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OnePlus 15 is said to be in development as the successor to the current OnePlus 13 flagship model. It is expected to go official later this year. Ahead of its anticipated debut, possible colourways of the handset have been leaked by a tipster. The OnePlus 15 is said to be offered in three colour options, headlined by a Dune shade, which is also expected to feature in all of the marketing materials. Alongside, the tipster has also revealed the weight of each of the colour options of the OnePlus 15. OnePlus 15 Colour Options (Expected) This information comes from a Weibo post by tipster Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese). The OnePlus 15 is said to be available in Absolute Black, Dune, and Mist Purple (translated from Chinese) colourways. The Dune option will be the one OnePlus is speculated to use in the handset's marketing materials, in anticipation of its launch. However, all the colourways of the OnePlus 15 will have a slight difference in terms of weight, according to the post by Digital Chat Station on Weibo. The Dune colour variant of the purported OnePlus 15 will might be the lightest at 211g. On the other hand, the Absolute Black and Mist Purple colour options are both expected to weigh 215g. Leaked renders suggest that the handset will come with a redesigned camera island, sporting a square module instead of the circular one on the OnePlus 13. In terms of specifications, the OnePlus 15 is speculated to sport a 6.78-inch flat LTPO OLED panel with 1.5K resolution and up to 165Hz refresh rate. For optics, the handset is rumoured to feature a triple camera setup, comprising a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 50-megapixel secondary camera, and a 50-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. OnePlus also recently confirmed that the brand is developing its proprietary image engine, called DetailMax. While it is still in the early prototype phase, the OnePlus 15 could become the first smartphone to ship with it. The purported handset is speculated to pack a 7,000mAh or higher-capacity battery. For reference, the OnePlus 13 was launched with a 6,000mAh battery pack. It is expected to be accompanied by support for 100W wired fast charging. https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/oneplus-15-colour-options-leak-weibo-digital-chat-station-9250313
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Microsoft is changing the Copilot app in Windows 11 so that it presents the user with an experience more like the Start menu, rather than the current chat-based home page. Windows Latest reports that a new update for the Copilot app, which is currently being rolled out to all Windows 11 users via the Microsoft Store, applies a substantial makeover to the home page for the AI assistant (as seen in testing previously). Currently there's a chat-style interface where your typed query is central, much like the web version of Copilot (as shown in the image above), but the new app transforms the home page into something more akin to the Start menu (see the image below). As Windows Latest points out, you still get the greeting from Copilot, and the key query (chat) box, but there are now four new panels adorning the screen providing various extras. These include links to jump straight back into files you've recently used, as well as conversations with Copilot you've had in the past, that you can rekindle should you wish. A further panel offers the ability to 'Work on Copilot Pages' which allows for working on writing and coding projects (that require plentiful editing and revisions), and a fourth panel offers guided help with apps. The latter kicks off a Copilot Vision session with the app in question, giving you tips and advice on using the application. Windows Latest also uncovered references that suggest Copilot's ChatGPT-powered Agent is coming to the AI app in Windows 11. Agent offers the ability to carry out certain tasks for you, such as booking travel tickets, and the tech site believes it might arrive in the next update for the Copilot app (add seasoning appropriately). As noted, all this has previously been seen in testing, but is apparently now rolling out in full. That said, the rollout is an ongoing process, and not everyone will see the new home page for the Copilot app right now – it'll take a while to filter through to all Windows 11 PCs. The broad idea here is hooking the Copilot app's tentacles into more of Windows 11. In other words, Microsoft is going beyond simple AI queries with the app, and integrating more of what you might need to do in the operating system. So, for example, you can click on a document flagged in the recently-used files panel of the Copilot app, and it'll fire it up in Word on the desktop. Granted, the new app's home page isn't all that like the Start menu, but you can see it taking cues from that central part of the Windows 11 interface, and that raises an interesting prospect. Right now, we're looking at a Start menu-style design in the Copilot app; but in the future, will that idea be flipped around? By which I mean: will we be looking at a Start menu that's fully based on the Copilot AI? If we take the infusion of AI into Windows 11 – which is clearly happening – to its logical conclusion, Copilot is going to get everywhere, and the Start menu may end up looking something like this new take on the Copilot app. It'll center on queries (including local searches) driven by the AI, and offer not just quick access to your apps, but help with them – and doubtless we can expect Copilot to power recommendations, too. (Maybe that'll make the latter more helpful; or maybe not, and they'll continue to be a vehicle for Microsoft's nudges-bordering-on-ads). This feels like an obvious way forward for Microsoft, so perhaps with this Copilot app redesign we've just caught our first glimpse of the future of the Start menu in Windows 12 (or whatever the next-gen OS ends up being called). Or maybe this AI thing will all blow over (but you don't believe that any more than I do, do you?). https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-makes-major-change-to-copilot-app-and-im-wondering-if-this-is-a-glimpse-of-windows-12s-start-menu
