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Poco has been doing well when it comes to smartphones, so naturally, it wanted to try out a new segment. Enter the Poco Pad 5G. It's the first tablet from the Chinese brand, and at first glance, it appears to be a good deal. It offers a large 12.1-inch LCD display, a 10,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC. The tablet also offers cellular connectivity and a premium design. However, it looks awfully similar to the Redmi Pad Pro 5G. And when you look at the specifications, it's hard to ignore the fact that the Poco Pad and Redmi tablet are pretty much the same tablet. Poco has priced the Pad 5G at Rs. 23,999 for the base option, which is Rs. 1,000 lower than the Redmi Pad Pro 5G. Is this then a better buy than the Redmi tablet? Read on to find out. Poco Pad 5G Design: Looks good, but a fingerprint magnet Dimensions - 280mm x 181.85mm x 7.52mm Weight - 568g Colours - Cobalt Blue and Pistachio Green The Poco Pad 5G has an all-metal unibody construction that feels durable and premium. It has a matte finish rear panel with a two-tone design, which loves fingerprints. You may want to carry a microfibre cloth with you everywhere. The rear panel has the Poco branding and two circular modules housing a camera and an LED flash. The tablet, although large, is portable thanks to its weight and slim profile. It has rounded corners, flat sides, and tapered edges on the front glass. The right frame of the tablet houses two microphones, the SIM card tray (supports dual 5G SIMs or a SIM and a microSD card), and the volume rocker key. You get dual speakers on the top edge along with the power/wake button, and the bottom houses another two speakers, a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The left frame is bare. Overall, it's a well-built tablet. Poco Pad 5G Display and Sound: Great for watching content Size - 12.1-inch 2.5K resolution LCD Refresh rate - 120Hz Audio - Quad stereo speakers Flipping the tablet over reveals the large 12.1-inch LCD display surrounded by uniform and rather thick bezels. The panel is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 3 and offers a 16:10 aspect ratio with 2.5K (2560 x 1600 pixels) resolution. It also supports up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and lets you choose between 60, 90, or 120Hz. There are three colour profiles available onboard, including Vivid, Saturated, and Standard. It's best to leave it at Vivid, as you get good colours with decent blacks. The display supports Dolby Vision and offers a peak brightness of up to 600 nits. However, using it outdoors is not fun as the screen doesn't get bright enough. Indoors, the panel gets plenty bright. Coming to the sound, the Poco Pad has a quad-speaker setup with support for Dolby Atmos. You also get Hi-Res Audio support via the 3.5mm headphone jack. The audio is quite good on the tablet, and there is nice stereo separation. It does get loud, but there's not enough bass at max volume. Listening to music isn't a great experience, but watching movies and shows is. Poco Pad 5G Software: Not a lot of bloat OS - Android 14 Skin - HyperOS Poco has included HyperOS on the tablet, and it's based on Android 14. There's also very little bloatware or pre-installed apps, which is nice. You get a Mi Canvas app that can be used to sketch using the Poco Pen. However, I did not receive the pen or tablet, so I cannot comment on its performance and usage. Apart from the Mi Canvas app, you also get several HyperOS features such as Xiaomi HomeScreen+, Shared Clipboard, and cross-device Notes app sync with the Camera app, which allows you to take a photo on a connected phone and insert the picture directly onto the Notes app. The HomeScreen+ feature lets you connect a phone using a Xiaomi account to receive smartphone notifications on the tablet. Meanwhile, the shared clipboard lets you easily copy and paste images and text between devices. Multi-tasking is also available on the tablet, obviously, and it works as expected. You can have up to two apps running simultaneously on the screen, but you can also add two floating apps, bringing the total to four. Poco has promised two years of Android OS updates and three years of security patches on the tablet, which is nice. Poco Pad 5G Performance: Could've been better Chipset - Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 RAM - 8GB (LPDDR4X) Storage - Up to 256GB (UFS 2.2) inbuilt, expandable Poco has equipped its first tablet with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, which performs well. The UI experience is mostly smooth when navigating around, but I did notice lag when multitasking, scrolling through the Settings app, and launching certain apps such as the Camera. As you can see, the Poco Pad performed similarly to the Redmi Pad Pro, which shouldn't be surprising since both are essentially the same tablet. I did not typically face heating issues when using the tablet, and even when playing games such as BGMI, the tablet only got slightly warm around the camera. I could play BGMI in ultra-high graphics settings, and it ran smoothly without any lag. However, playing the game on a big tablet like the Poco Pad isn't super comfortable. Since the tablet also supports 5G connectivity, I tested 5G speeds using Speedtest, and the Poco Pad delivered download speeds of around 474 Mbps and uploads of 63 Mbps. Video calls worked well on Airtel's 5G network. Poco Pad 5G Cameras: Decent Rear - 8-megapixel with LED flash Front - 8-megapixel The only camera that should matter on a tablet is the front-facing one, and the 8-megapixel sensor on the Poco Pad isn't that great. It works fine in daylight conditions, and you can make video calls, but I wouldn't recommend using the tablet to take selfies as photos lack details. It's the same with the rear camera, where photos are usable in daylight conditions, but there's plenty of noise and loss of detail when there isn't enough light. Poco Pad 5G Battery: Enough to binge a limited series on Netflix Capacity - 10,000mAh Fast charging - 33W Battery life on the Poco Pad was a mixed experience for me. I expected the 10,000mAh battery to last just as long as the Redmi Pad Pro in our HD video loop test. However, the Poco tablet only lasted about 11 hours and 50 minutes, whereas the Redmi Pad Pro survived for 28 hours and 30 minutes. The result was also surprising because with regular usage that involved several hours of YouTube streaming, half an hour of gaming, watching Netflix, and browsing the web, the tablet went about two days without needing a charge. Talking about charging, the Poco Pad supports 33W fast charging and the charger is provided in the box. Using the adapter, it takes about 2 hours to fully charge the massive 10,000mAh cell. Poco Pad 5G Verdict: Alright, so should you buy the Poco Pad 5G tablet? Well, in short, yes, because it is a pretty good mid-range tablet. It's got a good high-resolution display with good indoor brightness, it's well built, the performance is not bad, the battery life is pretty good, and you can even play games on the tablet if you like. It offers good value for money. One of its main competitors is the Redmi Pad Pro 5G (Review), but it's priced slightly higher while not offering anything different. The Poco Pad is a better deal here. Then you have the Xiaomi Pad 6 (Review), which is cheaper and offers better performance and cameras but has a smaller display and battery. https://www.gadgets360.com/tablets/reviews/poco-pad-5g-review-6427806#pfrom=indepth

