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There’s no doubt that AI can offer businesses significant opportunities to enhance efficiency, unlock insights and improve their operations. However, making the leap from concept to effective execution remains a complex journey for many. Organizations are often overly optimistic about how easy AI will be to implement, but quickly find that generating real impact through scalable systems relies on more than ambition alone.

Unfortunately, all too often, promising AI initiatives remain stuck in "proof of concept purgatory", failing to move into production due to integration issues, particularly with back-end data. The truth is that AI will not succeed if the underlying processes and data are disorganized. AI thrives in environments where data is structured, connected, and easily navigable - by both machines and people. It must be embedded into workflows, not added as an afterthought. This is particularly crucial in high-stakes sectors, where the success of AI depends entirely on the quality and accessibility of information.

Beyond the basics

As automation and AI adoption accelerates, the challenge is no longer whether to adopt AI - but how to do it well. That means moving beyond the low-hanging fruit and prioritizing strategic implementation supported by data readiness and solutions that enable seamless integration.

Terms such as ‘Generative AI’, ‘Agentic AI’, ‘LLMs’ or even more broadly ‘intelligent automation’ have certainly created a buzz in recent years, but unfortunately, many implementations are falling short of their true potential. In many cases, what businesses are actually deploying are advanced chatbots or deterministic systems that don’t fully leverage AI’s potential. For example, a lot of businesses are still at the stage where they are using AI for simple tasks like content generation, speech-to-text, or at most - the automation of simple processes. Whilst using AI for tasks such as these is certainly a valuable step to support productivity and free up employees, these straightforward processes are only just scratching the surface on what AI has to offer.

What does innovative AI look like?

True AI innovation often involves handling probabilistic tasks, where uncertainty and variability in data demand more advanced AI systems to guide decisions. To drive impact from AI, it’s time for organizations to move beyond the basic applications and start thinking about how AI can augment and support human decision-making and improve outcomes across a variety of channels.

This isn’t about replacing human workers, but supporting them with real-time insights. For those in contact center roles, effectively integrated AI can provide next-best-action recommendations and contextualized guidance during customer interactions. A significant shift from traditional rule-based systems to intelligent, adaptive support that empowers teams to make faster, more accurate decisions. Moreover, by automating routine and repetitive tasks - such as identifying intent or retrieving customer history - AI can help reduce friction in the customer journey. This not only improves operational efficiency but also elevates customer satisfaction, eliminating the need for customers to repeat themselves across touchpoints.

The integration dilemma

Unfortunately, for many sectors, the biggest roadblock to impactful AI adoption comes from the complexity surrounding its integration with legacy systems. Whilst using an AI bot to automate content generation or customer service tasks is fairly straight forward, getting that system to access and interact with real customer data – such as CRM systems, product databases, or service records, can become a monumental challenge. For example, many public sector organizations have hundreds of different systems concurrently, each managing different aspects of customer service or data collection. The real challenge lies in making sure all these systems talk to each other effectively and that AI can access the relevant data from across the organisation securely.

Without seamless integration, AI cannot function optimally, and its promise of transforming business operations becomes much harder to achieve. After all, AI can only be as effective as the data it relies on. If data is disjointed or stored in silos across different systems it will struggle to deliver meaningful insights, or guide decisions effectively. To overcome this, organizations need to look at their processes and workflows holistically, ensuring data within these systems is well-organized, consistent and accessible.

This may require the reorganization of data and making bold decisions around whether the underlying, legacy technology is still right for the business’s needs. This is where process mapping is an essential starting point. Process mapping is the practice of creating a detailed map of all workflows scattered across the entire business and visualizing them to understand the direct and indirect impact one process may have on another.

From concept to impact

Shifting the dial on AI from concept to meaningful impact, requires organizations to take a pragmatic and outcome-focused approach. AI should be incorporated intelligently, and is often most successful when it augments existing systems. Platform-based AI tools which combine low-code capabilities can offer organizations a great solution to this by breaking down the barriers to development and removing the need to rip and replace solutions.

Adopting a more systematic and intelligent approach to implementation is equally as important. AI should only be applied where it clearly adds value. Gaining visibility into workflows and identifying process bottlenecks is key to this - helping to ensure AI is targeted to areas that deliver measurable improvements.

By focusing on augmentation over replacement, adopting platform-based AI tools that support integration, and aligning AI initiatives with business needs, organizations can unlock scalable, sustainable AI outcomes that go far beyond the proof-of-concept stage.

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As personalized and user-centric offerings become a necessity for modern organizations, utilizing data is a critical component to understanding customer and stakeholder needs. From public sector bodies and healthcare providers to financial institutions and software suppliers, it is now imperative for organizations to collect, store and organize data effectively.

Yet, unfortunately, many organizations are struggling to maintain clean, actionable data. In fact, a recent survey found that two-fifths (39%) of organizations have little to no data governance frameworks1. Years of inconsistent data practices and working in silos have left many departments with ‘dirty’, inadequate data that cannot be actioned.

This ongoing lack of effective data governance has resulted in organizations missing the valuable insights that would otherwise help them become better service providers.

Organizations, across sectors, as well as public sector bodies, urgently need to take decisive action to mitigate against any further damage their current data collecting practices may be having. In addition, they must instill values that make data governance a priority. This would ensure the information they collect, and store, is not only clean but also actionable.

How has this happened?

The manifestation of ‘dirty’, disorganized, data stems from a multitude of factors. From collecting duplicate and incomplete records to a lack of integration, too many organizations have unfortunately failed to manage data effectively. According to 2024 research, 44% of financial firms struggle to manage data stored across multiple locations2. This has hit their bottom line, with many incurring inflated costs. However, where, and how data is stored is not the only problem.

In organizations where data governance remains a concern, data is often fragmented and inconsistent across departments. Instead of having integrated systems that deliver a single, dependable, database, teams are working in data silos. For instance, separate sales and marketing teams at a digital bank may want to reach out to the same customers, or prospects, but have their own isolated data sets. In a borough council, the social housing and waste collection teams may need to contact the same residents, yet they do not share their citizens’ records.

This disjointed approach causes ‘dirty’ data that is not only difficult to use because the information is incorrect but also challenging to clean and then maintain. What’s more, ‘dirty’ data leads to conflicting insights, impacting decision-making, customer experience and overall business efficiency.

