website. It is not a business run by freelancers, but an employee-owned company offering electronics engineering services. Companies such as these can hire Freelance Electronics SRL to conduct product design, electronics design, and enclosure work. It gives the customer the experience of experts without bidding. It will be appropriate for a company that would rather have professional labor structured than hire freelance employees to work. It does offer generic know-how, but without the necessary adaptability for actually small one-time tasks. It would be handy in serving gargantuan regular tech requirements.

Website: Freelance-electronics.com

11. CADLane

CADLane is an online business that brokers companies with. CAD experts, from experienced professionals in enclosure design and drafting electronics. It allows clients to post work and receive bids from global freelance experts. CAD background on CADLane makes it an improved choice for enclosure modeling than standard freelance websites. The website is user-friendly, and experience, portfolios, and rates appear on profile pages. Since it is not electronics itself but its talent pool in the form of CAD experts that makes it qualified to be hired for working in such high-end design firms, it is most appropriately suited for technology-driven projects with high design content and no detailed engineering activity.

Website: Cadlane.com

12. Insolvo

Insolvo is a website-based freelance site whose customers can list work in quite broad categories, e.g., electronics and engineering. Its platform is simple and gives clients immediate feedback from freelancers once they have posted an ad for bidding. Insolvo has a few other tools, but has access to enclosure design experts who may be limited on specialty websites. The platform is low-cost and thus appropriate for small- and medium-sized projects. Firms that require hiring electronics engineers have to read between the lines and portfolios in selecting the best CAD engineering freelancer. Insolvo is best suited for complete freelance needs compared to technical specialist services.

Website: Insolvo.com

13. Altium

Altium is a highly rated PCB designing software and electronic design automation software. Altium also has a professional community on which one can engage a professional electronics engineer and PCB designer. It is unique compared to other freelance platforms in the sense that this is a pool of highly skilled professionals with an exclusive focus on electronic projects only. It is a goldmine for those businesses that need the best minds, for board work and enclosures, as such. Clients. They become associated with masterminds of high-end equipment utilized in business. Not a traditional freelance website per se, Altium puts customers directly in touch with master engineering minds.

Website: Altium.com

14. Tasker

Tasker is an on-demand, real-time freelancing platform to accomplish various kinds of work. You can hire a freelancer and post an advertisement too in working industries ranging from labor work to professional work. Even though it includes technical training classes, technically, it is not technical or enclosure design work. Those that require skilled manpower will have their time to look for alternatives. Tasker will be most appropriate for minor or smaller-than-monolithic engineering projects. It will be of greatest worth to rush-hire the ones that are needed to be hired immediately, but is least likely to create electronics at a higher level or enclosures.

Website: Taskerplatform.com

15. EngineerBabu

EngineerBabu is a tech-oriented business-to-hire freelance developer, designer, and engineer. While more IT- and software development-focused, it is still electronics engineering specialist-requiring. Provides business and startup technical consulting on-demand access. Engineer- and tech-oriented, it is a specialist and not a general freelancer site, and clients will need to be anonymous when looking for enclosure design experts. Elastic labor is handled by EngineerBabu and constitutes the perfect fit. More suitable where freelance engineers with varied technical capabilities are needed.

Website: Engineerbabu.com

16. AllAboutCircuits

AllAboutCircuits is one of the live web forum sites for professionals in electronics, providing tutorials, business news, and facts. In addition to being an info site, the site also features a job board where electronics firms can list job ads for electronics engineers and specialists. Not a general freelance site for everyone, but the specialty group is niche-based, i.e., not that hard to get qualified leads. These companies need the services of an enclosure designer and can leverage their own talent pool. Working for them may not be as crucial as freelance websites. AllAboutCircuits will best fit companies needing experienced engineers for high-tech, complex, or long-term projects.

Website: Allaboutcircuits.com

17. Gigster

Gigster is an outsourcing platform that is a project completion platform wherein one attempts to match technology projects with pools of pre-screened talent. It provides pools of experts who have the ability to complete projects in artificial intelligence, programming, and software developers. Gigster is electronics-based in orientation, but provides engineers who can provide enclosure-based services if there are any completed product development projects. Quality is provided by the website but perhaps not by small companies. Gigster is suited for companies seeking completed projects with some kind of administration and thus best for high-cost, high-tech, large projects, and not completely freelance.