Starting today all Claude.ai users – whether you pay for the service or enjoy it for free – can create and view Artifacts across the website, as well as Android and iOS apps, and it’s an upgrade ChatGPT is sorely lacking. To catch you up to speed on this AI bot, Claude is a ChatGPT rival from Anthropic with similar features – such as being able to be prompted by text, files, and images, or a combination of the three. However, beyond privacy it doesn’t have much that truly sets it apart from the big-name AI – which is perhaps why Claude on iOS saw 157,000 total global downloads in its first week compared with ChatGPT’s 480,000 downloads in its first five days (via TechCrunch). This is where Artifacts could lend a hand in helping Claude finally stand out. As explained by Anthropic in a blog post Artifacts turn conversations with its AI into a more ‘collaborative experience.’ With Artifacts turned on Claude will open a separate window that shows you the project it’s helping to create next to your prompts allowing you to see in real-time what your tweaks and edits look like without needing a third-party tool. To turn on Artifacts, simply navigate to your Claude.AI Profile Settings by clicking on your initials in the lower left corner of the screen, then tap Settings, and then toggle on (or off) the 'Enable Artifacts' option. When you're next using Claude it can start to generate Artifacts though there are some restrictions – such as the content needing to be "significant and self-contained" which Anthropic says is typically "over 15 lines of content." You can check out a more in-depth look at Anthropic's other Artifacts rules on the official FAQ. Examples shown off in the Artifacts announcement video (shown above) include seeing a draft version of a website, or digital games like a virtual Rubik’s Cube. If you see any features you’d like to tweak you can alter your prompts and see how they affect what you’re working on in real time. That’s not offered by ChatGPT, and makes the process of iterating an idea with an AI (especially on mobile) a much more straightforward task. With the rollout of Artifacts users on the Free and Pro plans can also choose to publish their Artifacts, which other users can subsequently remix – altering what others have made to suit their own ideas. Team plan users can share Artifacts too, but only with their teammates. This kind of collaborative AI design process is also something we’ve not really seen before, and we’re excited to see if Artifacts live up to Anthropic’s hype. Nevertheless, coupled with its emphasis on privacy, Claude is shaping up to be a proper ChatGPT rival rather than a mere clone. We’ll have to watch this space but if you’ve been having issues with OpenAI’s bot and want to try something new, Claude could be the bot you need. https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/claude-ai-got-a-major-chatgpt-beating-upgrade-heres-how-to-use-artifacts