Commercial organizations risk falling behind competitors who can adjust their product lines in accordance with customer and market demands. Meanwhile, public sector bodies may not be delivering crucial services to the right citizens.

Who is responsible for ‘dirty’ data?

Poor data management comes in many forms, but perhaps the most prominent reason for ‘dirty’ data revolves around ownership. While many heads of departments perceive data governance as a responsibility of an organization's IT team, it is their department colleagues who actually use data on a day-to-day basis. An IT team can offer support by ensuring software and systems are working properly, but they are not the ones utilizing information to interact with customers and stakeholders.

After all, it is the departments, such as finance, sales and marketing, that need customer and stakeholder engagement to succeed and that benefit from clean, actionable data. The same can be said for local authorities. For example, the social care and education teams need clean data to ensure they can identify the residents that qualify for their services. With this in mind, it is then reasonable to suggest that the prime beneficiaries of clean data should be the ones managing it. Fostering a culture of data responsibility, driven by a desire to create a single view of customer or citizen information, while investing in staff training, is the first step to resolving the human aspect of effective data governance.

Keeping data clean

The technical aspect involves adopting appropriate solutions to help with the initial clean up and then maintaining data accuracy. While having the right intentions is fundamental to establishing effective data governance, introducing appropriate technology allows departments to put their drive for change into practice.

The sheer volume of data that organizations need to collect, store and process has led to legacy, or rules-based, software being no longer fit for purpose. Instead, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, have been developed to notice patterns and inconsistencies in data. Newer tools can handle larger volumes, so they are deployed to irradicate data duplication and are even at the stage to offer predictive data modelling.

These technologies maintain clean data and support the generation of actionable insights so organizations can accommodate customers’ and/or citizens’ present and future needs. Successful adoption will happen gradually but once this is achieved, automated data cleansing will boost productivity. By automating the manual processes that eroded people’s time, organizations can empower humans to prioritize and fulfil the tasks they do best.

Benefit from actionable insights

The responsibility for data governance cannot rest solely with IT teams. It must be a shared priority across departments, where those who rely most on data take an active role in ensuring its quality.

The benefits of clean data go beyond having the easily accessible information that is always in the right place, at the right time. Breaking down data silos allows better cohesion and collaboration, which then in turn helps deliver actionable insights. From personalized marketing campaigns and optimizing supply chains to issuing council tax bills and allocating social care budgets, clean data allows organizations to run more efficiently.

By investing in both technology, such as AI-powered automation tools, and a more responsible, and proactive, culture, companies can develop robust data management practices. Ultimately, the organizations that thrive will be those that treat data not as a by-product, but as a strategic asset.

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• A bug in MiVoice MX-ONE granted admin access
• A vulnerability in MiCollab allows arbitrary command execution
• Patches were released for both, so users should update now

Mitel Networks has patched two important vulnerabilities in its products that could be abused to gain admin access and deploy malicious code on compromised endpoints.

In a security advisory, Mitel said it discovered a critical-severity authentication bypass flaw in MiVoice MX-ONE, its enterprise-grade Unified Communications & Collaboration (UCC) platform. MX-ONE is designed to scale from hundreds to over 100,000 users in a single distributed or centralized SIP-based system, and supports both on‑premises and private/public cloud deployments.

An improper access control weakness was discovered in the Provisioning Manager component, which could allow threat actors to gain admin access without victim interaction.

Patches released

At press time, the bug has not yet been assigned a CVE, but it was given a 9.4/10 (critical) severity score.

It affects versions 7.3 (7.3.0.0.50) to 7.8 SP1 (7.8.1.0.14), and was addressed in versions 7.8 (MXO-15711_78SP0) and 7.8 SP1 (MXO-15711_78SP1).

"Do not expose the MX-ONE services directly to the public internet. Ensure that the MX-ONE system is deployed within a trusted network. The risk may be mitigated by restricting access to the Provisioning Manager service," Mitel said in the advisory.

The second flaw it fixed is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability found in MiCollab, the company’s collaboration platform. It is tracked as CVE-2025-52914, and allows threat actors to execute arbitrary SQL database commands.

The good news is that there is still no evidence that these two flaws have been abused in the wild, so it’s safe to assume no threat actors found it yet.

However, many cybercriminals simply wait for the news of a vulnerability to break, betting that many organizations fail to patch their systems on time.

While this somewhat reduces the number of potential victims, it makes compromising the remaining ones a lot easier, and that number is often still high enough to give the threat actors incentive.

Via BleepingComputer

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, July 25 (game #775).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #776) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• LUXE
• TREK
• BOTTLE
• WARS
• COPE
• ANISE
• SARA
• KELLY
• SAGE
• MARCH
• HUNTER
• MACE
• HIKE
• PEA
• DILL
• TRAMP

NYT Connections today (game #776) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Add flavor
• GREEN: Grassy hues
• BLUE: Long walks 
• PURPLE: Add more to make a city

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #776) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: HERBS AND SPICES 
• GREEN: SHADES OF GREEN 
• BLUE: TRAVEL ON FOOT 
• PURPLE: STARTS OF EUROPEAN CAPITALS 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #776) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #776, are…

• YELLOW: HERBS AND SPICES ANISE, DILL, MACE, SAGE
• GREEN: SHADES OF GREEN BOTTLE, HUNTER, KELLY, PEA
• BLUE: TRAVEL ON FOOT HIKE, MARCH, TRAMP, TREK
• PURPLE: STARTS OF EUROPEAN CAPITALS COPE, LUXE, SARA, WARS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

As someone who likes a good HIKE up a hillside, I’m very familiar with the many alternative ways to describe a long walk – or TRAVEL ON FOOT, as Connections puts it.

If I want to tempt a companion to join me, I’ll use the word TREK, with its implications of adventure if they’re more sporty than me (99% of people) and I’ll ask if they fancy a meander if they’re slower (1% of people). I can’t imagine who I’d ask about going for a TRAMP, though.

HERBS AND SPICES was equally easy, but that’s where my fun ended.

With eight words left I was clueless. The only link I could make was PEA green and BOTTLE green and after a couple of errors managed to form a group.