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Nvidia has announced its new Rubin CPX GPU today, a "purpose-built GPU designed to meet the demands of long-context AI workloads." The Rubin CPX GPU, not to be confused with a plain Rubin GPU, is an AI accelerator/GPU focused on maximizing the inference performance of the upcoming Vera Rubin NVL144 CPX rack. As AI workloads evolve, the computing architectures designed to power them are evolving in tandem. Nvidia's new strategy for boosting inference, termed disaggregated inference, relies on multiple distinct types of GPUs working in tandem to reach peak performance. Compute-focused GPUs will handle what it calls the "context phase," while different chips focused on memory bandwidth will handle the throughput-intensive "generation phase." The company explains that cutting-edge AI workloads involving multi-step reasoning and persistent memory, like AI video generation or agentic AI, benefit from the availability of huge amounts of context information. Inference for these large AI models has become the new frontier for AI hardware development, as opposed to training those models. To this end, Rubin CPX GPU is designed to be a workhorse for the compute-intensive context phase of disaggregated inference (more on that below), while the standard Rubin GPU can handle the more memory-bandwidth-limited generation phase. Rubin CPX is good for 30 petaFLOPs of raw compute performance on the company's new NVFP4 data type, and it has 128 GB of GDDR7 memory. For reference, the standard Rubin GPU will be able to reach 50 PFLOPs of FP4 compute and is paired with 288 GB of HBM4 memory. Early renders of the Rubin CPX GPU, such as the one above, appear to feature a single-die GPU design. The Rubin GPU will be a dual-die chiplet design, and as pointed out by ComputerBase, one-half of a standard Rubin would output 25 PFLOPs FP4; this leads some to speculate that Rubin CPX is a single, hyper-optimized slice of a full-fat Rubin GPU. The choice to include GDDR7 on the rather than HBM4 is also one of optimization. As mentioned, disaggregated inference workflows will split the inference process between the Rubin and Rubin CPX GPUs. Once the compute-optimized Rubin CPX has built the context for a task, for which the performance parameters of GDDR7 are sufficient, it will then pass the ball to a Rubin GPU for the generation phase, which benefits from the use of high-bandwidth memory. Rubin CPX will be available inside Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL144 CPX rack, coming with Vera Rubin in 2026. The rack, which will contain 144 Rubin GPUs, 144 Rubin CPX GPUs, 36 Vera CPUs, 100 TB of high-speed memory, and 1.7 PB/s of memory bandwidth, is slated to produce 8 exaFLOPs NVFP4. This is 7.5x higher performance than the current-gen GB300 NVL72, and beats out the 3.6 exaFLOPs of the base Vera Rubin NVL144 without CPX. Nvidia claims that $100 million spent on AI systems with Rubin CPX could translate to $5 billion in revenue. For more about what all we know about the upcoming Vera Rubin AI platform, see our premium coverage of Nvidia's roadmap. We'll expect to see Rubin, Rubin CPX, and Vera Rubin altogether in person at Nvidia's presentation at GTC 2026 this March. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/nvidia-rubin-cpx-forms-one-half-of-new-disaggregated-ai-inference-architecture-approach-splits-work-between-compute-and-bandwidth-optimized-chips-for-best-performance
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A dozen sleek grey Yangtze finless porpoises glide inside a vast pool at the Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan as scientists find ways to protect and breed the rare mammals in China's longest river. The finless porpoise has become a barometer of the river's health. The po[CENSORED]tion of the critically endangered species plunged from over 2,500 in the 1990s to just 1,012 in 2017 due to pollution, boat traffic and illegal fishing that depleted food supplies, researchers said. The change alarmed the scientific community, including veteran researcher Wang Ding. He led an international team on a 2006 search for Baiji dolphins, another species that was nearing extinction. Despite a nine-day search, not a single dolphin was found and the Baiji was declared functionally extinct. The last captive Baiji dolphin hangs at a museum along with other rare aquatic species. "We feared that if this animal cannot survive in the Yangtze, the other species will, like dominoes, disappear one by one from the river," Wang said. Conservation efforts sprung into place. The Yangtze River Protection Law was enacted in 2021, banning fishing for 10 years, relocating factories and prohibiting sewage and chemical runoffs into the river. Today, the po[CENSORED]tion of Yangtze finless porpoises is edging upward at around 1,300. To protect the Chinese sturgeon, also a critically endangered species, scientists began artificially breeding and releasing thousands of the fish into the Yangtze with the hope of restoring the wild po[CENSORED]tion. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-photos-scientists-rare-endangered-animals.html
