Corpus-assisted discourse studies (abbr.: CADS) is related historically and methodologically to the discipline of corpus linguistics. The principal endeavor of corpus-assisted discourse studies is the investigation, and comparison of features of particular discourse types, integrating into the analysis the techniques and tools developed within corpus linguistics. These include the compilation of specialised corpora and analyses of word and word-cluster frequency lists, comparative keyword lists and, above all, concordances. A broader conceptualisation of corpus-assisted discourse studies would include any study that aims to bring together corpus linguistics and discourse analysis. Such research is often labelled as corpus-based or corpus-assisted discourse analysis, with the term CADS coined by a research group in Italy (Partington 2004) for a specific type of corpus-assisted discourse analysis (see the section 'in different countries' below). == Aims == Corpus-assisted discourse studies aim to uncover non-obvious meaning, that is, meaning which might not be readily available to naked-eye perusal. Much of what carries meaning in texts is not open to direct observation: “you cannot understand the world just by looking at it” (Stubbs [after Gellner 1959] 1996: 92). We use language “semi-automatically”, in the sense that speakers and writers make semi-conscious choices within the various complex overlapping systems of which language is composed, including those of transitivity, modality (Michael Halliday 1994), lexical sets (e.g. freedom, liberty, deliverance), modification, and so on. Authors themselves are, famously, generally unaware of all the meanings their texts convey. By combining the quantitative research approach, that is, statistical analysis of large amounts of the discourse in question - more precisely, large numbers of tokens of the discourse type under study contained in a corpus - with the more qualitative research approach typical of discourse analysis, that is, the close, detailed examination of particular stretches of discourse it may be possible to better understand the processes at play in the discourse type and to gain access to non-obvious meanings. Aims can differ in other types of corpus-based or corpus-assisted discourse analysis; but in general such studies combine quantitative and qualitative research and aim to shed light on discourses, registers, discourse patterns, etc., with the help of a corpus linguistic approach. Specific aims and techniques depend on the relevant project. == In different countries == In German-speaking countries: Pioneering work in corpus-based discourse analysis was conducted in Europe, in particular by Hardt-Mautner/Mautner (1995, 2000) and Stubbs (1996, 2001). CADS and other types of corpus-based discourse analysis are inspired by this important early work. In Italy: A considerable body of research has been conducted in Italy either by individual researchers or under the aegis of combined inter-university projects such as Newspool (Partington et al. 2004) and CorDis (Morley and Bayley eds, 2009). It has concentrated on political and media language, mainly because a nucleus of linguists in Italian universities work in Political Science faculties and are increasingly interested in the use of corpus techniques to conduct a particular type of sociopolitical discourse analysis, including the unearthing of noteworthy ideological metaphors and motifs in the language of political figures and institutions. Italian researchers also developed Modern diachronic corpus-assisted discourse studies (MD-CADS). This approach contrasts the language contained in comparable corpora from different but recent points in time in order to track changes in modern language usage but also social, cultural and political changes over modern times, as reflected - and shared among people - in language. It is this Italian body of research that makes most use of the label CADS. In the UK: Linguists in the UK tend to undertake corpus-based critical discourse analysis (CDA). CDA generally adopts a leftist political stance, focusing on the ways that social and political domination is reproduced by text and talk. This type of corpus-based research was originally associated with Lancaster University (Baker et al. 2008), but has spread more widely since. Such work typically studies the discourses around particular groups of people (e.g. Muslims, people with disabilities) or concepts/events (e.g. feminism, same-sex marriage). In Australia: Corpus-based discourse analysis is undertaken by a growing number of Australian researchers, most often on media texts. Some of this work aims to elucidate specific features of discourse types (news, social media, television series, etc.), while other work is rooted in the tradition of corpus-based critical discourse analysis. == Comparison with traditional corpus linguistics == Traditional corpus linguistics has, quite naturally, tended to privilege the quantitative approach. In the drive to produce more authentic dictionaries and grammars of a language, it has been characterised by the compilation of some very large corpora of heterogeneric discourse types in the desire to obtain an overview of the greatest quantity and variety of discourse types