Even with the purple group completed for me it took a Google before I realised SARA was for Sarajevo and LUXE for the capital of Luxembourg, also called Luxembourg.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, July 25, game #775)

• YELLOW: HUSH-HUSH MUM, PRIVATE, QUIET, SECRET
• GREEN: STATE ABBREVIATIONS IN, MA, OH, OK
• BLUE: BASEBALL CALLS BALL, FAIR, FOUL, OUT
• PURPLE: QUEEN __ BED, BEE, MARY, MOTHER

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, July 25 (game #1278).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1279) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1279) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1279) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1279) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1279) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• S

• K

• P

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1279) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1279, are…

• MUDDY
• SAINT
• KINKY
• POLAR

It’s not often that we get a game without the letter E. Maybe that is why I struggled today and only just made it home.

Usually a lack of options helps me complete Quordle – it’s just a case of finding the one word that will fit. But today I had five or six choices for what became KINKY. Hope it was easier for you.

Daily Sequence today (game #1279) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1279, are…

• INTRO
• EVENT
• MISER
• GLEAN

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1278, Friday, 25 July: BONUS, RESIN, CEDAR, MADAM
• Quordle #1277, Thursday, 24 July: AGONY, VERVE, GLEAN, MINUS
• Quordle #1276, Wednesday, 23 July: OZONE, PENCE, ROOMY, WIDER
• Quordle #1275, Tuesday, 22 July: OPTIC, GIDDY, VOCAL, ADULT
• Quordle #1274, Monday, 21 July: KNEED, SNAIL, PINTO, FEAST
• Quordle #1273, Sunday, 20 July: GRACE, COUNT, EGRET, GIANT
• Quordle #1272, Saturday, 19 July: EARLY, CLICK, TRITE, SPREE
• Quordle #1271, Friday, 18 July: CINCH, FOYER, FUDGE, TAFFY
• Quordle #1270, Thursday, 17 July: CRESS, TABOO, POWER, HATER
• Quordle #1269, Wednesday, 16 July: UNCLE, NADIR, REMIT, BROOM
• Quordle #1268, Tuesday, 15 July: VILLA, FLECK, TIGER, CRANE
• Quordle #1267, Monday, 14 July: SURGE, PIZZA, PAPER, POPPY
• Quordle #1266, Sunday, 13 July: KAYAK, DECRY, RUDDY, HATER
• Quordle #1265, Saturday, 12 July: WREAK, NANNY, CLASP, STAIN
• Quordle #1264, Friday, 11 July: LAPEL, DRAIN, FROND, GROSS
• Quordle #1263, Thursday, 10 July: CROSS, WHEEL, UNDID, PENCE
• Quordle #1262, Wednesday, 9 July: SHIRE, SIXTH, SINGE, IMAGE
• Quordle #1261, Tuesday, 8 July: PLIED, PRANK, GAWKY, OXIDE
• Quordle #1260, Monday, 7 July: DROLL, TRUCE, TWIRL, SINCE

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, July 25 (game #509).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #510) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… It's been a while

NYT Strands today (game #510) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• UNITE
• SCONE
• SMART
• MUST
• THEN
• COVE

NYT Strands today (game #510) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 7 letters

NYT Strands today (game #510) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: right, 4th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #510) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #510, are…

• ASSEMBLE
• CONVENE
• GATHER
• MEET
• MUSTER
• CONGREGATE
• SPANGRAM: REUNION

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

The very first thing I saw in today’s search was the spangram. Actually, that’s not completely true; the first word I saw was union, then I spotted the re and joined the dots.

After this it was a case of a puzzle of two halves, as I solved the top section first before tackling the lower half. 

After getting ASSEMBLE, CONVENE and GATHER, I was convinced that CONGREGATE would feature somewhere, but despite it being the longest word in the game and despite the limited space I had left I still struggled to put it together – testament to the genius of Strands. Or perhaps my lack of genius. 

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, July 25, game #509)

• MUSIC
• COSTUME
• RECITAL
• TEACHER
• CHOREOGRAPHY
• SPANGRAM: DANCE CLASS

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Who's ready for another packed line-up of new movies and TV shows? Whether you'll be seeing the final Marvel movie of 2025 – The Fantastic Four: First Steps – in a theater near you, or plan on watching something at home instead, I bet you answered "me!" to that question.

So, what's out this week? For one, a couple of heavy hitters on Netflix, but there's plenty to enjoy on more of the world's best streaming services, too. You better get your skates on, then, and continue scrolling to learn more. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Happy Gilmore 2 (Netflix)

Adam Sandler is about to tee off again as Happy Gilmore, a hockey player turned golfer. It's been almost 30 years since the original film and I'm looking forward to seeing him back on our screens.

The pressure is on, of course, as Happy Gilmore 2's predecessor will be a tough act to follow. But, with returning cast members like Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, and Ben Stiller as well as newcomers like The Substance's Margaret Qualley, I have high hopes.

Will this make it onto our esteemed best Netflix movies list or be another disappointing sequel? We'll have to hope this isn't a swing and a miss. – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix

The Phoenician Scheme (Peacock)

If you've got an appetite for symmetry, quirky vibes, and another Bill Murray collab, Wes Anderson is back with his latest big-screen flick that's out now on Peacock.

The Phoenician Scheme holds a 78% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes which means it's another of Anderson's myriad films that's worth watching. This movie follows the daughter of a wealthy businessman who becomes the sole heir to his estate. She soon becomes the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins, resulting in a solid espionage comedy. – LB

• Watch The Phoenician Scheme on Peacock

The Sandman season 2 volume 2 (Netflix)

It's the end of the road for Dream/Morpheus in The Sandman, with Netflix calling time on its live-action adaptation of controversial author Neil Gaiman's graphic novel namesake. Indeed, the second half of The Sandman season 2, which brings the high-fantasy series to an unceremonious conclusion, is out now on the streaming titan.

As I said when the final season's first volume arrived a few weeks ago, I won't be tuning in to see how it wraps things up because of the numerous allegations made against Gaiman over the past 12 months. Still, with the show featuring in Netflix's in-house TV charts since its return, there are people who are watching it and will want to know how it ends. For that reason alone, The Sandman 2 takes a spot on this week's streaming list. – TP

• Watch The Sandman season 2 volume 2 on Netflix

Washington Black (Hulu/Disney+)

Washington Black, which is out now on Hulu and on Disney+, gives us a globe-trotting and sort-of time-hopping adventure that takes us from Barbados in 1829 to Nova Scotia in 1837.