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After pro-Palestinian protesters against Israel forced a premature end to yet another stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday, race director Javier Guillen said the intention is to finish the race in Madrid on Sunday as planned and called the disruptions illegal. Stage 16 ended 8 kilometers before the finish after a large protest blocked the road 3 kilometers from the scheduled stage end, similar to stage 11 when riders had to finish 3 kilometers from the line due to protesters causing disruption at the finish in Bilbao. “I’m here before you because, from La Vuelta, we want to clearly express our strongest rejection of what we experienced today,” Guillen told reporters. “Fortunately, the stage was completed in terms of timing and the stage winner but, obviously, the stage did not end where we had planned. “The main message I want to share with you today is that we are going to continue with La Vuelta, and tomorrow we will start the next stage.” The focus of the protests has been the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team at the Vuelta, with the demonstrators opposed to Israel over its ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas. The first disruption came during stage five’s team time trial when the Israel-Premier Tech team were stopped on the road by protesters holding Palestinian flags. Since then, riders have crashed because of protesters’ actions and, while Israel-Premier Tech removed their name from the riders’ jerseys on Saturday, Tuesday’s events show that this has had no effect on the protesters. Videos on social media showed them attempting to block the road, with Spanish police trying to push them back and dragging some away. “Complicit… get out of here,” protestors chanted at police. “You cannot cut stages short, you cannot block the cyclists’ path,” Guillen said. “It’s illegal because it’s defined as such both in the Penal Code and in the Sports Law. We are a sport and sport is meant to unite, anything that doesn’t serve that purpose isn’t linked to sport. “We want to defend our sport, we want to defend our race, and that’s why we want to keep working.” No suspension There have been calls to suspend the Israel-Premier Tech team from the race, but Guillen reiterated the Vuelta’s stance that this is a decision which is out of the organizers’ hands. “Yesterday, there was a match between Italy and Israel. A football match was played, and a European Cup in which Israel participated has taken place,” Guillen said following Monday’s soccer World Cup qualifier played in Hungary. “The participation of these teams is not prohibited because no international federation has done so, none. And there hasn’t been any international body that has imposed sanctions requiring us, the world of sport, to act accordingly. “From now on, what we want is for the race to continue because all the teams participating in La Vuelta have legitimacy.” Guillen said the Vuelta is deploying every possible resource when it comes to security, but it is impossible to cover every area in a race of this size. The director was asked if a Plan B was in place for Sunday’s final stage. “No Plan B for reaching Madrid, no replacing the Madrid stage, absolutely not,” Guillen replied. Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. https://www.timesofisrael.com/vuelta-director-vows-cycling-race-to-go-ahead-after-latest-anti-israel-disruption/
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Every chef longs to open their own restaurant so, when I did, it felt like a dream. I had been away working in some of the best restaurants in Europe. My business partner had a great spot for a restaurant in the centre of Dnipro, my home city in Ukraine, and we opened to rave reviews. My team and I were all a similar age and we had a shared vision: to create modern Ukrainian food. But by February 2022, just three months later, we knew war with Russia was likely. I was already in touch with friends in the army and, if Russia invaded, I knew I would fight. When the war started, all the team gathered in the restaurant and I said I would understand if anybody wanted to leave Dnipro and move west, where it was safer, which lots of people were doing. Nobody wanted to. We decided that anyone who wasn’t going to join the army would keep the restaurant going. The team started cooking for hospitals and the national guard, and making up food packs for people who needed them. The war was a massive shock for us, but it was also a time when everyone pulled together. Suppliers were helping – they would call and say: “We’ve got 10kg of sweet potato, do you want them?” You would put a message on the group chat with other restaurants and bars saying you’d had a request to feed 400 people. Other restaurants in the city would give or swap food. Everyone was sharing – it was a new way of operating. A few months later, when it was clear we would have to live with this new reality of war, the restaurant reopened to customers again. People still wanted this aspect of normality but they wanted it to be quick. Any time sirens would warn of missile attacks, staff invited