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Sony Is Removing Many Popular Features From Its Free OTA TV Options

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Cord Cutters News: Sony has notified owners of its recent BRAVIA television models that significant changes to the built-in TV Guide for its OTA TV antenna users and related menu features will take effect starting in late May 2026. The update affects a range of premium sets released between 2023 and 2025, marking another instance of feature adjustments for older smart TV hardware as manufacturers shift focus toward newer product lines. The changes primarily target the program guide functionality for over-the-air antenna TV channels received via the ATSC tuner. After the cutoff date, program information may fail to display on certain channels, limiting the guide's usefulness for planning viewing schedules. Users will often see listings only for channels they have recently watched, rather than a comprehensive overview of available broadcasts. Additionally, channel logos that previously appeared in the guide will disappear, and any thumbnail images accompanying program descriptions will no longer load or show.

Further modifications will appear in the television's menu system. For users relying on connected set-top boxes, the dedicated Set Top Box menu option will be removed entirely. In its place, a simpler Control menu will surface, streamlining access but eliminating some specialized navigation previously available. Program thumbnails, which provided visual previews in various menu sections, will also cease to appear across affected interfaces. These adjustments stem from Sony's ongoing efforts to manage backend services and data feeds that support enhanced guide features on its Google TV-powered BRAVIA lineup. As television ecosystems evolve rapidly with advancements in processing power, artificial intelligence integration, and cloud-based content delivery, companies periodically retire select capabilities on prior-generation hardware to optimize resources. The 2023 through 2025 models, while still offering excellent picture quality through advanced OLED and LCD panels with features like XR processing, now fall into the category of devices receiving scaled-back support. These are the models impacted:

2025 models: Bravia 8 II (XR80M2), Bravia 5 (XR50)
2024 models: Bravia 9 (XR90), Bravia 8 (XR80), Bravia 7 (XR70)
2023 models: Bravia A95L series

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Een auto – of beter nog: een truck – bedekken met zonnecellen blijkt echt een goed idee

Leger VS doodt vier mensen bij aanval op vermoedelijke drugsboot

The Register

Biting the hand that feeds IT — Enterprise Technology News and Analysis

AI-powered mainframe exits are a bubble set to pop: Gartner

Analysts reckon 70 percent of projects will fail, and 75 percent of vendors in the field will go away

Most mainframe users who turn to AI for help migrating legacy code to alternative platforms are going to be very disappointed, according to analyst firm Gartner.…

Bongoking, de Kameleon en Bolle Jos

Terwijl de problemen met cocaïnesmokkel in België steeds groter worden, bouwt Flor Bressers een netwerk dat reikt tot de top van de internationale drugswereld.

Waar haalt Poetin zijn soldaten nog vandaan?

Er vallen zoveel Russische doden in de oorlog met Oekraïne dat Poetin soldaten tekort komt. Daarom wordt hij steeds creatiever in het ronselen van mensen voor de frontlinie.

Wel.nl

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WSJ: VS onderschepten 8 aan Iran gelinkte tankers sinds blokkade

WASHINGTON (ANP) - Amerikaanse marine-eenheden hebben sinds het begin van de blokkade van de Straat van Hormuz acht olietankers onderschept die Iraanse havens binnenvoeren of verlieten. Dat meldt The Wall Street Journal op basis van Amerikaanse functionarissen.

In alle gevallen namen de Amerikaanse strijdkrachten via radioverbinding contact op met de bemanning en gaven hun opdracht om van koers te wijzigen, aldus de bronnen. Alle tankers gaven gehoor aan deze opdracht en enteren was niet noodzakelijk, aldus de functionarissen.

Eerder in de nacht van dinsdag op woensdag meldde persbureau Reuters op basis van gegevens van de scheepvaartmonitor Kpler dat de door de Verenigde Staten gesanctioneerde tanker Rich Starry, eigendom van een Chinese rederij, niet voorbij de Amerikaanse blokkade was geraakt.

Het Amerikaanse leger verklaarde dinsdagavond (lokale tijd) dat Amerikaanse strijdkrachten de economische handel van en naar Iran over zee volledig hebben stilgelegd met de blokkade.