An adaptation of Esi Edugyan’s Booker-shortlisted novel namesake, it follows the eponymous character whose story begins enslaved on a brutal sugar cane plantation. However, he soon takes flight – literally – as he escapes with an eccentric inventor, journeys aboard a swashbuckling pirate ship, and discovers a life of science and freedom.

This series looks to have everything you could want from one of the best Hulu shows: a coming-of-age adventure shaped by overcoming adversity, eccentric characters, and a grand narrative that spans continents. – Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch Washington Black on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

Death of a Unicorn (HBO Max)

Richard E. Grant as a kitschy camp villain is like managing to find an ice cream truck on the hottest day of the year. You know it's going to be bad for your health, but you can't just help gorging on its deliciousness. There's every reason we shouldn't be rooting for him in A24's Death of a Unicorn (or most of the people in this cast), which is now on HBO Max, but he's just so darn good as a malevolent rich man with an agenda.

The Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega-led flick is an absolutely wild beast of a movie (it's RT scores will say otherwise, though) that makes us laugh inappropriately while terrible people are getting their skin flayed by deadly unicorns. It's a unique perspective to have such a far-fetched moral dilemma (keep unicorns alive or harvest a cure for cancer), and the volatility of how it plays out never fails to have me on the edge of my seat. One to add to our best HBO Max movies guide? – Jasmine Valentine, entertainment writer

• Watch Death of a Unicorn on HBO Max

Acapulco season 4 (Apple TV+)

Two time-jumping series in one week? Aren’t we lucky. The critically-acclaimed Apple TV+ show Acapulco that uses flashbacks to tell its story has returned for its fourth and final season.

This time, it follows pool boy turned resort manager Máximo, played by executive producer Eugenio Derbez (CODA), as he restores the hotel Las Colinas to its former glory before the big grand reopening. As usual, we'll also see how the working class hotel owner achieved such a feat with flashbacks to 1986.

Inspired by the film How to Be a Latin Lover, Acapulco has made a name for itself as one of the best Apple TV+ shows for its heartfelt tale about an ambitious businessman's dream and how he made it reality. – AS

• Watch Acapulco season 4 on Apple TV+

Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War (Prime Video)

Listen, if there's a documentary about some sort of fanatical teen mania, I'm there. Prime Video's Shiny Happy People is back with another season, this one being titled A Teenage Holy War that looks at America's largest evangelical youth organization founded by Ron Luce in the 1990s. Amazingly, the combination of religion, psychological warfare, and political agendas are still having an effect today, meaning we've got four meaty episodes of prolonged chaos to binge.

These types of fundamentalist Christian movements were created in the 1990s and 2000s to try and get young'uns on board with a blend of pop culture and youth ministry. It's less cringey concerts with a Jesus theme, though, and more high-energy Christian rock that makes its teen fans endlessly sob. To top it all off, there's messages promoting abstinence until marriage thrown in for good measure. Essentially, this Amazon docuseries is a smorgasbord of ideologies from start to finish - JV

• Watch Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War on Prime Video

For more streaming suggestions, read our guides on the best Disney+ movies, best Netflix shows, best Paramount+ movies, and best Prime Video shows.

San Diego Comic Con 2025 has confirmed a new spinoff series from the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe will air on Nickelodeon then stream on Paramount+ in 2027, called Avatar: Seven Havens. As of writing, we’ve got three Avatar: The Last Airbender related projects in the works. On top of the new spinoff, there’s seasons 2 and 3 of Netflix’s live action Avatar: The Last Airbender and standalone movie The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, both due to be released in 2026.

In Avatar: Seven Havens, we get to relive the glory of the original 2005 animation all over again, with a new young Earthbender who discovers she is the next Avatar after Korra, who was first introduced in The Legend of Korra. Original creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are also returning for the project, which will split its 26 episodes across two seasons. To top it all off, the first-look image confirms that the series is sticking to the classic 2D animation style that made it so popular in the first place.

So far, so good. Avatar: Seven Havens isn’t putting a step wrong, and that should send alarm bells ringing at Netflix HQ. It’s fair to say the reviews for season 1 of their Avatar adaptation were mixed at best, but with hype dying down before Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 even comes out, it’s Paramount+’s time to shine.

Avatar: Seven Havens is already running rings around Netflix’s The Last Airbender remake

While I love rewatching the original cartoon whenever I can, I don’t think I’ll ever watch Netflix’s version of Avatar: The Last Airbender again. The heart was completely missing, the chemistry between its bulging ensemble cast was barely there, and the storyline was incredibly ropey in too many season lulls, despite the visuals largely holding strong. As far as we’re aware, season 2 is still in production, but Netflix is now set to be second-best to Seven Havens unless it gets its act together in the next two years.

Sure, it’s not M. Night Shyamalan levels of awful (lest we forget his 2010 movie version), but why would fans not invest in an extension of the original animation instead? Seven Havens appears committed to elevating Aang’s story to align with what’s going on in 2025 society already feels second to none.

Here’s the full plot: “Set in a world shattered by a devastating cataclysm. A young Earthbender discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra – but in this dangerous era, that title marks her as humanity’s destroyer, not its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she and her long-lost twin must uncover their mysterious origins and save the Seven Havens before civilization’s last strongholds collapse.”

If Seven Havens is as full of wonder, whimsy, and meaning as it’s promising, then we could well see Netflix's Avatar viewership dwindle. Frankly, I’ll be one of the fans who’s more than happy to jump ship… it’s been a long time since the journey to becoming the Avatar has filled our cup like it should.

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New Prime Video movie War of the Worlds is coming to the streaming service on July 30, and out of everything new on Prime Video in July 2025, this just might be the most bizarre. I’m talking about the same ‘War of the Worlds’ as H.G. Wells’ epic sci-fi novel, and later the 1978 Jeff Wayne musical with the giant spider robot now synonymous with the IP. There was even a 2005 movie with Tom Cruise, which looked much more like the traditional action movie we’d expect.