people to the restaurant’s cellar, which we had turned into a shelter, and they would take their plates and a glass of wine downstairs. All this time, while I had been away in the army, my team was keeping me informed. I missed them and the restaurant, and I was glad they could keep it going, but I wasn’t focused on my business; I was focused on the war. I was sent to the Kyiv region to begin with. It was confusing – you would look at the sky and not know if the drone or plane flying over was yours or the Russians’. We were watching YouTube videos of how to operate the anti-tank missiles. We would do whatever needed doing on that particular day: reconnaissance, flying drones, holding a position, rescuing another unit. It was stressful and sometimes frightening. Everyone knew I was a chef and I started advising army cooks on what to put in dishes. When our unit was sent north to Kharkiv, we would stay in small groups in abandoned houses. I’d find tins of anchovies or bottles of wine, or pick edible flowers and herbs we found growing in gardens, such as rosemary and sorrel. Cooking together and sharing food became an important part of our days. In the downtime, I would think up recipes and keep notes, always thinking one day I would be back in a restaurant. In late 2023, I met Polina Sychova, who would become my new business partner; she was planning to open a Ukrainian restaurant in London, and she wanted me to be involved. I didn’t want to leave the men in my unit – for a year and a half, we had lived together, fought together, eaten together – but they encouraged me to follow my passion. The guys I had been living and fighting alongside joked that they were glad I was going, because they were sick of hearing me talk about food. My commander agreed that I should go, and helped get me all the authorisation documents I needed to leave. I’m still in touch with my unit every week. I opened a restaurant, Sino, in London in May this year, and the kitchen team is almost all Ukrainian. I had fought on the battlefield but I felt I could have a different mission. Cooking is a form of soft power – I also work with our embassy and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine, consulting on how to promote Ukrainian food culture and cuisine on an international level. Being in an army unit taught me a lot about the discipline of running a kitchen, and about life in general. Fighting and living through war means you have a good perspective on what real problems look like. It’s not a problem if we are running out of walnuts, or if we break one of the expensive plates – in the scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. Before, I could be angry or emotional, and a perfectionist, but war taught me to value what is really important in life. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/10/a-moment-that-changed-me-eugene-korolev-chef-joined-the-ukrainian-army
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Nepal's army has deployed patrols on the streets of the capital Kathmandu, as the Himalayan nation reels from its worst unrest in decades. Fierce protests against corruption and nepotism spiralled further on Tuesday into arson and violence. The prime minister resigned as politicians' homes were vandalised, government buildings were set ablaze and parliament was stormed and torched. But the "Gen Z" groups spearheading the protests have distanced themselves from the destruction, saying the movement has been "hijacked by "opportunist" infiltrators. On Wednesday the streets of Kathmandu appeared calm, but smoke was still rising from burning buildings and charred vehicles lay on roads. Nationwide curfews are in place until Thursday morning, the army has said, warning of punishment for anyone involved in violence and vandalism. Twenty seven people have been arrested for their involvement in violence and lootings and 31 firearms have been found, it added. The military is attempting to control a volatile situation, with PM KP Sharma Oli's resignation leaving a leadership vacuum. His government's abortive attempt to ban social media triggered the demonstrations that saw 19 protesters killed in clashes with police on Monday. Those deaths only fuelled the unrest on Tuesday. Scenes of violence and vandalism have come to illustrate the visceral intensity of the anti-government demonstrations. Thousands of inmates have escaped from prisons around Kathmandu in the chaos, local officials told BBC Nepali. Five young inmates were killed late on Tuesday when security forces opened fire at escapees from a juvenile correctional facility in Banke, in western Nepal. The overall toll has since risen to more than 20. The military has invited the Gen Z protesters to engage in peace talks. The student leaders are consolidating a fresh list of demands, one of their representatives told the BBC. But many protesters are worried that the movement has been co-opted by "infiltrators". Tuesday's protest "organised by Nepal's Generation Z, was conducted with a clear vision: to demand accountability, transparency, and an end to corruption," read a statement issued by protesters. "Our movement was and remains non-violent and rooted in the principles of peaceful civic engagement." The authors of the statement said they were actively volunteering on the ground to "responsibly manage" the situation, safeguard citizens and protect public property. They also said no further protests were scheduled from Wednesday onwards, and called on the military and police to implement curfews