If you prefer the traditional way of searching your archived photos over interacting with Google's AI assistant 'Ask Photos', there's a quick fix available. Open the Google Photos app, tap your Google account icon in the top-right corner, then navigate to Photos settings > Preferences > Gemini features in Photos. Here, disable either "Search with Ask Photos" or "Use Gemini in Photos". Many users find the classic search faster and less confusing than the AI-powered option, which Google introduced recently.
The competition in AI coding intensifies as Anthropic announces a significant enhancement in its AI model's context window, the AI's working memory that determines how much text it can process in generating responses. Anthropic's newest upgrade to its Claude Sonnet 4 model now supports a context window of 1 million tokens, a fivefold increase aimed at strengthening its position against competitors like OpenAI and Google. This advance marks a notable step in the ongoing AI development race.
An aerial photo from Aug. 8, 2025, shows Baitings Reservoir in Yorkshire nearly depleted due to continued water shortages in Britain. The National Drought Group's recent press release highlights the UK's drought crisis and suggests that deleting old emails and photos could help reduce water use by easing the load on data centers, which consume significant water for cooling servers. While larger conservation efforts by companies and policymakers are essential, individuals are urged to make water-conscious choices. Helen Wakeham, Director of Water at the Environment Agency, emphasizes that simple actions like turning off taps and deleting unnecessary files contribute to conserving water and protecting ecosystems. Estimates indicate small data centers may use over 25 million liters of water annually when relying on water evaporation for cooling. Tech firms are exploring innovative cooling solutions to reduce water dependence. The UK is facing its fourth summer heatwave and the driest half-year since 1976, with five regions officially in drought and six more areas experiencing prolonged dry weather. Public appeals to save water have caused a 20% demand reduction in some areas. Repairing leaks, such as fixing toilets, is also critical for saving hundreds of liters daily.
Krafton has responded to a lawsuit filed by former Unknown Worlds executives, Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, who alleged the South Korean publisher undermined Subnautica 2's release to avoid paying bonuses. Krafton claims the executives lost interest in the game's development after the studio's acquisition and pursued other projects. Cleveland shifted to film work, McGuire to non-development initiatives, and Gill focused on maximizing earnout payments rather than game progress. This lack of leadership led to delays, with the early access launch covering only 12% of the intended game scope by March 2025. The executives were dismissed after disagreeing about delaying early access, triggering the ongoing Delaware Chancery Court battle.
Foldable phones offer a unique blend of innovation and versatility, though they come with considerations like fragility, price, and durability. There are two main styles available: book-style foldables, which act like a phone and tablet hybrid, and flip-style foldables, reminiscent of classic flip phones but equipped with modern tech. Key picks include the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 for those seeking a premium book-style phone with a spacious display and improved usability, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 for fans of flip-style designs with a larger cover screen and robust battery life. The Motorola Razr Ultra stands out for its design and fun factor, while the Oppo Find N5 offers the best battery life and an ultra-thin profile, though it's not available globally. Other notable options include the OnePlus Open, Huawei Mate XT, and entries from Motorola and Google. Prospective buyers should consider purchasing extended warranties to protect their investment, given potential repair costs and device delicacy.
Riot Games is gradually introducing a new WASD control scheme to League of Legends, evolving from its traditional point-and-click controls. The developer aims to offer a fresh but familiar playing experience for both newcomers and veteran players by incorporating WASD controls, which are widely recognized as the standard for PC gaming. To maintain competitive fairness, the new control option will initially be tested on the public beta server before being rolled out to standard, ranked, and professional play. Launched almost 16 years ago, League of Legends is known for its complexity, which can be a barrier for new players. Riot believes that adopting WASD controls will make the game more accessible and intuitive, forming part of their long-term strategy to shape the future of League.
Reddit has announced it will block the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine from indexing most of its content due to AI companies scraping Reddit data through the archive. The Wayback Machine will only be allowed to index Reddit's homepage, limiting its ability to archive posts, comments, and profiles. Reddit cited violations of platform policies by AI firms as the reason, emphasizing the need to protect user privacy and removed content. The restrictions will be implemented gradually, following prior warnings to the Internet Archive. Reddit has previously limited scraper tool access amid AI data usage concerns, entering paid agreements with some companies for data access. The Internet Archive maintains ongoing discussions with Reddit regarding these measures.
Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist known for opposing corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, will serve as an advisor to Meta on addressing ideological and political bias in its AI chatbot. This follows a lawsuit Starbuck filed claiming Meta AI falsely linked him to the January 6th Capitol riot and QAnon. The advisor role is part of a settlement between Starbuck and Meta. Since this collaboration began, Meta reports significant improvements in the accuracy and bias mitigation of its AI. Starbuck emphasized the broader impact on election integrity and political bias in tech during a CNBC interview. Meta has recently faced other legal challenges over AI defamation claims, including lawsuits involving figures such as Donald Trump and conservative radio host Mark Walters.
iRobot, the company known for its Roomba robot vacuum, reported a 23% revenue decline to $127.6 million in its second-quarter earnings, despite launching a new product line. The US and European markets were severely impacted. The company is struggling against rising competition from Chinese manufacturers and the fallout from a failed sale to Amazon, leaving it heavily in debt. CEO Gary Cohen has warned the company could shut down within a year if conditions don't improve. Although customer reactions to new products have been positive, market difficulties and production delays hindered performance, prompting the company to explore potential sales or other strategic moves to manage its debt.
A viral video purportedly showing a Tesla Cybertruck being remotely deactivated on a highway, allegedly due to the owner using the vehicle in an unauthorized music video, has been debunked as fake. The video, posted by Instagram user @bighuey313, features a flashing red warning on the truck's touchscreen and includes an image of a cease-and-desist letter from Tesla, which contains inconsistencies such as outdated titles and unusual formatting. Experts and Tesla itself have confirmed the video is not genuine, pointing out that the warning message resembles a YouTube video rather than an authentic Tesla error alert. Despite the inaccuracies, the video gained significant attention across social media platforms like BlueSky, X, and Reddit, fueling negative sentiment towards Tesla and Elon Musk. Tesla officially stated on X that the video is fabricated.