Nvidia has published the first MLPerf 4.1 results of its Blackwell B200 processor. The results reveal that a Blackwell GPU offers up to four times the performance of its H100 predecessor based on the Hopper architecture, highlighting Nvidia's position as the leader in AI hardware. There are some caveats and disclaimers that we need to point out, however. Based on Nvidia's results, a Blackwell-based B200 GPU delivers 10,755 tokens/second on a single GPU in a server inference test and 11,264 tokens/second in an offline reference test. A quick look at the publicly available MLPerf Llama 2 70B benchmark results reveals that a 4-way Hopper H100-based machine delivers similar results, lending credence to Nvidia's claim that a single Blackwell processor is about 3.7X– 4X faster than a single Hopper H100 GPU. But we need to dissect the numbers to better understand them. First, Nvidia's Blackwell processor used FP4 precision as its fifth generation Tensor Cores support that format, whereas Hopper-based H100 only supports and uses FP8. These differing formats are allowed by MLPerf guidelines, but FP4 performance in Blackwell doubles its FP8 throughput, so that's the first important item of note. Next, Nvidia is somewhat disingenuous in using a single B200 versus four H100 GPUs. Scaling is never perfect, so a single-GPU tends to be something of a best-case scenario for per-GPU performance. There are no single-GPU H100 results listed for MLPerf 4.1, and only a single B200 result, so it becomes even more apples and oranges. A single H200 achieved 4,488 tokens/s, however, which means B200 is only 2.5X faster for that particular comparison. Memory capacity and bandwidth are also critical factors, and there are big generational differences. The tested B200 GPU carries 180GB of HBM3E memory, H100 SXM has 80GB of HBM (up to 96GB in some configurations), and H200 has 96GB of HBM3 and up to 144GB of HBM3E. One result for single H200 with 96GB HBM3 only achieves 3,114 tokens/s in offline mode. So, there are potential differences in number format, GPU count, and memory capacity and configuration that play into the "up to 4X" figure. Many of those differences are simply due to Blackwell B200 being a new chip with a newer architecture, and all of these things play into its ultimate performance. Getting back to Nvidia's H200 with 141GB of HBM3E memory, it also performed exceptionally well not only in the generative AI benchmark featuring the Llama 2 70B large language model, but also in every single test within the datacenter category. For obvious reasons, it got significantly faster than H100 in tests that take advantage of GPU memory capacity. For now, Nvidia has only shared performance of its B200 in the MLPerf 4.1 generative AI benchmark on Llama 2 70B model. Whether that's because it's still working on tuning or other factors we can't say, but MLPerf 4.1 has nine core disciplines and for now we can only guess how the Blackwell B200 will handle the other tests. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/nvidia-publishes-first-blackwell-b200-mlperf-results-up-to-4x-faster-than-its-h100-predecessor-when-using-fp4

Name of the game: The Callisto Protocol Price: $59.99 - FREE Link Store: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-callisto-protocol Offer ends up after X hours: Sale ends 8/29/2024 at 4:00 PM Requirements:

Thames Water has warned it will not survive unless it is allowed to increase water bills by almost 60% over a five-year period. The UK’s largest water company demanded the bill hike after the wider water industry issued a scathing response to a proposed cap from the regulator for water bill rises. In July, regulator Ofwat proposed an average £19 a year ceiling on water bill rises, with a final decision due in December. But the water industry has argued the increase is not enough and said there was a risk that companies would not be able to raise enough investment to stop things like sewage spills. Water firms have faced a fierce backlash over sewage discharges and leaks in recent years. Critics have also said companies have historically neglected investment in favour of paying executive bonuses and shareholder dividends. It has led to a stand-off between regulator Ofwat and water companies over how much customers should pay. Thames Water has been in the spotlight and faced questions over whether it can survive as it struggles under a £15.2bn debt pile and only has enough cash to fund its operations until the end of May next year. When all water firms put forward requests to Ofwat for bills from 2025 to 2030, Thames originally asked the regulator to increase bills by 44%, but the regulator proposed a 23% rise. On Wednesday, the company announced it wanted to go further, hiking bills by as much as 59%. The proposed changes in bills do not take account of inflation. Such a move would take the average annual water bill to £638 per customer by 2030. Average bills are currently around £443. Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said the money from higher bills would be invested in new infrastructure and improving services. "They [customers] are not being asked to pay twice, but to make up for years of focus on keeping bills low," he said in a response to the regulator. Mr Weston claimed Ofwat's current proposal - a 23% rise in bills - would be "neither financeable nor investible". "It would also prevent the turnaround and recovery of the company," he added. 'No one will invest in water' The warning came after Water UK, the industry body for all water firms, said bills needed to be increased by more in order to stop leaks. David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK, told the BBC people were "right to be angry" at water companies over sewage spills, but said the country had a "system that's tired and it's old". "If Ofwat doesn't change its proposal then investors may not stump up the money that we need," Mr Henderson said. "No rational investor is going to put their money into water right now." Ofwat has proposed a water bill increase limit as part of its draft decision on the business plans of water companies from 2025 to 2030. The proposed increase is a third less than the amount requested by water firms, who argue companies must be able to charge more in order to spend money on fixing leaks. Mr Henderson rejected the idea that the amount paid out in dividends to investors in recent years was part of the reason there was not enough money for companies to invest, rather than just bills being lower. He said returns were set by the regulator Ofwat, adding: "If you want investors to put their money into the UK they need to receive a return." He said without more investment, building projects such as hospitals and housing developments would potentially not be built. 'Absolute balderdash' The GMB union called the claims from water companies "absolute balderdash". "Water companies have had the money, failed to invest in plugging leaks and preventing sewage spills and now want more money to do what they failed to do," said Gary Carter, GMB's national officer. An Ofwat spokesperson told the BBC it would carefully consider all responses to its proposals, which were required by midday on Wednesday. "We expect to receive responses from many organisations, including water companies, customers, environmental and consumer organisations and investors," they said. "These are likely to reflect a diverse range of views on the proposals we have made." Raw sewage spills into England's rivers and the sea by water companies more than doubled last year. A BBC investigation earlier this year revealed sewage had potentially been released illegally 6,000 times in 2022 by England's water companies in breach of their permits. Thames Water, along with Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water face a total of £168m in fines from the regulator for a "failure" to stop years of leaks. Ofwat has suggested a ban on director bonuses until leaks and sewage spills are dealt with. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2lgl9kypno