as necessary. "Our intent has never been to disrupt daily life or to allow others to misuse our peaceful initiative," the statement said. The army too has alleged that various "individuals and anarchist groups" had infiltrated the protests and were damaging private and public property. "We are mainly in the process of controlling elements who are taking advantage of the situation to loot, set fires and cause various incidents," military spokesman Rajaram Basnet told the BBC. What led to the protests? The demonstrations were ostensibly triggered by the government's decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook - but they have since grown to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal's political elite. In the weeks before the ban, a "nepo kid" campaign, spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children and allegations of corruption, had taken off on social media. And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum, plunging the nation into chaos. On Tuesday, protests continued unabated. A crowd in Kathmandu torched the headquarters of the Nepali Congress Party, which is part of the governing coalition, and the house of its leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, a former PM. In the capital Kathmandu, several locations have been targeted by anti-corruption protesters since Monday. Hundreds of protesters broke into and torched the country's parliament building, smashing windows and spray-painting graffiti and anti-corruption messages on the walls. The Singha Durbar, a large complex in the city that houses Nepal's government offices, was also stormed, and the Supreme Court on Wednesday announced that it had postponed all hearings of pending cases indefinitely due to severe damage. "Since the case files, servers, and the courtroom were severely damaged in the fire, the hearings scheduled for today have been postponed," said a notice issued by the Supreme Court's chief registrar. "The hearings scheduled for tomorrow are also postponed until further notice." On Tuesday afternoon, in a self-proclaimed bid to pave the way for a constitutional solution, Prime Minister Oli stepped down. "In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution," Oli wrote in his letter to President Ramchandra Paudel. But it's not clear who will replace him - or what happens next, with seemingly no-one in charge. "Looking ahead, we believe Nepal's future leadership must be free from entrenched political party affiliations, fully independent, and selected on the basis of competence, integrity, and qualifications," the Gen Z protesters said in their statement on Tuesday. "We demand a transparent and stable government that works in the interest of the people and not for the benefit of corrupt individuals or political elites," they added. "Our goal remains firm: a proper government with qualified, non-corrupt leaders." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd1ndmrej0o
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Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics has imposed another round of layoffs, putting an undisclosed number of people out of work in the face of "evolving business conditions." "Today we made the very difficult decision to part ways with a number of our talented colleagues as the result of evolving business conditions," the studio announced in a message posted on LinkedIn. "This decision was not made lightly. It was necessary, however, to ensure the long-term health of our studio and core creative priorities in a continually shifting market." This is the second round of layoffs for Crystal Dynamics, which put 17 people out of work in March, cuts that were also made to ensure "the studio's future success." Crystal Dynamics took another hit in July when Microsoft cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot as part of its layoff of roughly 9,000 employees across its company. That project was being led by The Initiative, which was closed following the cancellation, but Crystal Dynamics came on board as co-developer in 2021, and the cancellation appears to be at least partly responsible for these layoffs: Multiple employees who have been let go by the studio specified in their LinkedIn profiles that they were working on the Perfect Dark reboot, and one, narrative designer Leilan Nishi, said her layoff came "in the aftermath of Perfect Dark's cancellation." The Embracer-owned studio said people who no longer had jobs as a result of the cuts will be offered "the full extent of support and resources at our disposal," and thanked remaining employees and fans for their "continued support as we build a creative, sustainable, and resilient tomorrow together." It also confirmed that "the future of Tomb Raider" will not be impacted by the cuts. The future of Tomb Raider is also kind of unclear, however. The 'Unified Lara' art released in early 2024 seemed to suggest that something was in the works, and the new-look Lara has since appeared in Pinball FX and World of Tanks, but there's been no subsequent word of when to expect an actual new Tomb Raider game. The most recent, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was released in 2018. The layoffs at Crystal Dynamics feel similar to recent cuts seen at Romero Games, which cancelled an in-development FPS and laid off employees after losing funding for the project: Not part of Microsoft, but still forced to let people go as a result of Microsoft's deep cuts. But that industry instability has also helped fuel a push for increased unionization: Just today, more than 450 people on the Diablo development team at Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard voted to unionize, in part a response to the lack of job stability and near-constant threat of mass layoffs. The past few months have also seen Blizzard's World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2 teams form unions, as has Microsoft-owned Bethesda Game Studios. I've reached out to Crystal Dynamics parent company Embracer to ask how many people have been let go and will update if I receive a reply. https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/were-still-feeling-aftershocks-from-microsofts-destructive-july-layoffs-and-cancellations/