Tien landen roepen op tot einde van vijandelijkheden in Libanon

OTTAWA (ANP) - In een gezamenlijke verklaring hebben Canada, Groot-Brittannië, Japan en zeven andere landen opgeroepen tot een "onmiddellijk einde aan de vijandelijkheden in Libanon". De landen maken zich "ernstige zorgen over de verslechterende humanitaire situatie en de crisis rond ontheemding in Libanon", aldus de verklaring die door Canada werd verspreid.

Bovenal moeten burgers en civiele infrastructuur worden beschermd tegen de gevolgen van de vijandelijkheden.

De landen verwelkomden het staakt-het-vuren van twee weken dat onlangs werd overeengekomen tussen de Verenigde Staten, Israël en Iran. Zij benadrukten dat nu ook in Libanon een einde moet komen aan de gevechten.

De oproep volgt op een eerste ontmoeting tussen Israëlische en Libanese vertegenwoordigers in Washington, die moet leiden tot directe onderhandelingen tussen de strijdende partijen.

Israël zegt aanvallen in Libanon uit te voeren om Hezbollah te ontwapenen. De Libanese beweging is een bondgenoot van Iran en reageerde op Amerikaans-Israëlische aanvallen op Iran door begin maart Israël aan te vallen.


The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

Air New Zealand's economy Skynest bunk beds set for launch

Passengers can book a four-hour session in the bunk beds from May for Auckland-New York flights but airline cautions against smuggling in children

Economy passengers on Air New Zealand’s ultra-long-haul flight between Auckland and New York can book a spot in the airline’s bunk-bed style sleeping pods from May, which will take to skies in late 2026.

In what the airline says is a world first, six full-length, lie-flat sleeping pods, are squeezed into the aisle of the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The pods, known as “Skynest”, will include fresh bedding, a privacy curtain, ambient lighting and kit with eye-masks, skincare, earplugs and socks.

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Ukraine war briefing: Orbán’s defeat in Hungary could unlock €90bn loan for Ukraine, says EU official

Ousted Viktor Orbán had previously blocked releasing funds; Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Iran war means US ‘has no time for Ukraine’. What we know on day 1,512

The change in Hungary’s government could help unlock €90bn for Ukraine and give a “new push” for it to join the European Union, the bloc’s expansion chief said Tuesday. Marta Kos, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, described the Hungarian election on Sunday – which saw long-ruling nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán defeated – as a “big win for Europe.” “I expect, personally, that this will have a positive effect on the accession process,” Kos said. She also said it would help unlock a major loan needed to prop up Ukraine’s budget. Orban had an effective veto on the funds, angering other EU leaders. He had tied the veto to a dispute with Ukraine over a damaged pipeline carrying Russian oil.

Britain will announce extra support for Ukraine worth millions of pounds on Wednesday as senior ministers hold a series of meetings with their international counterparts. In Washington DC, chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm a £752m payment to Kyiv ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The payment, part of a £3.36bn loan, is intended to help pay for weaponry including long-range missiles, air defence systems and drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told a German broadcaster that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruption to deliveries of US arms. Zelenskyy told public broadcaster ZDF that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have helped broker talks with Moscow on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, were “constantly in talks with Iran” at the moment. Describing the pair as “pragmatic”, Zelenskyy said they were trying to “get more attention from Putin in order to end the war”. But “if the United States does not put pressure on Putin (...) and only engages in a gentle dialogue with the Russians, then they will no longer be afraid”, he said.

Norway and Ukraine will strengthen their bilateral defence cooperation, including by producing Ukrainian drones in the Nordic country, the Norwegian government said on Tuesday. Under the agreement, Norway will support the production of drones in Ukraine, while the latter will share data, information and knowledge with Norway, Oslo said in a statement. Ukrainian drones will also be produced on Norwegian territory, it said. “We can learn from the experiences that Ukraine is making in this hard-won fight against the Russian aggression,” prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a joint press conference with Zelenskyy. “It is crucial that we learn from these experiences,” he said.

US officials announced on Tuesday an extension of sanctions relief on Russian oil company Lukoil for fuel stations outside Russia as the Trump administration seeks to mitigate spikes in crude prices. The action by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) means Lukoil-branded stations in countries like the United States can continue to serve customers through 29 October. The measure allows the gasoline stations to conduct transactions “in the ordinary course of business” such as procuring motor supplies, making insurance payments and processing employee payroll, OFAC said.

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