If you have a child in Mrs. Dollas' eighth-grade class at the Rupert A. Nock Middle School in Newburyport, MA, odds are you are probably pretty steamed with me right now.

For those who aren't up to speed, here's why.

On a cold winter day in mid-January, I addressed her students about careers in electronics. About 20 teens gathered for the school's ongoing career exploration series (which as an aside, is a wonderful concept that all middle schools should adopt). I was invited to speak about my own career, but I quickly pivoted to the possibilities in tech that don't involve creating an app.

After asking for a show of hands from those who have been scolded by their folks for excessive video game playing – all of them – I then served them a counterargument: Play more!

My reason, I explained, is because video games – well, many of them – encourage students to use their imaginations. And while acknowledging their inherent addictiveness, I also believe they impart tremendous skills and subtle knowledge that will be useful to future generations of workers.

AUSTIN, TX – Flex reported sales of $7.1 billion for the third quarter of its fiscal year, representing a 9% decrease from the same quarter of 2022.

BENGALURU, INDIA – Wistron has signed a non-binding agreement to invest Rs15 billion ($180.7 million) in the Indian state of Karnataka to set up a laptop manufacturing unit.

NEW DELHI – Dixon Technologies reported revenue of Rs48.2 billion ($580 million) for the third quarter of its fiscal year, doubling the company's sales from the same quarter in 2022.

ATLANTA – Lean Stream, Fuji America Corporation and Koh Young America have partnered to launch a collaborative workspace in Fremont, CA.

TORONTO – Celestica's revenue of $2.14 billion represented a 5% increase compared to the $2.04 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022.

SAN JOSE, CA – Sanmina reported revenue of $1.87 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year, a 20.8% year-over-year decrease.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PCB shipments in December were down 18.3% compared to the same month last year, according to IPC's findings in its North American PCB Statistical Program.

LONDON – The semiconductor industry had a challenging year in 2023, but 2024 is now predicted to see a 13% year-over-year sales increase to $588 billion, according to Deloitte's 2024 semiconductor outlook.

BASINGSTOKE, UK – EC Electronics has acquired Dutch EMS provider Liad Electronics, growing EC's presence in mainland Europe and expanding its manufacturing capacity.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY today opened registration for its annual Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for EMS providers and electronics assembly equipment, material, service, and software suppliers.

ATLANTA — Results from the January 2024 ECST survey of electronic components supply chain participants delivered very encouraging results as all areas showed strong improvement in index scores for January results and anticipation of a robust continuation of the upward trend in February.