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The Plan to Secretly Kill Coyote v. Acme Backfired on David Zaslav

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on Hollywood trends and streaming culture, follow Charles Pulliam-Moore. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes on Sundays at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Under David Zaslav’s leadership, WBD got very […]

Naseej Chosen by Saudi Ministry of Commerce for Commercial Monitoring Technology

The Saudi Ministry of Commerce has chosen Naseej for Technology to design and develop an advanced automated system that establishes intelligent indicators to detect commercial concealment practices and enhance monitoring of financial fraud.

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ActionGlow Lights’ Status Following Shark Tank: Results After Season 14

Sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing enjoy widespread popularity despite their inherent risks, which ensures a consistent demand for products aimed at enhancing safety for these activities. “Shark Tank” has showcased various inventive creations that merge safety with aesthetics, including ActionGlow, a groundbreaking LED lighting system designed for sporting gear like skis, boards, and kayaks that enhances their safety, particularly during nighttime use.

Siblings Dakota and Garret Porter developed ActionGlow when they were merely 16 and 13 years old, respectively. The pair invested ten years attempting to secure a spot on “Shark Tank” before finally featuring on Season 14, Episode 7 in 2022, where they sought $200,000 in exchange for 15% equity in their venture. They aimed to utilize that funding to launch ActionGlow 2, an updated version allowing for color changes in the lights and significantly reducing their required stock-keeping units (SKUs) from 40 to just eight.

While the Sharks were initially captivated by the product and the brothers’ narrative, they began to withdraw upon discovering that ActionGlow had generated only $130,000 over a decade. Kevin O’Leary expressed concerns over the ease of replicating the product, implying substantial effort and resources would be needed to safeguard ActionGlow’s patent in court. Ultimately, Robert Herjavec was the only Shark to present an offer of $200,000 for 30%, which the brothers accepted, providing their new partner with a skateboard.

What became of ActionGlow following Shark Tank?

It is crucial to note that a significant number of “Shark Tank” agreements fall apart between filming and finalization. This also applies to the safety light venture Brake Free, which involved Herjavec, as well as Mark Cuban’s deal with Sway Motorsports, which also did not culminate. Keeping that in mind, the developments for ActionGlow were surprising and commendable. The product’s immediate post-show sales were so remarkable that the Porters managed to renegotiate a more favorable arrangement with Herjavec. Details concerning the finalized agreement have not been disclosed publicly; however, in a 2025 interview with The Ticker, a local news outlet in the brothers’ hometown of Traverse City, Michigan, Garret Porter indicated that their collaboration with the shark remains robust.

ActionGlow is still operational, now offering 10 diverse products for snow, land, and water sports. Some of their items are available on Amazon, receiving star ratings between 3.6 and 4.1. The feedback for the snowboard lights is particularly varied, with some customers claiming the adhesive lacks strength while others commend it for its strong stickiness — it appears to depend on personal perspective.

As for the Porter siblings, both continue their roles at ActionGlow, with Dakota serving as CEO and Garret as COO. In 2025, they initiated the LEDTheWay National Tour to promote the brand by directly selling ActionGlow to retailers and sharing their journey on social media.

LightInk: Solar-Powered ESP32 E-Ink Smartwatch with 10-Month Battery Life – CNX Software

LightInk

Daniel Ansorregui has developed LightInk, an open-source solar-powered E-ink watch inspired by 90s solar digital watches. It features a 1.54-inch e-paper display and supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, and GPS, running on a 100mAh battery. The project integrates a custom low-quiescent-power design using a TPS63900 buck-boost converter, capacitive-touch input, and deep-sleep-driven firmware, along with ultra-fast partial e-ink updates (<1 ms active time) and precise RTC timekeeping with drift calibration. It also supports solar-first operation (no dedicated charging IC) and dynamic power gating of peripherals, enabling around 9–10 months of operation on a small battery supplemented by solar power. LightInk specifications: System-in-package – ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP CPU – Dual-core processor @ 240MHz Memory – 520KB SRAM Storage – 4MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 4 up to 150 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.2 BR/LE connectivity Display – 1.54-inch 200×200 B/W e-Paper panel (GDEH0154D67 or compatible) Audio – 10-15mm piezo electric disc speaker Connectivity […]

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