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Flipkart Big Billion Days sale is now confirmed to begin on September 23. While the company has not revealed the devices that will carry big discounts, it has shared a new promotional photo hinting that Apple's last year's flagship, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, will be priced under Rs. 1,00,000. This would make it the first time this smartphone will be available for such a low price. We expect this to be a limited-period deal, and the prices can rise again as the sale progresses. So, if you are planning to buy the smartphone, you should aim to make the purchase as soon as the deal goes live. After confirming the starting date for the Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale on Thursday, the e-commerce giant has been slowly teasing the smartphones that are likely to get a discounted price during the sale event. Some of them include the iPhone 16, Samsung Galaxy S24, OnePlus Buds 3, and Motorola Edge 60 Pro. Apart from smartphones and TWS earbuds, individuals can also find deals on Intel PCs, 55-inch smart TVs, and front-loading washing machines.On Saturday, the e-commerce platform shared a new promotional photo, highlighting that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be priced “from xx,xxx”. While the company did not reveal the exact price it will be selling for, by just showing five digits, it has confirmed that the smartphone will not be priced over Rs. 1 Lakh. To put it into perspective, at launch, the iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB variant of the phone was priced at Rs. 1,44,900. The sale also presents a good opportunity for people wanting to buy last year's flagship iPhone. This is because, like every year, once the iPhone 17 series is launched (expected on September 9), Apple will discontinue the previous year's Pro models. Once discontinued, the phones will not be available on the Apple Store, and other vendors will not get fresh units in their stock. Gadgets 360 recently wrote a “re-review” of the iPhone 16 Pro Max to highlight how well the smartphone holds up after 365 days of usage. The reviewer found the battery health to be exceptional, staying at 100 percent even after 200 recharge cycles. Reliable performance and a performant camera were also the highlights. You can check the long-term review to know what to expect from the smartphone in the long run. https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/flipkart-big-billion-days-sale-iphone-16-pro-max-price-under-rs-1-lakh-9228333
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Windows 11 has had its fair share of negatives in the past few months, many of which I've highlighted as a PC gamer, leading me to seek the best alternative operating systems available. However, one of Microsoft's utility applications is introducing an update that could be great for personalization. PowerToys' next update (0.95) will introduce an automatic switch feature, which will switch between light and dark themes based on Windows users' schedules, as reported by Windows Latest. The announcement comes alongside the release of update 0.94, which includes numerous improvements and bug fixes. This could go a long way in providing a better-personalized Windows experience, and is a feature that's likely viewed as long overdue by users; macOS has had this feature for years, and while it may seem like a minor addition, it goes a long way in contributing to eye strain prevention alongside Night Light. I've used PowerToys for a long time, and it's easily one of Windows' biggest highlights, with features that make life much easier for multitasking and work; the Always On Top feature simply pins a selected application to the front, allowing you to interact with other windows wit One might ask why Microsoft doesn't just integrate a majority of the features available in PowerToys into Windows 11 natively, but considering the bug and error-filled experience with Windows 11 24H2 recently, it's perhaps a better idea for Microsoft to keep these tools separate within PowerToys. Analysis: if Windows 11 had its 'full-screen experience' earlier alongside PowerToys, I'd be less critical I've not been a fan of Windows (specifically Windows 11) for a long while, and that's a shame, since it's been my one and only operating system for many years for work and gaming. Windows 11 24H2 has had plenty of bugs, many of which would either spoil multitasking or gaming, with game devs forced to push updates due to functionality issues. Specifically for gaming, this could all be avoided with a SteamOS-like interface with minimal background processes; the answer is the new 'full-screen experience' provided by the Xbox app, which is built for the new ROG Xbox Ally, and which will be exclusive to the device before rolling out to others next year. With the combination of PowerToys and a gaming-friendly mode, Windows 11 can thrive and put itself back in my good books – but as I've said, Linux and Valve's SteamOS has essentially got me in a chokehold, and I don't see myself reverting from my plans to switch to Bazzite as my main operating system on my desktop PC (once improvements are made). https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/powertoys-continues-to-be-microsofts-best-kept-secret-by-adding-a-feature-to-windows-11-that-mac-users-have-had-for-years