Here’s what we know about the 2025 version: The movie will follow Will Radford (Ice Cube), a top cyber-security analyst for Homeland Security, who “spends his days tracking potential threats to national security through a mass surveillance program, until an attack by an unknown entity leads him to question whether the government is hiding something from him … and the rest of the world.”

With the tagline “your data is deadly,” this lesson in an unmanageable digital footprint is about to hit us in the face with all the tact of a mandatory school assembly. The more I watch the War of the Worlds trailer – and trust me, I can’t stop – the more I’m dumbfounded that this is what our collective creativity has come to. Is the new Prime Video movie going to set the world on fire? Probably not, and that’s bad news for Gen Z.

New Prime Video movie War of the Worlds is really just Ice Cube fighting aliens on Zoom

Culturally, we love to find someone to blame. For example, if things significantly change in a well-known franchise, fans are likely to blame certain audiences or social demographics as the reason why. As far as Prime Video’s War of the Worlds is concerned, it looks like a cheap ploy to make the once complex lore of a science-fiction classic more palatable to younger viewers. Whether that’s even what they want to see almost doesn’t matter… young’uns will be responsible for a bad film if there’s even a sniff of modern technology used.

As you can see from the trailer above, War of the Worlds is going to be entirely set on a computer screen. At no point does the action deviate from Zoom calls, YouTube clips, or any amount of open and closed tabs on a desktop. This is far from a new concept, with horror movies like Megan is Missing and Missing (weirdly, a theme here) regularly pivoting to digital means of storytelling. But to not have any grounding in reality at all is more rarely seen, and honestly? I don’t think it serves a purpose at all.

Aside from the laziness I’ve already discussed, I also don’t think the concept does the original story any justice. When you think of War of the Worlds, you think of dynamic action on an incredulous scale, complete with grandiose set pieces and earth-shattering worldbuilding. Wells’ story is something that’s bigger than you can ever comprehend, even if the far-off premise genuinely feels like it could happen one day. Reduce all of that to explosions on a screen, and what magic do you have left?

Ice Cube could completely take me by surprise and pull the best new Prime Video movie of 2025 out of his back pocket, but I highly doubt it. If we’re being honest, there’s no real reason why this War of the Worlds should exist, only strengthening the argument that more movies should be based on original ideas.

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• UpGuard finds unprotected Elasticsearch instance belonging to Leak Zone
• The instance contained millions of IP addresses
• Leak Zone is a known underground forum with a large number of users

In a moment of poetic irony, an underground “leaking and cracking forum” exposed the IP addresses of all its logged-in users, essentially doxxing them to everyone - security researchers, rival criminals - and most notably, law enforcement.

Security researchers from UpGuard found an exposed Elasticsearch database, available to anyone who knew where to look. Deeper analysis determined that the database belonged to Leak Zone, an underground forum where cybercriminals advertise and share stolen archives, credentials, and software.

It contained more than 22 million records - IP addresses and precise timestamps of when the user logged in. The database is also quite fresh, with the archive is apparently being updated in real time, as well as indicating if there is a chance a user logged in using an anonymization tool such as a proxy or a VPN.

Exposed instances - everywhere

It is impossible to say for how long the archive remained open, and if anyone discovered it before UpGuard did.

We also don’t know how many people were exposed in this incident but allegedly, the forum has roughly 100,000 members. In any case, it has since been locked down and is no longer accessible.

The researchers also could not determine the cause of the database being left exposed.

Usually, it is down to human error - admins simply forgetting to set a password, or otherwise encrypt it. In fact, exposed databases continue to be the leading cause of data leaks - among legitimate and illegal organizations alike.

For years, researchers have been warning that cloud works on a shared responsibility model - something many IT teams don’t seem to be aware of.

Some businesses believe securing the cloud infrastructure is the service provider’s task - leaving the back door wide open for cybercriminals.

Via TechCrunch

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps is out now in theaters. Regardless of whether you plan on seeing it on the biggest screen possible, though, you might be wondering when it'll available on Disney+.

In short: The Fantastic Four: First Steps doesn't have a Disney+ release date yet. However, based on the launch dates of previous Marvel movies on the streamer, we can guess when it'll land on one of the world's best streaming services.

Below, I'll predict when First Steps will join Disney+'s movie library. I'll also provide more information on the iconic quartet's latest big-screen offering, so make sure you read to the end of this article. Before you scroll on, though, check out my review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps to see what I thought about it.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Disney+ release date prediction

The Fantastic Four: First Steps won't be stretching its limbs on Disney+ just yet (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

At the time of publication, First Steps doesn't have an official Disney+ launch date. It only landed in cinemas worldwide on July 25, so it'll be a few months before it gets the greenlight to join Disney's primary streaming platform

It'll be a while before the first Marvel Phase 6 movie is added to Disney+'s back catalog, too. Thunderbolts*, which launched in theaters on May 2, still hasn't been released on the service, either – check out my Thunderbolts* on Disney+ article to learn when it may do so.

Nonetheless, that won't prevent me from speculating on First Steps' streaming release. Usually, Marvel releases its new movies on Disney+ around three months after their theatrical debut. With The Fantastic Four's fourth film – the first set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), mind you – only just arriving in theaters, it won't join our new Disney+ movies guide until late October at the earliest.

That said, I think we're in for a slightly longer wait. Deadpool and Wolverine, the only MCU film released in 2024, launched in theaters on July 26 but didn't come to Disney+ until November 12. If First Steps performs as well as the aforementioned comic book movie, I expect Marvel to delay its Disney+ launch until mid-November, too.

My guess? It'll do so on November 11 or 18, i.e. a week or two before US Thanksgiving and a few weeks after Marvel Zombies, the penultimate MCU TV show of 2025, has ended.

Can I rent or buy The Fantastic Four: First Steps on any other streaming services?

The Fantastic Four's latest big-screen outing won't be visible on other streamers for a while, either (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Not yet, though that could change in a couple of months.

Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* landed on premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms and digital stores around eight weeks after their theatrical releases. It's possible, then, that First Steps could follow in their footsteps and be made available on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube sometime in September. I'll update this section once I know more.

What is the runtime for The Fantastic Four: First Steps?

Flame one! First Steps' runtime isn't too long (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

One of the best Marvel movies (of recent years, anyway) clocks in at just under two hours. Indeed, its official runtime is one hour and 54 minutes.