Beth Bridge is on the front line of the battle to protect Scotland’s bats. She's working with farmers and landowners to create the conditions which would enable these endangered mammals to thrive again. Their numbers have been declining for decades but Beth has been looking at how to plant native trees on agricultural land so they can provide new homes for their roosts in 50 to 100 years time. It's an important step in preparing for a potential influx of bats from southern Europe as climate change pushes species north to cooler regions. Bats love to set up home in the holes and crevices which appear when ancient woodlands begin to decay. Those habitats have been disappearing for a host of reasons including agricultural intensification as well as road and house building. Replacing them will take a long time. Beth, a PhD research student at the University of Edinburgh and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), says bats' insatiable appetite for midges mean they should be seen as a friend to anyone who spends time in the outdoors. It's estimated that one bat can devour as many as 3,000 midges a night. Their reliance on insects means their prevalence is often regarded as a test of the quality of an area's wider ecosystem. She said: "Conserving bats is really important because not only do they indicate when the rest of nature is really happy and healthy, they also provide a really good ecosystem service in the form of eating insects and controlling their po[CENSORED]tions. "This provides pest control for farmers in particular - but it also just helps keep the ecosystem in balance." Protecting and restoring nature is considered by scientists and politicians to be just as important as tackling climate change. The Scottish government has committed to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and reverse it by 2045. But environmental groups have grown concerned about ministers' commitment to biodiversity after funding for nature restoration was redirected into local government pay settlements. They say it's therefore vital that the Scottish ministers include a Natural Environment Bill in their next Programme for Government which sets legally-binding targets for restoring nature. Paul Walton from RSPB Scotland says voluntary targets have not worked and wildlife is still being lost. He added: "We have to do it because nature is critical to our health, our wellbeing, the pollination of our crops, clean water." He said mental health was increasingly linked to nature, and that it was also linked to the economy. "The Scottish tourist industry depends on having a quality environment and we're losing that wildlife," he said. Red light district Scotland has about 10 varieties of bats, all of which are legally protected from disturbance. Volunteers in Aberdeenshire have been trying to raise awareness of their importance by organising guided walks along the River Ythan in Ellon, which is a stronghold for bats. Plans are being drawn up to replace existing LED lights along the bank with red lighting which would decrease light pollution but allow people to see the bats more clearly. Nature groups believe that helping people make a connection with nature is crucial to the protection of wildlife. James Davidson, an ecologist who runs the walks for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, says bats are like the ''canary in the coal mine" because they indicate whether an ecosystem is balanced. He added: "They need the places to roost, the complex environment to be able to move around in, they need the insects to feed on. "They need all these things to be able to live so if they're in trouble it suggests we have widespread problems in our landscape that we need to address." The Scottish government insists it continues to invest in nature with nearly £40m distributed through its Nature Restoration Fund since 2021. A spokesman added: "Further nature protection and restoration will be a key consideration in the upcoming Programme for Government, alongside the future legislative programme, including any plans for a Natural Environment Bill." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj629jrd6edo

Hyundai is going big on hybrids, not only doubling its current offerings with gas-electric power, but also expanding into new-to-it technologies such as EREV (extended-range electric vehicle) while holding fast to its goal of offering more fully electric options by 2030. That's the takeaway from the automaker's 2024 CEO Investor Day, which was billed as the event where Hyundai would reveal "its new mid- to long-term strategy," the so-called "Hyundai Way." Why So Hybrid? Like practically everyone these days, Hyundai is keeping a close eye on EV sales globally. While demand recently softened somewhat, sales of new electric vehicles continue to rise—only the rate of adoption has slowed, something many are starting to realize was a blip of sorts. The graph for EV sales still looks like it'll go up and to the right for the foreseeable future, and Hyundai is therefore aiming to offer 21 all-electric models by the end of this decade, including a "high-performance" model the company confirmed will be the radical N Vision 74 coupe. Still, buyers seem much more bullish on hybrids in the near term. So, in a bid to diversify its portfolio while satisfying electrification-curious buyers (and, surely, fuel economy regulations), Hyundai has announced it will double its hybrid availability from seven models globally to 14, adding that its luxury arm Genesis, too, will eventually offer hybrid power on every model that isn't a dedicated EV (such as the GV60 SUV). Today, Hyundai's compact Elantra (pictured above) and midsize Sonata sedans offer hybrid options, as do the compact Tucson and midsize Santa Fe SUVs. Overseas, you can also buy the subcompact Kona SUV with hybrid power, though here you can choose only gas or all-electric. Hyundai says it will "expand the application of its hybrid system beyond compact and midsize cars to small, large, and luxury vehicles." Though Hyundai didn't confirm anything, expect the next-generation Palisade three-row SUV to get the option, along with perhaps the Santa Cruz compact pickup (which easily could adopt the related Tucson's hybrid bits) and the smaller Kona SUV, which, as mentioned, already is offered in hybrid form elsewhere in the world. The rest would presumably come from Genesis's lineup, including the GV70 and GV80 SUVs, G80 and G90 sedans (though the GV80 Coupe and upper-level G90 are technically mild hybrids already). Get Ready to EREV Your Backup Engines The other big news from Hyundai is its commitment to launching EREV technology in larger vehicles, and soon. Hyundai promises to have EREV powertrains being produced in North America and China for "D-segment" (so: large) Hyundai and Genesis SUVs to be sold in those markets by the end of 2026, with mass production by 2027. Apparently, Hyundai sees 80,000 annual sales from these. What's EREV mean? It stands for extended-range electric vehicle, and it's distinct from the plug-in hybrids Hyundai and others more commonly offer. As the name implies, it's an EV, with a decent-sized battery powering electric motors that in turn propel the car down the road. The whole range-extender part comes in the form of an internal-combustion engine whose sole purpose is to act as an onboard generator for the electric bits. Simply fill the tank with gas, and you can extend the vehicle's effective range beyond a set radius surrounding an EV charger, with the engine kicking on to generate electricity when the battery's initial charge is depleted. A plug-in hybrid operates differently, typically with far more limited EV-only range, and the gas engine not only can charge up the battery but also is a primary motivator that can directly power the drive wheels, helping propel the vehicle along. For a good example of an EREV, look no further than Ram's 1500 Ramcharger pickup truck due out next year. A variant of the all-electric 1500 Rev pickup (confusing name, we know), it has a much smaller battery onboard—but adds in a gas V-6 engine and a fuel tank, which power a generator that extends the truck's range from 140 to 150 miles in EV-only mode to nearly 700 miles. So, use it like an EV around town, and if you ever need to road trip or haul anything without worrying about proximity to chargers or running through the battery too quickly, you can use it like a gas-fed vehicle and rely on the nation's overwhelming network of gas stations. Convenience aside, EREVs are also more cost effective and space efficient—to achieve similar range with batteries alone, a vehicle would need a prohibitively expensive and incredibly large and heavy battery. An engine and a downsized battery, even combined, are far cheaper. Get ready to hear a lot more about EREVs going forward; we recently sniffed out Ford's interest in the technology, and it seems the tech has already begun taking off in China. https://www.motortrend.com/news/hyundai-doubling-hybrids-large-extended-range-ev-suv-erev/