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A Reddit user found a discarded gaming PC while taking out the trash at their upscale apartment building and decided to give it a second life. According to u/Triggerhappy62, the computer appeared to be from around 2017 and contained almost everything needed to make it run, except for storage. It featured an Intel Core i7-7700 CPU, a Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 GPU, and 16GB (2x 8GB) of DDR4-3000 RAM, all installed on an MSI B250M Gaming Pro motherboard. The entire system is powered by a Corsair CX750 PSU and features an optical drive with a driver disc still inside, as well as a network card. The case itself is branded with Enermax, a custom PC builder known for its high-end builds. These specifications indicate that the PC, as found by u/Triggerhappy62, was a proper gaming rig, and it appears that its previous owner has finally decided to upgrade their system, as suggested by the missing drive. Despite its age, this system remains decent and an upgrade from the original poster’s existing computer, which features an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, a Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 GPU, and 16 GB of DDR3-1866 RAM, all mounted on a Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WiFi mini-ITX motherboard from Free Geek. This nonprofit organization distributes old computers to the community at no cost or for a low fee. The Core i5-4670K was released in 2013, which means the finder’s current PC is now around 12 years old. So, the find is definitely an upgrade for them. And aside from the missing storage and the extensive dust in the system, the computer was otherwise in good working condition. They just put their 250GB SSD from their old PC into the “new” one, and it’s already running. Although it’s pretty old, the OP is considering some upgrades to make it more useful, such as transferring some of their old fans to their new computer and adding more storage. u/Triggerhappy62 was concerned that the PC they saved didn’t have another SSD slot, as the MSI B250M only has a single M.2 slot. However, the spec sheet says that it has six SATA ports, allowing them to buy one of the best SSDs to expand the storage on their new system. It also has two additional RAM slots, and users can easily find some of the best RAM kits at a low cost on Amazon to give the system more oomph. Sure, it won’t be able to play the latest AAA games at maximum quality, but that system is still good enough to play a considerable number of modern titles nonetheless. https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/gaming-pcs/eight-year-old-gaming-pc-with-nvidia-gtx-1080-found-in-the-trash-room-gets-a-second-life-offered-a-substantial-upgrade-to-the-finder-despite-age
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In late May, the Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals CA suspended a Scottish farm from its animal welfare certification scheme after an environmental group released footage of alleged animal cruelty. The video shows workers leaving salmon out of water, crushing a fish’s head, and beating several fishes. Major retailers halted purchases of salmon from the farm while investigations are underway. This sort of treatment violates most people’s expectations for humane handling of farmed animals, including fish. Recent surveys show that an overwhelming share of residents in the United Kingdom, nine countries across the European Union, and the United States believe that farmed fishes should have strong welfare protections and want to buy fishes raised humanely. The stakes of meeting society’s expectations are high—on multiple fronts. Aquaculture raises a staggering number of individual animals for human consumption. Unlike farmed land animals, production of farmed aquatic animals is reported in tonnage, i.e., weight of the animals, rather than in number of individuals. Based on tonnage reported by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), recent estimates suggest that the world farmed between 250 and 408 billion individuals—including 59 to 129 billion vertebrates, like fishes—in 2018. By comparison, the world slaughtered 78 billion land animals that same year. In addition, the individuals raised in aquaculture represent a wide range of species that, in most cases, humans have only recently started to farm. According to the FAO, 530 animal species have been produced in aquaculture since 1950 as of 2022, spanning fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, marine invertebrates, frogs, and turtles. Industry brought most of these animals under human control only in the last few decades, an exponential rate of attempted domestication. In contrast, the roughly 20 species in terrestrial animal agriculture were domesticated thousands of years ago. Also, attempting to farm so many species so quickly has come at a high cost to the animals. Every species has