Website: Gigster.com

18. Fivesquid

Fivesquad is a British freelance website where professionals can offer fixed prices for their services. Although primarily utilized by web services providers and decorators, they are actually utilized by tech-nature freelancers in the electronics design business. But professional enclosure design people are worse than professional engineer websites. Fivesquid is fine for low-priced work and very tiny budgets, but would never be the best page for more complex electronics projects. Companies have to sift through profiles and services offered completely before they opt to buy services. It is okay with customers ordering low-cost fixes over engineering services.

Website: Fivesquid.uk

19. ZipTask

ZipTask is an internet medium through which business firms are able to recruit freelance employees temporarily. It is time-based and therefore best suited for the completion of small technical jobs. Although it provides a customized list of services, the platform itself is generic electronics and enclosure engineering. Companies need to spend time arranging the electronic enclosures design freelancers for professional staff. The ZipTask method is suitable for small orders with single technical coordination. It is sufficient for common outsourcing orders, but pointless in orders with intricate electronics engineering or accurate enclosure design.

Website: Ziptask.in

20. TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is best known for offering customers access to local community freelance workers to handle daily tasks such as assembly, delivery, and handyman work. It does offer some specialized technical skills, just not electronics engineers or enclosure design specialists. No, here, where companies would utilize professional-grade engineering staff. TaskRabbit works best for middle hands-on positions, but is not perfectly suited for highly technical positions that require more experience. Businesses that require electronics design or enclosure must offer higher-experience jobs. TaskRabbit is incredibly convenient for beginner in-home positions but not perfectly suited for businesses requiring engineering design experts or enclosure design professionals.

Website: Taskrabbit.com

21. FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a web-based job listing website for flexible work postings committed to a complete range of different industries. It is widely known to be most worthy of its strict filtering of work posted to allow clients to filter out spam and low-quality work postings. It does not include electronics or enclosure design, but includes engineering types of work employment. Employers are still able to recruit good professionals through it, but with greater effort compared to specialist websites. FlexJobs is better suited for part-time or long-term work agreements, and not short-term freelance short-contracts. It is suited to the requirements of companies that would like to have continuous recruitment procedures but lack technical enclosure design job advertisements.

Website: Flexjobs.com

22. AngelList

AngelList is a popular means for startups to identify investors, partners, and even employees by startups. It can also hire engineers, developers, and other startup entrepreneurs for new positions. It does have electronic engineers that they can employ and contract them there, but AngelList is a right startup application in the employees’ hiring process and not contract employment of freelancers. It will be easier to use in building longer-term technical staff, but harder to use in contract employment freelancers to perform enclosure design tasks. AngelList will best fit companies seeking early-stage work talent. A single one-off short-term enclosure design will utilize more specialized freelancer websites; it will, however.

Website: Angellist.com

23. Pic-Control

Pic-Control is a Singapore professional engineering solutions company with product development services, electronics design, and embedded systems solutions. Pic-Control is not another freelancer site to be used in conjunction with other freelancer sites, but a business company with end-to-end solutions. Companies requiring the enclosures to be made from scratch can hire the services of its engineers who provide work from scratch to a fully developed prototype. Process orientation provides quality and reliability sufficient for firms ready to utilize experienced masters rather than stand-alone freelancer experts. Pic-Control is a hardware integrator and developer. It is less price-sensitive than freelancer sites, but sufficient for professional high-complexity engineering work.

Website: Pic-control.com

24. SimplyHired

SimplyHired is a job search engine that provides contract, full-time, and freelance job listings on the entire web. It is not engineering-targeted, but in the general sense, electronics engineers are spidered and can be found with targeted searches. Companies can post an advertisement and receive a large sample of likely employees. Because it is an open system with numerous posts, rigorous filtering is used in searching so that they can acquire competent enclosure design professionals. Since it is a platform that retains companies only on a commitment to attempt Slack hiring strategies, SimplyHired is not a great tool to reach quality freelancers, but it reaches an enormous number of individuals.

Website: Simplyhired.com

25. DesignCrowd

DesignCrowd is an online design market where firms can outsource work or run competitions for freelance design. More ideal for web graphic designers, branding, and graphics rather than electronics and engineering. Although. Extremely high level of creative work. But certainly not for technical electronics design and enclosures design. Firms looking for engineers won’t be well served. DesignCrowd would be for businesses that require logos, packaging, or advertising content but not product design. If the engineering design of electronics or enclosures is a requirement, some websites must be attempted first. DesignCrowd is for creative work and not project development.