That includes its end credits sequence, and mid- and post-credits scenes (read my The Fantastic Four: First Steps ending explained piece for more details on those end credit stingers). In summary: First Steps is one of the shortest MCU movies of all-time.

Where can I learn more about The Fantastic Four: First Steps before I watch it?

Here's The Thing – and all of the things you need to know about the first MCU Phase 6 film (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

For more information on the final MCU film of the year, read my definitive guide on The Fantastic Four: First Steps. You can also learn more about which actors appear in it by checking out my cast and character guide on The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

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• The Optoma Photon Go is now on-sale in the US for $999 / £899
• Delivers 60 to 100-inch images at under 10 inches from the wall
• 650 lumens, 8,000:1 contrast and 1.5 hours of battery life

It's all gone a bit Alice in Wonderland at Optoma, which has managed to get a triple-laser projector to drink a shrinking potion. The Optoma Photon Go is barely bigger than a chunky book, but it can project rich images in 1080p Full HD, at up to 100 inches even while sitting under a foot from the wall – and has a punchy stereo speaker system inside.

The Photon Go is now available in the US and Canada after a European launch earlier this year, and it's being marketed as a home or outdoor projector thanks to its easily transportable size and relatively light weight. It's 9.92 x 6.18 x 2.44 inches and 3.79lbs; for metric users that's 25.2 x 15.7 x 6.2cm and 1.7kg.

It's certainly small, but the specification isn't.

(Image credit: Optoma)Optoma Photon Go projector: key features and pricing

The Photon Go is an ultra-short throw projector delivering 1080p resolution and contrast of 8,000:1. Its throw ratio is 0.18:1 and it's capable of delivering a 100-inch image from just 10 inches away. The minimum image size is 60 inches.

The triple-laser RGB light source delivers up to 650 lumens of brightness, Optoma says, and it's expected to last for 20,000 hours.

The Photon Go has automatic focus and keystone correction, Google TV for streaming, HDMI 2.0, USB (C and A) and a 20-watt stereo sound system, and its TSA-compliant battery is good for 1.5 hours of playback.

It's an impressive specification for such a small device, and while the battery life is on the short side it's nothing an external power bank can't fix.

It's a really interesting option among the best portable projectors – it's rare for them to be ultra short throw, so this might be just what you're looking for, if you want to create a huge image anywhere without worrying about having enough distance from the screen.

The Optoma Photon Go is available now with an MSRP of $999. In the UK, it's £899.

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• Microsoft CEO says AI-induced job cuts have been "weighing heavily" on him
• Satya Nadella likens this period to the early 1990s, when PCs became democratized
• Microsoft is set to announce quarterly revenue next week, so more cuts may be coming

In a company-wide memo to workers, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said the company's recent job "eliminations" have been "weighing heavily" on him.

Nadella explained he "acknowledge[s] the uncertainty and seeming incongruence of the times we’re in" – even though Microsoft is "thriving" and headcount remains largely unchanged, many thousands have still lost their jobs, largely due to AI-induced efficiency upgrades.

To justify the workforce changes, Nadella explained roles are being redefined due to evolving customer needs, and how users go about getting work done.

Satya Nadella understands workers are worried about their jobs

The news comes as the company's capital expenditure continues to rise – Microsoft plans to spend about $80 billion on AI infrastructure alone in 2025 – and yet layoffs may only save a small portion of this spend.

However, recent cuts have triggered widespread employee discontent, fear and dropping morale, with many fearing that the company could return to 'old Microsoft' where internal rivalries, poor communication and job insecurity make it an unpleasant company to work for.

Around 9,000 Microsoft workers lost their jobs in July 2025, with around 6,000 also going in May and several hundred in other, smaller adjustments.

Likening the current situation to the early 1990s when PCs and productivity software became democratized, Nadella noted: "It might feel messy at times, but transformation always is. Teams are reorganizing. Scopes are expanding. New opportunities are everywhere."

The CEO also expressed that progress isn't always linear, and in this case, it could be dynamic, dissonant and demanding.

Nadella also committed to addressing employee concerns at the company's next Town Hall meeting, as well as sharing more details in the earnings call, set for July 30.

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• Intel might be planning a big change with Nova Lake CPUs in 2026
• Rumor has it that they will benefit from additional cache for faster gaming
• This is in a similar vein to AMD's existing 3D V-Cache chips, like the popular 9800X3D

Intel's Nova Lake processors – which could be its next CPUs (though an Arrow Lake Refresh could come before them) – are going to take a page out of AMD's 3D V-Cache playbook, it seems.

Based on new rumors floating around on X, as highlighted by VideoCardz, Intel is looking to use a large slab of cache to make a much better CPU for gamers, just like AMD's X3D chips.

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D remains our best gaming CPU (pound-for-pound), and Intel is seemingly hoping to tap into a similar vein with Nova Lake chips using what's called 'bLLC' or Big Last-Level Cache.

Obviously, take all this with a good deal of seasoning, but according to Raichu, a well-known leaker on X, we'll see a Nova Lake flagship with 16 performance cores (and 32 efficiency cores). Along with that, there'll be a lower-tier chip with 8 performance cores (plus 16 efficiency) that will have bLLC on board (the flagship won't).

Another post on X, from Haze (a data miner), also claims there will be a second 8-core model with fewer efficiency cores (12) that'll have the new cache, and also 4 low-power cores (tiny ones). Indeed, both Nova Lake 8-core CPUs will supposedly have those, along with a power consumption of 125W.

As VideoCardz points out, the rumored plan is for 144MB of L3 cache to be utilized by Intel, more than AMD's current top-end payload of 128MB (on the Ryzen 9950X3D).

Whatever the exact configuration of these CPUs might ultimately be, the apparent plan is to have this new type of cache powering up Nova Lake, processors expected to be released later in 2026.

As mentioned at the outset, it isn't clear whether Nova Lake will be Intel's next-gen CPUs, as past rumors have indicated, or whether Team Blue might be planning a stopgap refresh of current Arrow Lake chips before then, to debut later this year, as more recent speculation contends.

We could be looking at Arrow Lake Refresh as the Core 300 series (alongside Panther Lake, which will be only for laptops), and Nova Lake would be Core 400, in theory (for both desktops and laptops).

