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Pebble has unveiled the final design of its rebooted Pebble Time 2 smartwatch, featuring a stainless steel body, color accents, knurled buttons, a flat glass display, customizable RGB backlight, and a built-in compass. 9to5Google reports: In a new episode of his podcast "Tick Talk," original Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky discusses the progress being made on the revival. This time around, the main topic is Pebble Time 2 and its "final design," which sees a considerable redesign compared to what was shown off earlier this year. The new look has some added curves, color accents, knurled buttons, and a stunning overall look. It'll be available in black and silver colors, as opposed to the black and white previously shown off. In between the metal portions of the build, a polycarbonate layer will allow the radios to work properly, while also adding a blue or red accent to the design. Apparently, there are four total color options on the table, but they're not final just yet. Anyone who has placed a pre-order will get the choice of what color they want. The new Pebble Time 2 will be made from stainless steel, in particular the same steel material that the original Pebble Steel was built from. It also has transitioned to a flat glass panel versus the curved finish that was used on prior Pebble watches, lessening reflections. The backlight on this model is also more advanced, with an RGB LED that allows the user to control the backlight color so it's not always "blue-ish." Migicovsky says that this will allow the color temperature to change through the day. The Pebble Time 2 is available to pre-order for $225.

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SR-IOV Will Only Be Supported On Intel Arc Pro Graphics Cards  Phoronix

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: [O]ver in the UK, a single-motor version of the Polestar 3 just set a world record for the farthest drive in an electric car on a single charge. Three "professional efficiency drivers," Sam Clarke, Kevin Booker, and Richard Parker, drove 581.3 miles (935.4 km), taking 22 hours and 57 minutes to complete the task. That's an efficiency of 5.1 miles/kWh (12.1 kWh/100 km) -- more than 40 percent better than I saw in day-to-day driving in the twin-motor version. "We are very proud to say we have a world record holder in the Polestar family! This official Guinness World Record for range is another proof point that Polestar 3 is setting new standards. We will continue to push the boundaries of technology and electric performance," said Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO. The report notes that the Polestar 3 was "entirely standard, on stock tires," and averaged a speed of less than 25 mph (40 km/h).

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Google is investing an additional $9 billion in Oklahoma within the next two years in cloud and AI infrastructure. This investment supports the development of a new data…

Linux Preps For New "SoC Power Slider" With Upcoming Panther Lake  Phoronix

Apple is plotting its AI comeback with an ambitious slate of new devices, including robots, a lifelike version of Siri, a smart speaker with a display and home-security cameras, according to Bloomberg. From the report: A tabletop robot that serves as a virtual companion, targeted for 2027, is the centerpiece of the AI strategy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The smart speaker with a display, meanwhile, is slated to arrive next year, part of a push into entry-level smart-home products. Home security is seen as another big growth opportunity. New cameras will anchor an Apple security system that can automate household functions. The approach should help make Apple's product ecosystem stickier with consumers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiatives haven't been announced.

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Running Android and Linux Applications on an Intel Laptop  Virtualization Review

A countrywide study of smartphone users who relocated between US cities found that moving to more walkable environments increased daily walking by 1,100 steps on average. Stanford University researchers analyzed 248,266 days of step data from 5,424 users of the Azumio Argus smartphone app who relocated 7,447 times among 1,609 cities between March 2013 and February 2016. Participants who moved from cities at the 25th percentile of walkability to those at the 75th percentile sustained the increased activity levels for at least three months after relocation. The additional steps consisted predominantly of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, with large walkability increases of 49-80 points associated with about one hour per week more of such activity. The study found that 42.5% of participants met national physical activity guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous activity after moving to highly walkable locations, compared to 21.5% before relocation. Computer simulations based on the data suggest that increasing all US cities to the walkability level of Chicago or Philadelphia could result in 36 million more Americans meeting aerobic physical activity guidelines.