Website: Designcrowd.com

26. PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour is a worldwide pool of freelance experts from which the company can hire remote specialists in all but extremely selective niches like design and engineering. It is in tune with going hand-in-hand with hourly compensation and project work with economic convenience. There are electronics specialists and CAD drafting specialists, but the site is more suitable for a generalist. Companies that need enclosures to be made will need to scan portfolios and profiles to determine the required experience. Good payment facilities, grading facilities, and messaging facilities make it easy to work on PeoplePerHour. Medium-sized projects are ideal, but specialist sites are fine for high-end electronics projects.

Website: Peopleperhour.com

27. Arc.dev

Arc.dev aligns technology and business professionals with professional developers. It uses software and engineering concepts with capable hands to unlock full-time job opportunities as well as freelancing opportunities. While, like any other electronics engineers, there are a few possessing relevant certificates. Sorting keeps clients from receiving services from inexperienced hands, thereby mitigating project-creation risks. Arc.dev is suitable for companies requiring skilled technical engineering freelancers. It is not suitable for the normal enclosure design task. It is best suited for big companies requiring more than product engineering and design technical expertise.

Website: Arc.dev

28. Guru

Guru is a very ancient freelancing site with broad industry variations like electronics and engineering. It provides customers with the services of publishing a project, browsing through freelancers’ portfolios, and negotiating fees in secrecy. The site possesses an elastic payment arrangement on a milestone, hourly, or fixed-price. Enclosure design experts would be more difficult to obtain than specialty sites, although electronics engineers exist at Guru. Overbaggage of talent pool on the site is a double-edged sword as exclusivity must be the minimum. Companies that need room and liberty to sort through candidates are best served on Guru.

Website: Guru.com

29. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s biggest professional networking site and claims to have a clean site for professional hiring of any quality. There’s a job posting, there’s one-to-one interaction with electronics engineers, assured, experience-based, and skill-based search profiling. Not a contract website, yet LinkedIn has professionals offering contract and project work-based services. Best to utilize on LinkedIn for job application purposes because of the freedom when it comes to actual verbal communication with leads and complete background information. Companies seeking long-term or senior workers can utilize it. Best to utilize when applying for hiring, but a good source to utilize when in search of professional product engineering staff.

Website: Linkedin.com

30. Indeed

Indeed is among the most viewed career search sites utilized by companies while searching for work professionals with specialization in their field of business. It allows companies to post work and discover professionals who are prepared to work full-time or on contract. Electronics engineers can be discovered on Indeed, but not freelancers, and enclosure specialists will be less available. The platform is ideal for companies when they need to hire in-house engineers or build technical teams. Indeed, there is no worse or faster way to do fast, small freelancer jobs than specialist platforms.

Website: Indeed.com

31. Workana

Workana is a website of product design freelancers who previously were distributed in a traditional way across Latin America, but now anywhere in the world. They provide any kind of service from engineering to technical departments. The customers provide projects, which are picked by freelancers as proposals, upon which they perform profiles, portfolios, and reputations to make decisions. Workana is technology-unfocused, but they may have space to grow into technology-specialized engineers. Employers would need to weed through more of them to choose an enclosure design freelancer, but the service is affordable and prompt. Workana can work on small to medium-sized projects, but not engineering specifications.

Website: Workana.com

32. ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter is a job board that involves matching with potential employer. It also boasts syndication and job posting functionality, and employers benefit from access to a large pool of talent. There are electronics engineers at ZipRecruiter, but it does not promote freelance or direct-hire contracts. Companies seeking to hire enclosure design professionals can find the desired professional, but it takes more time than on freelancing websites specifically intended for this purpose. ZipRecruiter would be suitable for companies seeking employees to perform more than or more specialized sites for 3D design freelancers. Enclosure design short-term would be suitable for more engineer sites or specialty sites.

Website: Ziprecruiter.ie

33. Toptal

Toptal is said to provide skilled freelancers with finance, design, and software development expertise to clients. It is not suitable for electronic engineering or enclosure design work. It is not electrically biased towards electronics and might not necessarily be smart enough to provide master skill sets that a business company can gain in hardware design or enclosure modeling. Its rates are also too high and not that reasonable for small jobs. While Toptal excels in business and software consulting, companies needing electronics engineers must also consider sites that are technically biased. Some kinds of enclosure design projects will be suitable for other sites.