unique and specialized welfare needs—specific conditions required for their biological, behavioral, and emotional well-being. Moreover, certain traits, like having involved parental care or courtship rituals, are particularly difficult to satisfy in farming systems. Recent work has shown that approximately one-third of the species in aquaculture have traits that place them at high welfare risk. Among these species are the red swamp crayfishes, who care for their young for a three to four months and actively search for them if separated, and the bumphead parrotfishes, who live for up to 40 years and gather in the hundreds under the full moon to spawn. It’s easy to see how restrictive farming systems, optimized for production, are inherently at odds with these animals’ basic needs and well-being. Exacerbating these welfare risks is the dearth of specific information about aquacultured animals’ welfare needs. Humans have had thousands of years to develop understanding of farmed land animals’ basic needs, but mere decades—or less—to do so with most aquatic species. A 2021 assessment of the scientific welfare literature for farmed aquatic animals revealed that species-specific information was available for only 84 species, about one-third of individuals farmed. For 231 farmed species—128-183 billion animals, nearly half of those raised in aquaculture—there were no welfare publications at all. This isn’t an animal welfare knowledge gap. It’s a Grand Canyon. Even when welfare harms are documented, they are seldom recognized as harms in the scientific literature. In a recent paper, we identified four types of harms driven by aquaculture, collectively termed “dewilding”: environmental degradation, harms to wildlife, captivity effects, and changes in humans’ perceptions of the nonhuman world. Across nearly 800 scientific papers documenting dewilding, harms to captive animals were most frequently documented. Yet they were also rarely acknowledged as harms. Some studies, for example, described disease prevalence on farms and infection characteristics—without noting their associated welfare impacts. This finding signals a deeper issue. It’s not just that aquaculture raises many species with welfare risks and without welfare information; the scientific literature and attendant discourse can fail to recognize animal suffering even when it’s visible. Aquaculture also changes the animals themselves. Animals like Atlantic salmon are selectively bred to maximize production, e.g. to grow larger and faster. One company even tried to genetically engineer salmon to achieve these goals. But those aren’t the only changes occurring. Animals adapt to their captive environments, and these changes can occur in just a few generations. Salmon farmers don’t necessarily want fishes to behave more aggressively than their wild counterparts, but crowded farms and predictable food set the stage for more aggressive fishes to eat more and be more successful. Both intentionally and inadvertently, aquaculture shapes animals to become optimized units of production, reflecting an increasingly human-centric world. Humanity certainly needs strategies to feed a growing global po[CENSORED]tion. Aquatic foods can offer numerous benefits, including food security, nutrition, employment, and environmental health. As we build this food system, however, we need to scrutinize the true value of those benefits—are certain aquaculture sectors, for example, exacerbating malnutrition in countries from which they source fish feed?—and weigh them against the expense to other animals. Before we stumble into creating systemic welfare harms and more incidents of animal cruelty, we can and should ask: how can we farm with an eye toward minimizing or altogether avoiding welfare harms? Building a sustainable, nutritious food system while minimizing risks to other animals isn’t a pipe dream. Aquatic plants like seaweed, which entail no farmed animal welfare risk, offer one possible nutritious, low-cost, and environmentally sustainable path. The decisions we make now about aquaculture will shape the future of our food system, planet, and our relationship with other animals. Will we make the right choice, for us and for them? https://foodtank.com/news/2025/09/op-ed-aquaculture-is-expanding-fast-our-understanding-of-the-animals-in-these-farms-isnt/
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Ruben Dias played the full 90 minutes for Portugal as they defeated Armenia 5-0 in their opening World Cup qualifier. Bernardo Silva was also an unused sub for the Group F game played at Republican Stadium in Yerevan. Joao Felix and Cristiano Ronaldo both bagged braces while the other goal was scored by former City defender Joao Cancelo. The other two teams in Group F are Republic of Ireland and Hungary and they meet this evening at Aviva Stadium with a 19:45 (UK) kick-off. Roberto Martinez’s men are next in action on Tuesday in Budapest as they take on Hungary in the Puskas Arena with a 19:45 (UK) start. Meanwhile, James Trafford was an unused sub for England as the Three Lions defeated Andorra 2-0 in Group K. A first-half own goal from Christian Garcia and a header after the break from Declan Rice did the damage at Villa Park. Thomas Tuchel’s side, missing John Stones who had to pull out as a precaution earlier this week, now travel to Belgrade to take on Serbia on Tuesday. The game takes place at Stadion Rajko Mitic with a 19:45 (UK) kick-off. https://www.mancity.com/news/mens/ruben-dias-portugal-international-report-63892778