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr says he and his team-mates will leave the pitch if they face any more racism this season. The Brazil forward broke down in a press conference earlier this year when talking about the abuse he has encountered, saying he felt "less and less" like playing football. And now Vinicius Jr says Real will walk off if they need to this season. He told CNN:, external "We do need to leave the field so things can change as soon as possible." Three Valencia fans were recently sentenced to eight months in prison for abusing the frontman at a match on 21 May 2023. The supporters were found guilty of a "crime against moral integrity" with "aggravating circumstance of discrimination based on racist motives." Vinicius Jr said the only way to drive racism out of football altogether may be by stopping matches. "In the club, we talk about it more often," said the 24-year-old. "Not just me, but all [the] players said that if that happens, the next time everyone has to leave the field. So that all of those people who insulted us have to pay a much bigger penalty. "Today I already see and feel the difference in Spain. Maybe [some fans] are still racists but nowadays they are afraid to express themselves in the football field, and in places where there are a lot of cameras. "And with that we will reduce racism, little by little. Of course, we won't be able to end it, but I'm already happy that I'm being able to change Spain's mindset." https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cm2nypj276vo

This couple caused a stink. As if there weren’t enough reasons to bring sanitary wipes on a plane: Two parents have been slammed after they were spotted changing their baby’s dirty diaper at their seats on board a Delta flight. A peeved passenger detailed the odiferous incident in a Reddit post blowing up online. “The people in the row in front of me are changing a poopy diaper in their seats,” the appalled woman wrote painting a putrid picture for readers. “Anyone ever experienced this? The smell is horrendous.” In fact, the stench was so offensive that said passenger reportedly “moved back a couple rows to an empty seat,” she added in the comments. Fortunately, a flight attendant came to the rescue shortly thereafter. “The FA noticed I had moved and asked why so I explained,” the traveler recalled. “She was mortified and thanked me for telling her.” “She told the father it was unsanitary and he needed to do that in the bathroom and thankfully he just said ok and didn’t throw a fit,” she further stated. https://nypost.com/2024/08/28/lifestyle/the-smell-is-horrendous-passenger-appalled-after-couple-changes-dirty-diaper-at-airplane-seat/

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games opening ceremony began in glorious conditions as about 4,400 athletes made their way along the Champs-Elysees to Place de la Concorde. As with the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games opening ceremony is taking place outside of a stadium for the first time in the French capital. The main ceremony is being held at Place de la Concorde, on a perfect summer evening in the heart of the city, following a parade along the Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe. Organisers estimate 65,000 people will be present, with spectators able to watch the parade for free before the ticketed open-air event at Place de la Concorde. Blue, white and red smoke of the Tricolore was released by the Patrouille de France aerial display team in clear skies before the athletes made their entrance. The first of 11 days of sporting action takes place on Thursday as France hosts a summer Paralympic Games for the first time. Athletes from 184 delegations are set to take part in the 22 Paralympic sports, competing for a total of 549 gold medals in Paris. Artistic director Thomas Jolly promised the opening ceremony would be "a spectacle that will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody", and feature "performances that have never been seen before". Wheelchair tennis athlete Lucy Shuker and wheelchair basketball player Terry Bywater will carry the British flag for ParalympicsGB. Sprinter Nantenin Keita and Para-triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant are the French flagbearers at the opening ceremony. International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons believes Paris will deliver "the most spectacular Paralympic Games ever". https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cp8n01jd9p9o

Adding @GreenBoys to the team. Welcome! Adding @protaa to the team. Welcome! Removing @Planet Problems from the team. If you would like to get back to the team, start posting correctly and respect the rules.