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Samsung has finally launched a TV featuring the company's new Micro RGB backlight technology. From a report: The 115-inch TV is first launching in South Korea for over $32,000, according to SamMobile, but Samsung says it's coming to the US next, followed by a wider global rollout with more size options. Samsung's Micro RGB technology is being positioned as an upgrade to Mini LED backlights that employ an array of tiny white or blue LEDs behind a TV's LCD panel. Micro RGB backlights instead use an ultra-fine pattern of individually controlled red, green and blue LEDs that are each less than than 100um in size. The new backlight is powered by Samsung's Micro RGB AI engine, which the company says "analyzes each frame in real time and automatically optimizes color output for a more lifelike and immersive picture." The technology allows for improved color accuracy and better contrast by precisely controlling the intensity of the individual LEDs, and Samsung says it can even boost the color in dull scenes, making them appear more vivid and immersive.

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Young listeners are accelerating audio and video consumption, with an Economist/YouGov poll finding 31% of Americans aged 18-29 using faster-than-1x playback versus 8% among those 45 and older, as Apple, Spotify, newspapers' audio, Netflix, and YouTube expand speed controls, including YouTube's 4x for premium users. YouTube reports more than 900 years saved per day from fast playback; a meta-analysis led by University of Waterloo researchers finds minimal test-score change up to 1.5x and declines near or past 2x.

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I use one simple tool to update my Linux OS and all of its software in minutes — Topgrade auto-detects and updates all of my system via one command  Tom's Hardware

I use one simple tool to update my Linux OS and all of its software in minutes — Topgrade auto-detects and updates all of of my system via one command  Tom's Hardware

I use one simple tool to update my Linux OS and all of its software in minutes — Topgrade auto-detects and updates all of of my system via one command  Tom's Hardware

I use one simple tool to update my Linux OS and all of its software in minutes — Topgrade auto-detects and updates all of of my system via one command  Tom's Hardware

Microsoft has made "Pull Print" for Universal Print generally available, letting users authenticate at any registered printer to release queued jobs and reducing the chance that confidential pages sit unattended. The feature, also called "Universal Print Anywhere," supports two modes: direct print and secure release via QR codes that users scan with a phone camera or the Microsoft 365 app. Admins must register devices, enable secure release, and affix printed QR codes. Microsoft plans badge-based release.

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Today, we are updating the Gemini app so that it learns about your preferences the more you use it.Today, we are updating the Gemini app so that it learns about your preferences the more you use it.

China has established a lead in the field of open-source AI, a development that is reportedly sending jolts through both Washington and Silicon Valley. The nation's progress has become a significant event for American policymakers in the U.S. capital. The advancement has registered as a shock within Silicon Valley, the hub of the American technology industry. From the report: The overall performance of China's best open-weight model has surpassed the American open-source champion since November, according to research firm Artificial Analysis. The firm, which rates the ability of models in math, coding and other areas, found a version of Alibaba's Qwen3 beat OpenAI's gpt-oss. However, the Chinese model is almost twice as big as OpenAI's, suggesting that for simpler tasks, Qwen might consume more computing power to do the same job. OpenAI said its open-source model outperformed rivals of similar size on reasoning tasks and delivered strong performance at low cost.

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I customized my Linux desktop in minutes with this free app - here's how  ZDNET

Extreme heat is breaking temperature records across Europe, early measurements suggest, and driving bigger and stronger wildfires. From a report: In south-west France, records were broken on Monday in Angouleme, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion and Saint-Girons. Meteo France said the "often remarkable, even unprecedented, maximum temperatures" in the region were 12C above the norm for the last few decades. In Croatia, air temperature records were set in Sibenik, at 39.5C, and Dubrovnik, at 38.9C, while large forest fires raged along its coasts and ripped through neighbouring countries in the Balkans. The day before, Hungary broke its daily maximum temperature record when a weather station in Korosladany hit 39.9C. The capital, Budapest, also broke its daily maximum record as it sweltered through 38.7C heat. Beyond Europe, dozens of temperature records were broken across Canada, and record-breaking heat above 50C in Iraq was blamed for a nationwide blackout. The heatwave in southern Europe comes as Nordic countries recover from unprecedentedtemperatures above 30C in the Arctic Circle this month.

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XZ Utils backdoor still haunts DockerHub: dozens of Linux containers found  Cybernews