Website: Toptal.com

34. Truelancer

Truelancer is a website offering online freelancing services in all categories, such as IT, general engineering, and product concept design services. It is not suitable for professional electronics like enclosure design, though. The website is generic and not easy to hire quality electronics engineers. It is easy for small general or design freelancing, but technical specifications will be matched better elsewhere. Truelancer is good for customers who are looking for low-priced services for simple non-tech work, but not sophisticated electronics engineering. Professional websites are employed as a fallback technique to provide design services.

Website: Truelancer.com

35. Fiverr

Fiverr is a large freelance platform where professionals offer services in packages with the lowest price tag. It is appropriate for digital and creative services but not for electrical engineering or enclosure design. Electronics services are of low quality and not in demand, and companies therefore struggle to realize repeat business. Fiverr would be appropriate for small and fast jobs, but technical skill and accuracy are necessary if one is to create enclosures. It is therefore not ideal for companies looking for electronics engineers. Companies will be subjected to more filtered human resources by engineering-based websites.

Website: Fiverr.com

36. Freelancer

Freelancer is among the top global freelance websites and serves almost all industries. Fair scale to provide the appropriate number of experts, but not an optimum fit in the area of enclosure designing or electronics engineering. Its open bidding process on its website will ensure random quality and technical inputs by technical freelancers. Electronics is a technical engineering skill and won’t be simple to provide here. While Freelancer might be adequate for low-level projects or small-level enclosure design, organizations that require top-level enclosure design or quality electrical engineering freelancers will have to seek other avenues to technologically more advanced, engineering-type websites.

Website: Freelancer.com

37. Kolabtree

Kolabtree is a site where there is a room for organizations to place orders for freelance scientists and researchers. While it is simple to work on using it to do research work or a research study, it is the wrong platform to use to create products or hardware. Such organizations would be wasting their time in hiring electronics engineers from Kolabtree since Kolabtree experts have interests in biotechnology, data analysis, and biological science, but not in product design or hardware design. Electronics engineers would be useless or redundant for such companies that induct them through these websites. Research work through Kolabtree is an investment, but not technical designing or engineering. Business organizations related to electronics can try those websites first using engineering talent. Kolabtree is not a place where such work gets outsourced.

Website: Kolabtree.com

38. Upwork

Upwork is a very well-visited freelance platform with an unfathomable set of professional skills of masters of any form of varied business. There are some electronic engineers on it, but it is not a platform that is recommended upon which to carry out enclosure design work. The trend of the platform as a whole is shifting away from assigning highly specialist professionals to specific locations, and quality is extremely skewed among freelancers. It will not be an hour or two to acquire the experts, and high-end electronics demand experience and urgency that will or will not be found on Upwork. Ideal for fly-by-night freelancing work, time-pressed companies to select some enclosure design services will do best on engineering and tech-savvy service platforms.

Website: Upwork.com

How Cad Crowd can help

It should not be an act of guessing to find the best engineer or freelancer to do your electronic enclosure project. Since there are very few good websites to select from, the experience that you are seeking is closer than you imagine. Cad Crowd is where you should go because you can negotiate with experienced professionals who are electronics technical specialists and electronics enclosure design specialists. If you are not opposed to allowing your project to remain on the drawing board into the hands of the finish line, then head on over to Cad Crowd and request a free quote today.

MacKenzie Brown is the founder and CEO of Cad Crowd. With over 18 years of experience in launching and scaling platforms specializing in CAD services, product design, manufacturing, hardware, and software development, MacKenzie is a recognized authority in the engineering industry. Under his leadership, Cad Crowd serves esteemed clients like NASA, JPL, the U.S. Navy, and Fortune 500 companies, empowering innovators with access to high-quality design and engineering talent.

Connect with me: LinkedIn ✦ X ✦ Cad Crowd

Julian’s most anticipated games for 2026

Posted on December 30, 2025 by faz_business

While the old saying goes ‘A game in the basket is worth two in Steam Wishlist’, as we teeter into a new year it’s good to highlight a couple of the games shuffling our way. Especially when there are quite so many of them that include big stompy mechs. Some of them as big as cities. My engine oil-starved heart beats and thumps in anticipation.

I’ve tried to keep the list to games confirmed for release next year – tragically cutting The Free Shepherd, which is planned to release in 2027 – but there is one exception.

So let’s begin with the outlier that’s likely to wander tardily into 2027.