DH2, i just like it more

Adding @Planet Problems to the team. Welcome! Adding @SHinCHaN to the team. Welcome!

Motorola seems to be gearing up to unveil the Motorola Edge 50 Neo on August 29. As we wait for the official launch, the upcoming Edge series phone has surfaced on the Geekbench benchmarking site. The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is shown to run on an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC, paired with 8GB RAM. A separate Geekbench listing of a ThinkPhone 25 suggests that Motorola may rebadge the Edge 50 Neo with Lenovo branding. Motorola Edge 50 Neo Listed on Geekbench The unannounced Motorola Edge 50 Neo was spotted on the Geekbench website on Thursday, August 22. The listing indicates that it will ship with Android 14. The phone got 1,055 points in single-core and 3,060 points in multi-core testing. As per the listing, the handset could get 7.26GB of RAM, this may point towards an 8GB RAM variant. An octa-core chipset with the codename Vienna will power the Motorola Edge 50 Neo. It has four cores capped at 2.50GHz and four with a 2.00GHz peak frequency. These CPU speeds are associated with the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. Meanwhile, a separate listing of the Lenovo ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola also popped up on the benchmarking website. The listing suggests the same Vienna chipset, 7.26GB RAM, and overall performance results for the device. It has managed to score 1,039 in the single-core test and 2,833 in the multi-core testing. This scorecard indicates that Motorola may rebadge the phone under its parent Lenovo brand. Motorola Edge 50 Neo Specifications (Expected) Earlier this week Motorola teased the launch of a new smartphone on August 29, which could be the Edge 50 Neo. It is expected to come in Pantone nautical blue, Pantone latte, Pantone poinciana, and Pantone grisaille colour options. The Motorola Edge 50 Neo was recently spotted on a few European retailer websites with a 6.4-inch pOLED (1,220x2,670 pixels) 120Hz display, Android 14, and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. It is expected to carry a triple rear camera unit comprising a 50-megapixel Sony LYT700C primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor. For selfies, it is likely to feature a 32-megapixel front camera. The handset may pack a 4,310mAh battery with 68W fast charging support https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/motorola-edge-50-neo-lenovo-thinkphone-25-geekbench-listing-rebrand-specifications-6401431#pfrom=topstory

Windows 11 can be installed on PCs that don’t meet the hardware requirements of the OS by using a few different workarounds, but one of those fudges no longer works – or at least Microsoft appears to have closed this loophole in testing. The Register reports that as highlighted by Bob Pony on X, the bypass that Microsoft apparently intends to block, known as the ‘setup.exe /product server’ workaround, has indeed been vanquished in preview build 27686 in the Canary channel (released a week ago). What this particular requirement-dodging measure does is to trick the installer into thinking it is setting up Windows Server, when it is in fact installing Windows 11. As Windows Server doesn’t have the same stricter requirements – for example, you don’t need TPM 2.0 – this sneaky installation method will work on a PC that doesn’t officially qualify for Windows 11. Whether it will run properly on such a PC is entirely another matter, and that’s why we wouldn’t recommend using a trick along these lines. That said, people do use this, and other fudges, to install Windows 11 on hardware that is older and not officially compatible, and they manage to run it okay – but it’s a risk, obviously. Analysis: A bug, maybe? It seems unlikely… As The Register points out, it is possible that this is just a bug in the Windows 11 preview build. After all, this is the Canary channel, the earliest testing platform which is more bug-ridden than other builds. However, it’s more probable that this is an intentional move by Microsoft, we’d guess. That being the case, folks do still have time to use the above fudge to install Windows 11, because as Bob Pony makes clear, it still works fine with Windows 11 24H2 (the incoming update expected to land later in the year). This is seemingly a change for Windows 11 in 2025 – but we don’t know for sure, and Microsoft could still be planning on incorporating it in the 24H2 update (it just isn’t in the mix yet). unsupported PC is to use the utility Rufus. So, there are still options out there, although Microsoft is seemingly looking to close these kind of tricks down – perhaps due to the fact that Windows 10 comes to its End of Life next year. Whatever the case, we should underline that we wouldn’t recommend installing any operating system on a device that doesn’t officially support it – at least not for the average user out there, anyway. https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-just-blocked-a-commonly-used-trick-to-install-windows-11-on-a-pc-that-doesnt-meet-the-system-requirements