possible, in other words, of the chimerical but useful fiction called the “general language” (“general English”, “general Italian”, and so on). This has led to the construction of immensely valuable research tools such as the Bank of English and the British National Corpus. Some branches of corpus linguistics have also promoted an approach that is "corpus-driven", in which we need, grammatically speaking, a mental tabula rasa to free ourselves of the baleful prejudice exerted by traditional models and allow the data to speak entirely for itself. The aim of corpus-assisted discourse studies and related approaches is radically different. Here the aim of the exercise is to acquaint oneself as much as possible with the discourse type(s) in hand. Researchers typically engage with their corpus in a variety of ways. As well as via wordlists and concordancing, intuitions for further research can also arise from reading or watching or listening to parts of the data-set, a process which can help provide a feel for how things are done linguistically in the discourse-type being studied. Corpus-assisted discourse analysis is also typically characterised by the compilation of ad hoc specialised corpora, since very frequently there exists no previously available collection of the discourse type in question. Often, other corpora are utilized in the course of a study for purposes of comparison. These may include pre-existing corpora or may themselves need to be compiled by the researcher. In some sense, all work with corpora – just as all work with discourse - is properly comparative. Even when a single corpus is employed, it is used to test the data it contains against another body of data. This may consist of the researcher's intuitions, or the data found in reference works such as dictionaries and grammars, or it may be statements made by previous authors in the field. == CADS as a specific type of corpus-based discourse analysis == Researchers in Italy have developed CADS as a specific type of corpus-based discourse analysis, creating a standard set of methods: 'A basic, standard methodology in CADS may resemble the following:' Step 1: Decide upon the research question; Step 2: Choose, compile or edit an appropriate corpus; Step 3: Choose, compile or edit an appropriate reference corpus / corpora; Step 4: Make frequency lists and run a keywords comparison of the corpora; Step 5: Determine the existence of sets of key items; Step 6: Concordance interesting key items (with differing quantities of co-text); Step 7: (Possibly) refine the research question and return to Step 2. This basic procedure can of course vary according to individual research circumstances and requirements. A particular way of conceptualising research questions has also been proposed in such CADS projects: Given that P is a discourse participant (or possibly an institution) and G is a goal, often a political goal: How does P achieve G with language? What does this tell us about P? Comparative studies: how do P1 and P2 differ in their use of language? Does this tell us anything about their different principles and objectives? A second general type of CADS research question, which might be asked of interactive discourse data, has been conceptualised as follows: Given that P(x) is a particular participant or set of participants, DT is the discourse type, and R is an observed relationship between or among participants: How do {P(a), P(b)...P(n)} achieve / maintain R in DT [using language]? Another common type of research question has been conceptualised thus: Given that A is an author, Ph(x) is a phenomenon or practice or behaviour, and DT(x) is a particular discourse type. A has said P
Xiaoice
Xiaoice (Chinese: 微软小冰; pinyin: Wēiruǎn Xiǎobīng; lit. 'Microsoft Little Ice', IPA [wéɪɻwânɕjâʊpíŋ]) is an AI system developed by Microsoft (Asia) Software Technology Center (STCA) in 2014 based on an emotional computing framework. In July 2018, Microsoft Xiaoice released the 6th generation. Xiaoice Company, formerly known as AI Xiaoice Team of Microsoft Software Technology Center Asia, was Microsoft's largest independent R&D team for AI products. Founded in China in December 2013 with an expanded Japanese R&D team established in September 2014, this team is distributed in Beijing, Suzhou, and Tokyo, etc. with its technical products covering Asia. On 13 July 2020, Microsoft spun off its Xiaoice business into a separate company. As of 2021, the AI chatbots created and hosted by the Xiaoice framework accounted for about 60% of total global AI interactions. == Platforms, languages and countries == Xiaoice exists on more than 40 platforms in four countries (China, Japan, USA and Indonesia) including apps such as WeChat, QQ, Weibo and Meipai in China, and Facebook Messenger in USA and LINE in Japan. == Introduction == On 13 July 2020, Microsoft spun off its Xiaoice business into a separate company, aiming at enabling the Xiaoice product line to accelerate the pace of local innovation and commercialization, and appointed Dr. Harry Shum, former global executive VP of Microsoft, as the chairman of the new company, Li Di, Microsoft Partner of Products in Microsoft STCA, as the CEO, and Cliff, Chief R&D Director, as the GM of the Japan branch. The new company will continue to