An important change will soon be made to global timekeeping that aims to prevent potential infrastructure failures akin to the Y2K bug scare. On Thursday, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) voted to scrap the leap second, an ad hoc time adjustment that's occasionally added so tracked time standards mirror the Earth's real (and inconsistent) rotation.

BIPM members previously agreed in 2022 to cease using leap seconds on or before 2035, but this is now being expedited to take effect on May 20th next year, aligning with World Metrology Day. There's an unprecedented reason for its retirement being brought forward: changes t …

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Microsoft has redesigned its Photos app for Windows 11, overhauling the editor and image viewer, and combining photos and videos from your PC, OneDrive, and iCloud into a single space. The new combined gallery experience aims to make it easier to manage and view your photos without jumping between apps or devices, while also improving app launch and scrolling performance in Photos.

To combine your galleries in the Windows 11 Photos app, you'll need to turn on Camera Backup in the OneDrive mobile app on iOS or Android, and follow Apple's guide to set up iCloud for Windows. Once combined in the Windows 11 Photos app, you can browse by date, o …

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Big Walk's co-op multiplayer walking adventure has proved popular since launching in August, but Xbox players have been excluded from the fun - and now the game's creators have explained why. Developer House House said in a blog post that it decided not to release Big Walk on Xbox consoles in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, which has called to boycott Microsoft, including products under the company's gaming division.

Microsoft was named a priority BDS target in June last year over contracts it has with the Israeli military and government, with the boycott specifically calling out Xbox conso …

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Apple says HomeView is "the perfect way" to enjoy its audio and video entertainment apps, but some notable examples like Apple TV only work if you AirPlay it through your iPhone. As noted on the HomeView spec page, Apple TV, Apple Books audiobooks, Apple Music Classical, and Apple News Plus aren't natively supported on the smart hub, so you'll have to use your phone to operate them.

HomeView is foremostly designed as a hub for managing smart home gadgets, but competing smart display hardware like Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub devices can natively stream Prime Video and YouTube, respectively, without requiring a phone connection. …

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The HomeView smart home display announced by Apple today comes in two models that both cost $299: one with a speaker base, and the other being a self explanatory "Wall Mounted" version. If you want the latter, however, you'll actually have to pay at least $59 more - the mounts required to actually affix the display to your wall are sold separately. Maybe calling it the "Mountless" version would have been more accurate?

Apple isn't exactly shouting about that sneaky additional premium for wall-mounted HomeView customers. The details are mentioned in the small print at the bottom of the product announcement page:

HomeView (Wall Mounted) wil …

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Elon Musk has handed out at least $276 million to Republican groups since July, The New York Times reports, making him both the party's top known donor and the biggest established midterm donor. $158 million of that money - one of the largest political donations in American history - has been funneled into the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC that aims to secure and maintain a Republican Senate majority. Among others, it's fighting to retain the party's Senate seat in Texas, which serves as a major hub for Musk's business empire.

He's also donated over $76 million to America PAC, a super PAC Musk founded in 2024 that canvasses for …

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Multiple Ukrainian drone strikes over the last week have taken Russian data centers offline and reportedly caused online bot traffic to plummet - but in reality it's probably not the kind of bot activity most people associate with Russia.

A chart citing Cloudflare data has been circulating around social media platforms, showing a sharp decline in bot traffic following attacks on Yandex servers - a technology company often described as "Russia's Google." While many people are inferring that the chart refers to bot farms that push disinformation, conspiracy theories, and other harmful content across online platforms, reputed troll farm expose …

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