Continue reading “Julian’s most anticipated games for 2026”

Almost 80 European deep tech university spinouts reached $1B valuations or $100M in revenue in 2025

Posted on December 30, 2025 by faz_business

Universities and research labs have long been Europe’s deep tech treasure trove. Now, academic spinouts have consolidated into a solid startup funnel worth $398 billion — and VC money is following.

According to Dealroom’s European Spinout Report 2025, 76 of these deep tech and life sciences companies have either reached $1 billion valuations, $100 million in revenue, or both. These include unicorns like Iceye, IQM, Isar Aerospace, Synthesia, and Tekever, which are now inspiring more funds to back university spinouts.

Just this month, two new funds emerged that will bring more funding to talent emerging out of European tech universities, while adding breadth to a pipeline currently topped by Cambridge, Oxford, and ETH Zurich.

PSV Hafnium, out of Denmark, recently closed its inaugural fund at an oversubscribed €60 million (approximately $71 million), with a focus on Nordic deep tech. With offices in Berlin and London, but also in Aachen, U2V (University2Ventures) is targeting the same amount for its first fund, of which it recently completed the first closing.

These two newcomers join the growing ranks of European venture firms that have university spinouts as a core part of their investment thesis. Pioneered by the likes of Cambridge Innovation Capital and Oxford Science Enterprises, which have now fully matured, this category has also diversified.

While it still mostly consists of funds backed by one or several universities and institutes, it now includes independent firms that simply see spinouts as potential fund returners — and rightly so. Oxford Ionics, acquired by U.S.-based IonQ, was one of the six spinouts out of Switzerland, the U.K., and Germany that delivered exits of more than $1 billion to their investors in 2025.

These exits come alongside increased amounts of funding. According to Dealroom, European university spinouts in deep tech and life sciences are on track to raise a near all-time-high $9.1 billion in 2025. This contrasts with overall VC funding in Europe, which is down nearly 50% from its 2021 peak.

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Large rounds closed in 2025 also reflect appetite for spinouts in sectors as varied as nuclear energy — Proxima Fusion — and dual-use drones — Quantum Systems, now valued above $3 billion. In many cases, these startups leverage research from specialized labs, which also explains why there is a long tail of European locations capable of producing spinouts.

Building relationships with hubs outside of Oxbridge and leading countries can also be a way for newcomers to differentiate themselves and find deals. “The Nordic’s research institutions hold extraordinary, untapped potential,” PSV Hafnium’s partners stated in a press release.

PSV Hafnium itself is a spinout from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), but is also making early-stage investments in other Nordic countries. One of its nine checks to date went to SisuSemi, a Finnish startup leveraging a decade of research at the University of Turku to bring new surface cleaning tech to the semiconductor industry.

It is good news for teams like SisuSemi that there is more funding available to them. It also comes in addition to grants, commercialization support, and improved deal terms that contribute to an encouraging environment for Europe’s spinouts. However, one pain point remains: growth capital.

As the report’s authors note, this gap “is not a unique trend to spinouts, but something impacting the entire startup ecosystem in Europe.” Still, it is quite striking that nearly 50% of late-stage funding for European deep tech and life sciences spinouts comes from outside Europe, mainly from the U.S.

While this share has decreased over the years, Europe won’t be fully reaping the benefits of its investments in talent and research unless this changes more substantially — but that’s a broader issue to be solved.

‘Stranger Things’ Couples, Ranked by How Much Chemistry They Actually Have

Posted on December 30, 2025 by faz_business

Stranger Things fever is at an all-time high. The show ends forever tomorrow, and we’ll finally get to see if good—aided by science, superpowers, junk food, and Dungeons & Dragons-inspired strategy—will triumph over evil and allow the long-suffering heroes of Hawkins to move on with their lives. In these precious few hours when there are still plenty of Stranger Things unknowns, let’s do the silliest thing imaginable and rank all the couples on the show (inclusive of pairings that are romantic, platonic, and… more abstract) according to how much chemistry they have.

Leaving aside the main characters who are not attached in any way (Will, Murray, Kali, Holly, and the rest of the young kids), we’ll start from least sizzling and work our way up to red hot.

10. The Wheelers

This marriage has long been in trouble—who could forget Karen’s crush on Billy, circa his bad-boy lifeguard era? (No doubt she hasn’t.) At this point, no amount of wine, golf, or demogorgon battles seems likely to reignite any passion here.