Lip-Bu Tan, a seasoned figure in the high-tech industry, has stepped down from Intel's board of directors after two years of service, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. His departure, effective immediately, comes at a critical time for Intel as the company faces financial difficulties and implements major organizational changes that involve laying off some 15,000 or more employees. "I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Intel Board of Directors," said Lip-Bu Tan after informing Intel about his decision on Monday. "This is a personal decision based on a need to reprioritize various commitments and I remain supportive of the company and its important work." SeekingAlpha reports that Intel's stock dropped 6.1% following Intel's announcement of Lip-Bu Tan's departure. Lip-Bu Tan, a former CEO and the current executive chairman of Cadence, a leading supplier of electronic design automation tools and IP, joined Intel's board of directors in 2022 after the company announced its IDM 2.0 efforts to become a significant contract maker of semiconductors. Lip-Bu Tan's investment company, Walden International, has invested in semiconductor, alternative energy, and digital media companies and startups in the U.S. and Asia, including Ambarella, Creative Technology, S3 Graphics, and Sina Corp. Sina owns Weibo (a microblogging site in China) and four other business lines. Given Lip-Bu Tan's experience at Cadence and his investment company, he was a treasured board member at Intel. Intel's board has 12 directors, led by chairman Frank D. Yeary, who spent his entire career in the financial industry. In fact, among the board of directors of Intel, two have an academic background in electrical and computer engineering and experience in a semiconductor company; one has worked in the PC industry; and two—Pat Gelsinger and Stacy Smith—are either existing or former executives at Intel. Others have worked outside of the semiconductor industry. Intel's stock tumbled by about 30%, erasing around $39 billion in market capitalization in just a few days, from late July to early August. On July 31, Intel's market cap was $130.86 billion at the close of the NYSE. After reports of massive layoffs, it dropped to $123.96 billion on August 1. Following Intel's financial report and a substantial $1.6 billion loss, the valuation fell further to $91.86 billion. Intel's current market cap at press time is $88.43 billion, highlighting that the company has lost over half its market value since the beginning of the year. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/high-tech-industry-legend-leaves-intel-board-intels-stock-dropped-6-since-the-announcement

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The judiciary has asked magistrates' courts to delay sending some criminals to prison in the coming weeks because of the unprecedented overcrowding crisis. The direction to court managers comes as officials battle daily to find cells for offenders, ahead of a new release strategy in September. In the instruction, a senior judge urged court managers to delay the sentencing of some offenders if they are likely to be jailed, but are currently on bail. Official figures show that the number of prison beds available across England and Wales has fallen to the point where there are now only a few available in each institution. As of Friday morning, there were 88,234 people in jails. The po[CENSORED]tion had risen by 738 the past fortnight, leaving about 1,100 spare beds. Many of the new inmates are either convicted rioters or suspects being held on remand before facing trial for their alleged part in disorder that occurred across England and Northern Ireland in late July and early August. The direction to magistrates' courts managers, sent on Wednesday, came from Lord Justice Green, a senior judge who overseas the workload of the courts. He asked local officials to carefully consider how they were scheduling cases ahead of the Ministry of Justice’s plan for more early releases, which is set to come into force on 10 September. The judge wrote that local court managers should review all cases listed for sentence up to and including 6 September where the defendant is currently on bail. If a jail sentence is a possible outcome, consideration should be given to rescheduling the hearing as soon as possible, but not earlier than 10 September. “The following direction is made in the context of the current challenges in our prisons,” wrote the judge. "Every case must be considered on an individual basis and decisions must be made on the basis of the interests of justice. It follows that this needs to be a careful process.” The wording of the direction is not a blanket order to delay the sentencing of every offender who may be jailed - and it only affects those who would face a maximum of six months - but it is the second emergency measure in a week aimed at managing the crisis in jails. On Monday, the government asked police in northern England and most of the midlands to keep newly-charged suspects waiting for a court appearance in police cells until prison space is available. From 10 September, some offenders will be released on a licence after serving 40% of their sentences in prison. That plan aims to free up several thousand cells, but it is no longer clear if it will be enough because of all the additional offenders and suspects related to the riots. Tom Franklin, head of the Magistrates’ Association, said the direction to local courts was “another sticking plaster”. “This latest emergency measure – while it may be necessary to deal with prison overcrowding until the big release of prisoners on 10 September – demonstrates the need for an injection of more resources at every stage of the justice process,” he said. “We also need a grown-up discussion about the purpose of prison, and indeed other types of sentences such as community sentences.” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y586gg147o

Two new rhinos have arrived at a safari park as another member of the herd prepares to leave. Granville, a five-year-old male, moved to Woburn Safari Park, Bedfordshire, on 20 August and three-year-old female Azeeza arrived later that day from Safari Zoo Cumbria. But the keepers are preparing to say goodbye to Bonnie, Granville's aunt and a "much loved" member of the herd, who is moving to West Midlands Safari Park. Keeper Zack Turner said: "It's always sad to see any of our animals go, especially Bonnie. She's a great rhino to work with and has so much personality." "Although it's sad to see her go, the chance to hopefully have a breeding group of rhino, with the introduction of Granville, is something that excites us all," he added. To ensure a smooth transition for Bonnie, the safari park keepers have spent training time with her, making sure she feels comfortable and at ease for her journey. The process has involved using the crate as a tunnel between the house and the sand yard, which has helped her become familiar and comfortable with it in the weeks leading up to the move. Southern white rhinos are classified as "near threatened" due to poaching and habitat loss in the wild. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdl9v3z4leo