Analysis: a return to form?

(Image credit: Pexels)

So, it seems Intel's plan is a monster flagship processor for Nova Lake, aimed at PC enthusiasts who want a heavyweight chip that can do everything – with 16 performance cores – and then a beefy 8-core chip that's ideal for gamers. The latter will cost less but be pepped up for games with this new flavor of cache, the equivalent of AMD's X3D.

While AMD does offer X3D processors with more than 8 cores, that model – the most recent incarnation of which is the 9800X3D – is the mainstream offering for gamers in terms of its pricing (the 12-core and 16-core X3D spins are predictably pricey).

Okay, so does this fresh Intel rumor seem likely? Well, Team Blue does need to do something to get back in the good books of gamers, that's for sure. The company's most recent Arrow Lake chips disappointed with their PC gaming performance – even after multiple patches to smooth things over – and its reputation has been tarnished by previous generations suffering from well-documented stability issues (which are still an ongoing concern in some respects).

Indeed, some might argue that it could be too late for Intel to recover its standing with gamers. After all, trust and confidence in the CPU maker have been damaged to a worrying extent, at least from what I can tell (from online sentiment in the various forums I regularly lurk in). Of course, that doesn't mean Team Blue shouldn't try - and maybe it can pull a rabbit out of the hat, gaming-wise, with a new direction for Nova Lake in terms of additional cache.

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• The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE will apparently come in a choice of four colors
• Storage could come in at a choice of 128GB or 256GB, and it might have 8GB of RAM
• Those are the same storage and RAM amounts as the Galaxy S24 FE

The Samsung Galaxy S25 line still isn’t complete, as we’re expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE later this year, and if you’ve been holding out for this handset, you can now start planning which color and configuration you want, as these details have just leaked.

Leaker @MysteryLupin has claimed that the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE will be sold in a choice of Navy, Icyblue, Jetblack, and White shades, and that you’ll be able to choose between a model with 128GB or 256GB of storage – in both cases also getting 8GB of RAM.

That’s the same amount of RAM and the same storage options as you’ll find with the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, so sadly we might not see any upgrades there.

S25 FE8 + 128 / 8 + 256 Navy, Icyblue, Jetblack, WhiteJuly 24, 2025

A new selection of shades

As for those colors, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is available in Blue, Graphite, Mint, and Yellow, so this should make for quite a different selection.

It’s likely that the full selection of shades will be available whether you pick a 128GB or 256GB model, as that’s the case with the Galaxy S24 FE, but we can’t be certain. We also of course can’t be certain that this leak is accurate, but the source has a solid track record.

So with this you should be able to start thinking about which color you want and how much storage you think you’ll need.

We also have a good idea of many of the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE’s other specs and features, with previous leaks pointing to an Exynos 2400 chipset, a 4,900mAh battery, 45W charging, a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and an 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. That would mean upgrades to the chipset, battery capacity and charging power, but not to the cameras.

The phone is likely to launch in either September or October based on past form, so we’ll probably find out how accurate any of this is within the next few months.

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• Dying Light: The Beast has been delayed
• It will now launch on September 19, 2025
• Developer Techland says it will help "address final details that make all the difference between good and great"

Bad news fellow Kyle Crane lovers: Dying Light: The Beast has been delayed for a few weeks.

Developer Techland revealed the decision in a new blog post. "It has always been our goal to make Dying Light: The Beast the best Dying Light game we’ve ever released," the post read.

Although the studio "understands that this [news] may be disappointing," the focus is on crafting the most polished possible experience. "With just four additional weeks, we can address final details that make all the difference between good and great."

The post outlined some of the areas for improvement, which include "finetuning the balance of gameplay elements, looking into clarity of UI, increasing the quality of physics, as well as tweaking cutscenes and player animations further" on top of adding some "last little details" to bring it all together.

Despite the delay, at demo of the game will still be playable at Gamescom 2025.

Dying Light: The Beast was previously set to launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC on August 22, 2025. It will now arrive on September 19.

Set in the new open-world environment of Castor Woods, Dying Light: The Beast markets the return of original Dying Light protagonist Kyle Crane.

I recently had to the opportunity to preview the game and speak to director Nathan Lemaire who revealed that the gore system will be dialed up in this upcoming instalment.

“We want to craft a world that feels realistic, and the way you interact with it needs to be realistic as well. We are investing a lot into making the impact feel real," he said. "For that, we turned up the gore effects by making it more precise and also more coherent based on your weapon.”

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• The Qi2 25W standard has just been launched
• It brings 25W wireless charging speeds to a range of devices
• “Several hundred” devices are awaiting certification

Wireless charging could get faster and more efficient with an update to the Qi standard, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has announced, with the industry body saying the new Qi2 25W platform should make powering up your phone “even faster and more efficient.”

The announcement explains that Qi2 25W increases the maximum wireless charging rate of the Qi standard from 15W to 25W, a step up of just under 70%. It’s designed to work across devices and ecosystems, so won’t be locked down to proprietary products or designs.

To that end, the Consortium says the new standard will be supported by “major Android smartphones” in addition to Apple’s iPhone (currently the iPhone 16 series are the only ones that support wirelessly 25W charging). So far, fourteen “devices, receivers and transmitters” have been certified, with “several hundred” more waiting in line.

Qi2 launched in November 2023, but its standard charging rate was set at 15W. One of the key features of Qi2 was magnetic alignment, which was based on Apple’s MagSafe concept after the Cupertino giant allowed its tech to be used by the WPC.

Faster, more efficient charging

(Image credit: Moshi)

The benefit of something like Qi2 25W is that it is meant to be cross-platform. While several manufacturers have launched their own exclusive charging solutions over the years, they often ran into the problem of not offering the same benefits to all devices.

For instance, the iPhone 16 has been able to charge at 25W since it launched in 2024, but only with an Apple-certified MagSafe charging pad, while Qi2 alternatives were stuck at 15W. Now, iPhone users can enjoy 25W charging speeds with any Qi2 25W charger, not just MagSafe.

Android has been a little slower to adopt 25W, with most Google-powered phones limited to the 15W speeds of the old Qi2 standard. That means you’ll soon be getting much faster wireless charging speeds if you’re not an Apple customer, providing your phone gets certified by the WPC.