9. Eleven and Mike

Ah, season three: everyone hung out at the mall, and Stranger Things was completely invested in this tweenage love affair. Hopper’s overprotective hovering couldn’t stop these two from smooching on the sly. But now that Eleven and Mike are high school age, prime time for raging hormones, their spark seems to have gone out completely. Sure, they’re still close, but they favor chaste hugs when they reunite—and while Mike’s determined to make Eleven dream of a life post-Vecna, somewhere involving at least one waterfall, we’re getting mostly friendship vibes from these two.

8. Nancy and Jonathan

Speaking of couples who are better off as friends, it took a brush with death inside a melting building, but Nancy and Jonathan finally realized that breaking up was the best way forward for each of them. After all the negativity they’d flung at each other, their heart-to-heart capped by Jonathan’s “un-proposal” was such a relief. They’ll be bonded forever, but marriage is thankfully not in the cards.

7. Hopper and Joyce

This relationship has settled into a place that would feel almost comfortable if not for the circumstances surrounding them. Will Joyce and Hopper, who’ve known each other since high school but only became a couple recently, be able to make it work once the chaos that pushed them together subsides? There are certainly feelings between them, but the longevity here is debatable, even without taking Hopper’s suicidal tendencies into consideration.

6. Dr. Kay and her mission

Nobody gets in the way of Dr. Kay and her deranged plan to force a superpowered captive to produce blood that’s infused into pregnant women (also being held captive) in the hopes of creating a new generation of superpowered soldiers who can assure American military supremacy. Nobody. That might not be love, but it sure is devotion.

5. Max and Lucas

As it turns out, Max didn’t need Kate Bush to guide her out of Vecna’s mind prison—she just needed to feel Lucas’ hand and know he was there on the other side, believing that she’d one day open her eyes again. We hope these two kids can make it work, but there’s a strong possibility that the Nancy-Jonathan “shared trauma” situation could repeat itself here too.

4. Steve and Dustin

Stranger Things is now a well-established safe space, but Steve and Dustin are not (alas) a romantic couple. However, they are besties forever—now that they’ve learned they need to talk about their feelings and clear the air before engaging in any more violent physical confrontations. At the very least, don’t break another walkie-talkie, your only lifeline to safety in the Upside Down.

3. Mr. Clarke (aka “Snookums”) and the librarian (aka “Sugar Lump”)

Murray takes great delight in clowning on Mr. Clarke’s pet name, but maybe he’s just a little jealous that love has bloomed between two of the nerdiest faculty members at Hawkins High School. We’re delighted for Snookums and Sugar Lump. Long may they reign.

2. Vecna and his mission

Dr. Kay is laser-focused on her objective, but she could, conceivably, walk away at any moment and go do something else. Vecna is cosmically entwined with his evil scheme to merge the Abyss with Earth, using Hawkins as a crash point—and while we don’t know all the details about his motivations, origins, or hopes for the future, we can definitely see he’s fully committed to achieving his endgame. 2gether 4ever.

Strangerthings Vickieandrobin — © Netflix

1. Robin and Vickie

One day. Enzo’s. Dinner and dessert. If Stranger Things‘ most believable, most adorable couple doesn’t get their long-awaited date by the end of the finale episode, “The Rightside Up,” we’re cancelling our Netflix subscriptions and never looking back.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Radical Insurgency Free Download (v1.0)

Posted on December 30, 2025 by faz_business

Burkina Faso Radical Insurgency Preinstalled Worldofpcgames

Burkina Faso: Radical Insurgency Direct Download

BF:RI is a military tactical shooter and a work of historical fiction set in war-torn Burkina Faso. You are a CIA SAC Tier 1 operator, assigned to Operation Sahel Dominion, a covert manhunt targeting the Leader of the Sahel Caliphate responsible for an act of terrorism on American soil. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

12 Mission Campaign | Fully voice acted story campaign with in-game and pre-rendered mocap cutscenes. 50 Weapons | Rifles, Handguns, SMGs, Sniper rifles, Shotguns, and more. Blacksite FOB | Choose missions, customize your loadout, gear, and train between operations.

Gunsmith | Customize your weapons with over 50 attachments. Tactical Realism Systems | Leaning, Incremental Walk Speed Adjustment, Low Ready & High Ready stances, Mag Checking, Point Aiming, Fire Mode Select, Free Look and more.

Features and System Requirements:

Earn points, badges, or rewards for consistent recycling habits.
Encourages participation through challenges, leaderboards, or group goals.
Simple, intuitive design that makes recycling easy for everyone.

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
OS *: Windows XP or later
Processor: Intel HD 4400
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 770
Storage: 33 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