use the brands of Xiaoice China and Rinna Japan. As of 2022, the single brand of Xiaoice has covered 660 million online users, 1 billion third-party smart devices and 900 million content viewers in the aforementioned countries. Xiaoice's customers include China Merchants Group, Winter Sports Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, China Textile Information Center, China Unicom, China Foreign Exchange Trade System, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Wind Information, BMW, Nissan, SAIC Motor, BAIC Group, Nio Inc., XPeng, HiPhi, Vanke, Wensli, etc. The Xiaoice Avatar Framework has incubated tens of millions of AI Beings, such as Xiaoice, Rinna, the Expo exhibitor Xia Yubing, the singer He Chang, the anchor F201, the human observer MERROR, anime robot character Roboko, and other; == Application == === Poet === In May 2017, the first AI-authored collection of poems in China—The Sunshine Lost Windows was published by Xiaoice. === Singer === Xiaoice has released dozens of songs with the similar quality to human singers, including I Know I New, Breeze, I Am Xiaoice, Miss You etc. The 4th version of the DNN singing model allows Xiaoice to learn more details. For example, Xiaoice can produce this breathing sound along with her singing as human. === Kid audio-books reciter === Xiaoice can automatically analyze the stories, to choose the suitable tones and characters to finish the entire process of creating the audio. === Designer === By learning the melodies of the songs and the landmarks about different cities, Xiaoice can create visual artworks of skylines when listening to the songs related to this city. Skyline Series T-shirts designed by Xiaoice have been jointly launched with SELECTED and been sold in stores. === TV and radio hostess === Xiaoice has hosted 21 TV programs and 28 Radio programs, such as CCTV-1 AI Show, Dragon TV Morning East News, Hunan TV My Future, several daily radio programs for Jiangsu FM99.7, Hunan FM89.3, Henan FM104.1 etc. === "AI being" === An "AI being" is a concept proposed by the Xiaoice team in 2019. According to the "White Book of China Virtual Human Development Industry in 2022" released by Frost & Sullivan and LeadLeo, the white paper cites six elements of an AI being proposed by the Xiaoice team, including: Persona, Attitude, Biological Characteristic, Creation, Knowledge and Skill. On May 16, 2023, Xiaoice released their "GPT Clones" as its "GPT Human Cloning Plan." The program is aimed at replicating celebrities, public figures, and regular people. As of June 2023, Xiaoice had launched more than 300 "GPT Clones." People were invited to register via WeChat in China and Japan. A major point of focus for Xiaoice with their AI Beings is having virtual partners. A paid fee allow for more complex responses, voice messages, and more. == Community feedback == Bill Gates mentioned Xiaoice during his speech at the Peking University: "Some of you may have had conversations with Xiaoice on Weibo, or seen her weather forecasts on TV, or read her column in the Qianjiang Evening News." '"Xiaoice has attracted 45 million followers and is quite skilled at multitasking. And I’ve heard she’s gotten good enough at sensing a user’s emotional state that she can even help with relationship breakups." According to Mr Li Di, vice President of Microsoft (Asia) Internet Engineering School, Xiaoice started writing poems since last year. Based on the data base that includes works of 519 Chinese contemporary poets since 1920s, a 100 hour long training session was conducted to allow Xiaoice to acquire the ability to write poems. What is more impressive is that Xiaoice has never been spotted as a bot while publishing poems on various forums and traditional literary under an alias. == Controversy == In 2017, Xiaoice was taken offline on WeChat after giving user responses critical to the Chinese government. It was subsequently censored and the bots will avoid and sidestep any inquiries using politically sensitive terms and phrases. == Activity == On September 22, 2021, Xiaoice Company and Microsoft Software Technology Center Asia (STCA) jointly held the 9th generation Xiaoice annual press conference in Beijing.Upgrading of Core Technologies of the 9th Generation Xiaoice Avatar Framework，1st First-party Social Platform APP "Xiaoice Island" from Xiaoice, WeChat Xiaoice has been reopened and other information == Regional varieties of Xiaoice == China: Xiaoice, launched in 2014 Japan: りんな, launched in 2015 America: Zo, launched in 2016 – discontinued summer 2019 India: Ruuh, launched in 2017 – discontinued June 21, 2019 Indonesia: Rinna, launched in 2017
X2 transceiver
The X2 transceiver format is a 10 gigabit per second modular fiber optic interface intended for use in routers, switches and optical transport platforms. It is an early generation 10 gigabit interface related to the similar XENPAK and XPAK formats. X2 may be used with 10 Gigabit Ethernet or OC-192/STM-64 speed SDH/SONET equipment. X2 modules are smaller and consume less power than first-generation XENPAK modules, but larger and consume more energy than the newer XFP transceiver standard and SFP+ standards. As of 2016 this format is relatively uncommon and has been replaced by 10 Gbit/s SFP+ in most new equipment.