In order to get the full 25W charging output, you’ll need a 30W USB-C power supply or higher. You’ll also need to make sure your phone is compatible. The WPC hasn’t said which devices have already been approved, nor which ones are in the queue, but we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for updates.

With the WPC saying hundreds of devices are waiting for certification, there’s hope that this standard will be widely adopted, allowing you to juice up your device with a wide range of chargers at impressively zippy speeds. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, you should soon feel the benefits.

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The Made by Google 2025 event is less than a month away, and it's the event showcasing Google's latest and greatest hardware innovations, such as its best Pixel phones and best Android watches. However, while the Google Pixel Watch 4's appearance is inevitable (despite being as-yet-unannounced), I'm also hoping for a smaller, cheaper device to appear alongside it.

Yes, I believe it's time for a new Fitbit band-style tracker to make its appearance. Fitbits are still synonymous with the fitness band format thanks to years at the top of the category, and there are happy Fitbit fans out there still using ancient models like the Fitbit Flex and Inspire 2.

Last week, the Fitbit app went down, causing login and sync issues, and the outpouring of frustration from Fitbit users proved one thing: that people still love their Fitbits. I heard from Fitbit Charge, Luxe and Inspire users last week, and even though Google has notoriously axed some beloved community features, users depend on these devices as part of their daily lives.

They're inexpensive, reliable pieces of technology, often more comfortable to wear than the best smartwatches due to their slimmer profiles, and their batteries last a week what with low power output and fewer communications features.

(Image credit: Future)

Samsung got the memo: last year, it released the Samsung Galaxy Fit 3. The launch came as a surprise: after all, the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 was released way back in 2020, and everyone assumed the line had been quietly discontinued.

However, Samsung clearly saw a gap in its range for a smart device priced at just $59 / £49 / AU$139. After all, not everyone can afford a Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 or Samsung Galaxy Ring, and some people just want to get on and track their steps, sleep and HR with minimum expenditure and fuss. I assume Fitbit's existing range is still selling well, but I feel like there's an opportunity here for Google to remind people why they fell in love with Fitbit in the first place.

I think an Inspire 4 or Luxe 2 would do the trick: a pebble-style fitness tracker with a few different band options, possibly compatible with the older Luxe or Inspire bands, and perhaps an option to detach the Fitbit and strap it to your arm or chest for greater heart rate accuracy during activity tracking. The Fitbit Inspire 3 has a sold-separately clip, so it would be nice to take that idea and run with it for improved functionality.

The Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 and the continuing success of the best cheap fitness trackers – not to mention the strength of the Fitbit brand name – clearly demonstrates there's an opportunity here to revive the format a bit. The Inspire 3 is now three years old, and could do with a bit of a refresh. Go on, Google – show Fitbit fans a little love.

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• goo.gl links will stop working on August 25, 2025
• Some users were being blocked from creating new goo.gl links years ago
• Google began warning users the links would stop working in 2024

A little over a year the company confirmed Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available, Google is still sticking to its guns, meaning we're just weeks away from the end of goo.gl links.

From August 25, 2025, all goo.gl links will stop working, returning an 404 error. This comes around a year after interstitial warning pages started appearing for some goo.gl links, stating that they would stop working soon.

Google had already closed down the goo.gl URL shortener in 2019 due to changes in how people find content online, with 99% of goo.gl links reporting no activity in June 2024.

goo.gl links will stop working from August 25

URL shorteners have generally become less relevant, however developers could still see some impact from their deprecation. For example, goo.gl links embedded in 302 redirects or with social metadata may fail to function correctly.

Interestingly, links from Google apps like Maps will continue to work, even after the shutdown.

Although users were able to bypass the interstitial page by adding the query param “si=1” to existing goo.gl links, the impending deprecation means that users and developers will now need to transition their links to another URL shortener or risk disruptions.

The Google URL Shortener lived for a relatively short nine years, from 2009 to 2018. When the company first confirmed anonymous and new users would no longer be able to create new goo.gl links starting April 13, 2018, it pointed users in the direction of bit.ly and ow.ly.

Although tech companies often get slated for enacting pretty major changes with insufficient notice, goo.gl users have had around seven years to get ready for the change, and with fewer than 1% of goo.gl links reporting activity a year ago, the impacts are likely to be minimal.

Anyone looking to re-situate or re-build their online presence should check out our list of the best website builders around, as well as advice on how to choose a domain name for your website.

Via The Verge

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• GitHub wants the EU to create a Sovereign Tech Fund for OSS maintenance
• Microsoft hasn't committed to any contributions as yet
• GitHub says OSS is crucial infrastructure, just like roads

Microsoft-owned developer platform GitHub is urging the European Union to establish a publicly funded Sovereign Tech Fund to support open source software (OSS) maintenance.

GitHub Director of Developer Policy Felix Reda explained in a blog post that open source continues to be underfunded, and that the public sector could get involved to help financially support development.

The proposal is based on a study commissioned by GitHub and conducted by Open Forum Europe, Fraunhofer ISI and the European University Institute, and describes open source software a critical digital infrastructure that economies and societies rely on.

GitHub wants the EU to fund open-source development

Reda, together with the research, noted open source remains underfunded compared with traditional, physical infrastructure like roads, despite contributing €65-95 billion annually to the EU economy, and up to $8.8 trillion globally.

The survey showed one in three open source software maintainers are unpaid, with another one in three unable to make a living solely from their open source work.

As such, GitHub is proposing that the EU adds €350 million to its budget to fund open-source software maintenance. National governments and industries should also contribute to funding, GitHub believes, although the Microsoft-owned company has not volunteered any contributions itself.

GitHub identified five key investment areas, including: identifying critical EU OSS dependencies; investing in OSS maintenance; funding OSS security improvements; supporting project enhancements; and strengthening the overall OSS ecosystem.

Supporting GitHub's argument, Mercedes-Benz Chief Software Officer Magnus Östberg wrote: "Without sustainable funding and support, it is entirely foreseeable that ever more open source software projects will not receive the diligence and scrutiny appropriate for software of such criticality."

With the first legislative proposals for the EU budget "hit[ting] the desks" of the European Parliament and the national governments in the Council of Ministers, GitHub is urging the community to voice their support for the Sovereign Tech Fund.

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