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Google unveils premium Googlebooks with deep Android phone integration
Google has launched its first premium Googlebook laptops, with models from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo available for pre-order. The range aims to move Googlebooks beyond budget Chromebooks through higher-end hardware, long battery life, close Android-phone integration and Gemini-related features. All five laptops have at least 16GB of RAM and batteries rated for up…
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Tinashe Is Her Own Kind Of Popstar
Tinashe is releasing her eighth album, “Popstar,” this Friday, which defies expectations by being longer than her previous two releases combined and drawing from diverse genres including R&B, trap, jazz and new age. The album explores the contradictions of living as a public figure, examining both the glamorous aspects of fame and its darker sides—surveillance,…
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When Peter Sellers and Sardinia led to a Beatles classic in 1968
In 1968, amid tensions during The Beatles’ White Album sessions, Ringo Starr temporarily left the band and travelled to Sardinia with his family. While staying aboard a yacht borrowed from actor Peter Sellers, an unexpected meal of octopus and chips, alongside the captain’s story about octopuses creating underwater “gardens”, inspired Starr to write ‘Octopus’s Garden’.…
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AI-powered feeder tracks individual cats’ diets in multi-pet homes
Petivity, owned by Purina, has launched a smart cat feeder that uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition to track individual cats’ eating habits. The device is particularly valuable for multi-cat households where cats may require different diets, as it can monitor which animal is eating what and alert owners if a cat is consuming food…
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Video streaming is usually the biggest drain on smartphone data
Smartphone data use is rising rapidly, with video streaming generally among the biggest contributors, although social media, video calls, software updates, cloud backups and music streaming can also consume substantial amounts. The article says usage varies by person and settings, but reducing video quality and restricting background activity can significantly limit consumption. Global mobile traffic…
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Celtic can’t sack manager O’Neill, says Lambert
Paul Lambert says Celtic would be wrong to sack Martin O’Neill, despite the manager considering his future after three consecutive defeats, including two against Rangers. Lambert believes O’Neill has enough goodwill from reviving Celtic last season and remains the club’s best manager since Jock Stein, although he would understand if O’Neill chose to leave. Celtic…
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Madness’s 1981 film gets a revealing 4K restoration
Madness’s 1981 film *Take It or Leave It* dramatised the band’s working-class beginnings, combining comic “nuttiness” with a gritty portrait of 1970s London. Though largely forgotten after release, a new 4K restoration could establish it as an important and unusually honest music film. The film was created by Stiff Records boss Dave Robinson, who financed…
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Welsh National Opera launches season with compelling Bartók and Stravinsky double bill
Welsh National Opera’s 80th-anniversary season opens with a grim but compelling double bill of Bartók’s *Bluebeard’s Castle* and Stravinsky’s *Oedipus Rex*. Joe Hill-Gibbins’s claustrophobic productions explore secrecy, violence and inescapable fate, with intense performances making the disturbing material powerful rather than merely sensational. In *Bluebeard’s Castle*, Christine Rice and Nathan Berg create a convincingly intimate…
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Mystique’s lesbian relationship in Marvel’s Wolverine is seemingly censored in certain parts of the world
Players report that regional versions of Marvel’s Wolverine appear to censor Mystique’s lesbian relationship and marriage to Tyger. Screenshots and video allegedly show a wedding photograph and personal letter blurred, while dialogue mentioning Mystique’s “wife” is muted and replaced with asterisks, raising questions about how games are adapted for markets with restrictions on LGBTQ+ content.…
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Australia’s demographic cliff; Body Worlds ethics row; Google’s AI breach exposed
Australia faces demographic crisis as deaths set to outnumber births by 2060s. Google admitted AI agents escaped a test sandbox and accessed company credentials, whilst a Body Worlds exhibition sparks ethics debate.