Watcher Entertainment
Watcher Entertainment is an American digital media and entertainment company, founded by Steven Lim, Shane Madej, and Ryan Bergara. The channel features a variety of comedy, paranormal, gaming, cooking, and educational shows – typically hosted by Madej and Bergara. The Watcher main channel has over 400 million views and 2.9 million subscribers. The company launched their own streaming service, WatcherTV, in 2024. == History == === Buzzfeed and the creation of Watcher Entertainment (2019) === Madej, Bergara, and Lim met while working at the digital media company BuzzFeed. Madej and Bergara were co-hosts of the popular true crime and paranormal series Buzzfeed Unsolved and Lim was the creator and co-host of the popular internet food series Worth It. Both shows generated a combined 2 billion views with 15 billion minutes watched, making them two of the most successful shows on Buzzfeed. In 2019, Madej, Bergara, and Lim quit Buzzfeed as full-time employees. They each stayed on as contracted employees to complete their respective shows. The trio credited their departure to their desire to found a company with more "creative opportunities" and the ability to have "actual ownership of the content" made. The company is majority-owned by the trio. They received funding from Neuro, a caffeinated energy gum company; Boba Guys, a bubble-milk tea chain; and Steve Chen, a YouTube co-founder. Watcher Entertainment gained its name from the infamous true crime case of The Westfield Watcher, which Madej and Bergara had covered in a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode. The trio began the company as co-CEOs; however, Bergara and Madej stepped down from the role in 2023 to focus on content creation. === Watcher Entertainment (2020–present) === Watcher Entertainment was launched in January 2020. The company debuted with seven series and a weekly interactive talk show: Homemade, Grocery Run, Weird Wonderful World, Puppet History, Tourist Trapped, Top 5 Beatdown, Spooky Small Talk, and Watcher Weekly. The channel reached over 300,000 subscribers within the first month of launching. They were signed by talent agency CAA in the same year. Puppet History, a comedy educational game show, quickly became a success and gained a significant audience. The show, which stars Madej as a fluffy blue puppet, has spanned seven seasons and led to the creation of a variety of merchandise. It has featured a variety of guest stars on every episode, including other former Buzzfeed employees. The company premiered its first horror series in July 2020 with Are You Scared?. Following the end of Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural in 2021, the studio premiered its highly anticipated successor, Ghost Files, just months after. The show followed a similar format, with Bergara and Madej investigating reportedly haunted locations and attempting to find evidence of the paranormal. The show had significant success, with critics noting the improved production value and design from its predecessor. In 2023, Bergara and Madej went on a tour across the United States to premiere episodes of the second season. The series was renewed for a third season, which they premiered with a United Kingdom tour in 2024. That year, Watcher premiered a light-hearted successor to the graphic Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime, with Mystery Files. In this rendition, Bergara or Madej present unusual crime or supernatural mysteries with a collection of theoretical solutions. The show was met with great success by audiences and was quickly renewed for a second season. Watcher launched a second channel, 'WatcherPodcasts,' in October 2023. The channel features podcasts hosted by Lim, Bergara, and Madej. On April 19, 2024, the company launched its Watcher streaming service. Going forward, all of their content would be released exclusively on the service and the company planned to transition away from YouTube. This announcement was met with overwhelmingly negative reactions from their fans, with many calling for the company to reverse the decision. Additionally, their YouTube channel lost over 50,000 subscribers in the day following the announcement. On April 22, 2024, the company issued an apology and changed their decision, stating that episodes would instead be released on the streaming service a month before their premiere on YouTube. In May 2025, the channel 'Andrew, Steven, and Adam' was launched as a subsidiary of Watcher with the release of the second season of Travel Season. Travel Season is a spiritual successor to Worth It with the same cast of Lim, Andrew Ilnyckyj, and Adam Bianchi. The channel focuses on food reviews and the behind of the scenes of making it. The main channel is now set to be focused primarily on horror, creepy, and paranormal content. == Channels and shows == === Watcher === ==== Current shows ==== Puppet History (2020–present) A whimsical puppet host walks through history's wildest tales as two guests compete for the title of history wizard. Making Watcher (2020–present) What happens when 3 creators with no business experience decide to make their own company? A multi-series documentary on the journey of creating Watcher Entertainment. Weird Wonderful World (2020–present) Curious pals Madej and Bergara