George Russell set the pace as Mercedes and McLaren both headed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Friday practice at the Dutch Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver was 0.061 seconds quicker than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton third, 0.111secs off the pace, and the second McLaren of Lando Norris fourth. Championship leader Verstappen was only fifth fastest, 0.284secs off the pace, and team-mate Sergio Perez down in 11th. Fernando Alonso was sixth fastest, ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Williams’ Alex Albon completed the top 10. After the first session started in wet conditions before drying, the second was held in sunny weather, although the strong, blustery wind continued, leading to a number of drivers to run wide at the first corner, because of a strong tail wind down the pit straight. But there was only one crash - Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg spinning on entry to Tarzan, skidding across the gravel trap and ending up in the barriers to bring out the red flag for a few minutes. On race pace, Norris was in impressive form in the McLaren, which has its first performance upgrade since the Miami Grand Prix in May. Norris led the way on the medium tyres, appearing on first impressions of lap times comfortably quicker than both Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc. On the soft tyre, Russell led the way on race pace, a fair bit quicker than Piastri. Red Bull also have an upgrade as Verstappen seeks his first win since the Spanish Grand Prix in mid-June, six races ago. In the first session, Norris was 0.201 seconds faster than Verstappen, with Hamilton third fastest, his fastest lap time affected by traffic. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, on medium-compound tyres rather than the soft used by those ahead of him, was fourth. The Spaniard’s running in the second session was curtailed by a gearbox problem after just seven laps. https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/articles/cd9dygx2lwlo

This controversial style is making the cut for the hottest hairstyle of the year. The mini mullet — a short, textured style described as having a “’70s/’80s rockstar vibe” — is shaping up to be one of the most po[CENSORED]r haircuts among the hunks of Hollywood and their Gen Z admirers on social media. Paul Mescal — a master of minis from mullets to shorts — has adopted the more subdued version of the “business in the front, party in the back” look as part of his signature style. Meanwhile, actors Jacob Elordi and Austin Butler have started rocking the cut, and Harry Styles’ new summer look has drummed up buzz among fans who swooned over his tresses. In Tinseltown, the proliferation of the updated mullet — a traditionally controversial and oft-ridiculed cut once associated with a rebellious edginess — has spurred a larger trend at barbershops around the world, as customers clamor for the hottest new ‘do. In the UK, Club 13 owner Ryan Lewis told The Independent that one-third of his clients request much-maligned mullets, while Bristol barber James Doyle has seen the style spread beyond “musicians and creatives” to accountants and beyond. In addition to the cool factor of a mini mullet, the style is also po[CENSORED]r among the ladies. One anonymous woman, who was named under the pseudonym Mia, said she’s a fan of “guys with mullets,” telling GQ they’re “funny and naughty.” “A mullet kinda says that they’re confident, and down with the times. And probably fun. And probably a bit cheeky,” 27-year-old Sally, who declined to provide her last name, told the outlet. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Megan, who did not provide her last name to GQ, said a mullet is a “signpost that you’re not … well, basic.” The po[CENSORED]rity of the cut has even tempted celebrity hairstylist Halley Brisker to try it himself, although he’s refrained. https://nypost.com/2024/08/23/lifestyle/gen-z-guys-are-crazy-about-the-mini-mullet-and-these-celebs-are-making-cheeky-cut-cool-again/

A 10-month-old baby has been partially paralysed after contracting polio in Gaza, United Nations officials have said. According to the UN, Gaza, now in its 11th month of war, has not registered a polio case for 25 years, although type 2 poliovirus was detected in samples collected from the territory’s wastewater in June. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is "gravely concerned" and confirmed that efforts are under way to roll out a vaccination programme in the coming weeks. The 10-month-old, who was unvaccinated, is said to be in a stable condition after developing paralysis in one leg. Poliovirus, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly infectious. It can cause disfigurement and paralysis, and is potentially fatal. It mainly affects children under the age of five. Humanitarian groups have blamed the re-emergence of polio in Gaza on disruption to child vaccination programmes and massive damage to water and sanitation systems caused by the war. In order to try to contain the spread, the UN has been pressing for a week-long pause in fighting to carry out a polio vaccination campaign for more than 640,000 children under the age of 10. UN Secretary General António Guterres said "hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza [are] at risk". He said that for the campaign to be successful, transport of vaccines and required equipment would need to be facilitated, as well as the entry of polio experts into Gaza. Adequate fuel, increased flow of cash, reliable communications and the ensured safety of both health workers and people reaching health facilities were also needed, he said. WHO has approved the release of 1.6 million doses of vaccine, UNICEF is coordinating their delivery along with cold storage units and UNRWA’s medical teams will administer the vaccines once they arrive in Gaza. UNICEF’s Executive Director Catherine Russel said that the re-emergence of the virus in the strip after 25 years is "another sobering reminder of how chaotic, desperate and dangerous the situation has become". On 18 August, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said since the beginning of the war, 282,126 vials of the polio vaccine, sufficient for 2,821,260 doses, have been sent to Gaza. It said in the coming weeks, an additional 60,000 vaccines will be delivered to vaccinate over one million children. According to the IDF, entry to the Gaza Strip for vaccines and epidemic prevention is being facilitated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), "This includes the entry of medical teams and vaccines against the polio virus," the IDF said. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. More than 40,265 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and combatant deaths. The UN human rights office says most of those killed were women and children. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevjz7zreyxo