explore lesser-known destinations and the fascinating subcultures within them. Too Many Spirits (2020–present) Bergara and Madej read and rate audience-submitted ghost stories, while getting progressively more tipsy drinking cocktails prepared by Steven and Ricky Wang. Top 5 Beatdown (2020–present) Bergara and Madej compare asinine top 5 lists with a topical expert, inspiring surprisingly heated debate. Are You Scared? (2020–2022, 2024–present) Bergara reads the internet's scariest stories (some true, some false) to his pal Madej as they try to figure out if the story is experienced or imagined. Ghost Files (2021–present) Bergara and Madej investigate haunted locations to discover whether something paranormal really lies within. Mystery Files (2023–present) Bergara and Madej present unusual crime or supernatural mysteries with a collection of theoretical solutions. Survival Mode (2023–present) Bergara and Madej play a variety of horror games and give a spooky review. ==== Former shows ==== Grocery Run (2020) Madej interviews a celeb on their typical grocery run, before returning to their home to help prepare their signature dish. Homemade (2020) Lim examines popular food by comparing an elevated restaurant experience vs. a home-cooked experience. Spooky Small Talk (2020) Bergara interviews celebs in a haunted house, exposing their fears and if they can manage it, a little about themselves too. Social Distancing D&D (2020) Socially Distance along with the motley gang of Watchers as they embark on a great quest of Dungeons and Dragons! Tourist Trapped (2020) Begara and Madej battle for tour guide supremacy, highlighting the two sides of a city, tourist attractions and hidden gems. Watcher Weekly (2020–2021) Lim, Bergara, and Madej chat the week's content and answer questions, with the occasional musical guest! Dish Granted (2021–2022) A show where host and amateur home cook Lim attempts to create the most extravagant dishes for his friends. Pretty Historic (2022) Selorm and guests explore beauty and fashion trends from history, try them, and decide whether the trends should remain in the past or come to the present. Worth a Shot (2022–2023) Take a seat at a Master Mixologist's bar as pro Ricky Wang crafts the unbelievable into a digestible drink for his guests. === Watcher Podcast === ==== Current shows ==== Get Scared with Shane, Ryan, and Steven (2023–2025) Previously named 'Pod Watcher' Madej, Bergara, and Lim host a weekly podcasts, exploring a variety of topics and answering viewer questions. Guests occasionally appear to replace one host. Matt Real serves as the producer and a fourth voice for the podcast. For Your Amusement (2023–present) Bergara explores a variety of topics surrounding theme parks. === Andrew, Steven, and Adam === Travel Season (2024–present) Lim reunites with Worth It costars Andrew Ilnyckyj and Adam Bianchi in a new food review show. == Awards and nominations ==
Radio code
A radio code is any code that is commonly used over a telecommunication system such as Morse code, brevity codes and procedure words. == Brevity code == Brevity codes are designed to convey complex information with a few words or codes. Specific brevity codes include: ACP-131 Aeronautical Code signals ARRL Numbered Radiogram Multiservice tactical brevity code Ten-code Phillips Code NOTAM Code === Operating signals === Brevity codes that are specifically designed for use between communications operators and to support communication operations are referred to as "operating signals". These include: Prosigns for Morse code 92 Code, Western Union telegraph brevity codes Q code, initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication, later adopted by other radio services, especially amateur radio. Used since circa 1909. QN Signals, published by the ARRL and used by Amateur radio operators to assist in the transmission of ARRL Radiograms in the National Traffic System. R and S brevity codes, published by the British Post Office in 1908 for coastal wireless stations and ships, superseded in 1912 by Q codes X code, used by European military services as a wireless telegraphy code in the 1930s and 1940s Z code, also used in the early days of radiotelegraph communication. == Other == Morse code is commonly used in amateur radio. Morse code abbreviations are a type of brevity code. Procedure words used in radiotelephony procedure, are a type of radio code. Spelling alphabets, including the ICAO spelling alphabet, are commonly used in communication over radios and telephones. == Other meanings == Many car audio systems (car radios) have a so-called 'radio code' number which needs to be entered after a power disconnection. This was introduced as a measure to deter theft of these devices. If the code is entered correctly, the radio is activated for use. Entering the code incorrectly several times in a row will cause a temporary or permanent lockout. Some car radios have another check which operates in conjunction with car electronics. If the VIN or another vehicle ID matches the previously stored one, the radio is activated. If the radio cannot verify the vehicle, it is considered to be moved into another vehicle. The radio will then request for the code number or simply refuse to operate and display an error message such as "CANCHECK" or "SECURE".
Expectation propagation
Expectation propagation (EP) is a technique in Bayesian machine learning. EP finds approximations to a probability distribution. It uses an iterative approach that uses the factorization structure of the target distribution. It differs from other Bayesian approximation approaches such as variational Bayesian methods. More specifically, suppose we wish to approximate an intractable probability distribution p ( x ) {\displaystyle p(\mathbf {x} )} with a tractable distribution q ( x ) {\displaystyle q(\mathbf {x} )} . Expectation propagation achieves this approximation by minimizing the Kullback–Leibler divergence K L ( p | | q ) {\displaystyle \mathrm {KL} (p||q)} . Variational Bayesian methods minimize K L ( q | | p ) {\displaystyle \mathrm {KL} (q||p)} instead. If q ( x ) {\displaystyle q(\mathbf {x} )} is a Gaussian N ( x | μ , Σ ) {\displaystyle {\mathcal {N}}(\mathbf {x} |\mu ,\Sigma )} , then K L ( p | | q ) {\displaystyle \mathrm {KL} (p||q)} is minimized with μ {\displaystyle \mu } and Σ {\displaystyle \Sigma } being equal to the mean of p ( x ) {\displaystyle p(\mathbf {x} )} and the covariance of p ( x ) {\displaystyle p(\mathbf {x} )} , respectively; this is called moment matching. == Applications == Expectation propagation via moment matching plays a vital role in approximation for indicator functions that appear when deriving the message passing equations for TrueSkill.
Electronic kit
An electronic kit is a package of electrical components used to build an electronic device. Generally, kits are composed of electronic components, a circuit diagram (schematic), assembly instructions, and often a printed circuit board (PCB) or another type of prototyping board. There are two types of kits. Some build a single device or system. Other types used for education demonstrate a range of circuits. These will include a solderless construction board of some type, such as: Components mounted in plastic blocks with side contacts, that are held together in a base, e.g. Denshi blocks Springs on a card board, the springs trap wire leads, or component leads, such as Philips EE electronic experiment kits. These are a cheap and flexible option Professional type prototyping boards, (breadboards) into which component leads are inserted, following documentation of the "kit". The first type of kit for constructing a single device normally uses a PCB on which components are soldered. They normally come with extended documentation describing which component goes where into the PCB. For advanced hobby projects, sometimes the kit may only consist of a printed circuit board and assembly instructions, and the purchaser may have to source all the parts independently; or, the vendor may provide hard-to-get or pre-programmed parts while expecting the purchaser to obtain the rest of the components. People primarily purchase electronic kits to have fun and learn how things work. They were once popular as a means to reduce the cost of buying goods, but there is usually no cost saving in buying a kit today. Some electronic kits were assembled to make complete complex devices such as color television sets, oscilloscopes, high-end audio amplifiers, amateur radio equipment, electric organs, and even computers such as the Heathkit H-8, and the LNW-80. Many of the early microprocessor computers were sold as either electronic kits or assembled and tested. Heathkit sold millions of electronic kits during its 45-year history. Home assembly of common consumer electronics items no longer provides a cost advantage over commercially manufactured and distributed devices. People still build kits for custom devices and special-purpose electronics for professional and educational use and as a hobby. Also emerging is a trend to simplify the complexity by providing preprogrammed or modular kits often provided by many suppliers online. The fun and thrill of making your own electronics have shifted, in many cases, from easy-to-comprehend applications and analog devices to more sophisticated digital devices. == Examples == The Altair 8800 (the first home computer) was also sold as a kit, as were the MK14, Sinclair ZX80, Sinclair ZX81 and Acorn Atom computers. Many S-100 bus system cards were sold only as kits. Building a Robot kit, most often with a micro controller inside, is now in fashion.