An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The UK's first superfast-charging train running only on battery power will come into passenger service this weekend -- operating a five-mile return route in west London. Great Western Railway (GWR) will send the converted London Underground train out from 5.30am to cover the full Saturday timetable on the West Ealing to Greenford branch line, four stops and 12 minutes each way, and now carrying up to 273 passengers, should its celebrity stoke up the demand.

The battery will recharge in just three and a half minutes back at West Ealing station between trips, using a 2,000kW charger connected to a few meters of rail that only becomes live when the train stops directly overhead. There are hopes within government and industry that this technology could one day replace diesel trains on routes that have proved difficult or expensive to electrify with overhead wires, as the decarbonization of rail continues.

The train has proved itself capable of going more than 200 miles on a single charge -- last year setting a world record for the farthest travelled by a battery-electric train, smashing a German record set in 2021. The GWR train and the fast-charge technology has been trialled on the 2.5-mile line since early 2024, but has not yet carried paying passengers.

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Belkin is shutting down cloud support for most Wemo smart home devices on January 31, leaving only Thread-based models and devices already set up in Apple HomeKit functional. Everything else will lose remote access, voice assistant integrations, and future app updates. The Verge reports: The shut down was first announced in July and impacts most Wemo devices, ranging from smart plugs to a coffee maker, with the exception of a handful of Thread-based devices: the 3-way smart light switch (WLS0503), stage smart scene controller (WSC010), smart plug with Thread (WSP100), and smart video doorbell camera (WDC010). Wemo devices configured through Apple's HomeKit will also continue to work, but you have to set them up in HomeKit before January 31st if you want to use that option.

Other affected devices will only work manually after Saturday. If your Wemo device is still under warranty, you may be able to get a partial refund for it after cloud services shut down.

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Apple posted its biggest quarter ever, with iPhone revenue hitting a record ~$85.3 billion and Services climbing 14% to ~$30 billion. Total revenue reached nearly $143.76 billion.

"The demand for iPhone was simply staggering," CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call discussing the results. "This is the strongest iPhone lineup we've ever had and by far the most popular."

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TooooooonyC has added a photo to the pool:

photo-tez has added a photo to the pool:

角館武家屋敷通り

De sinds 2024 door de rebellen van M23 gecontroleerde coltanmijn Rubaya stortte woensdag in. Volgens een bron van Reuters zijn daar zeker 227 doden bij gevallen.

WASHINGTON (ANP) - De Verenigde Staten hebben de Iraanse Revolutionaire Garde gewaarschuwd dat ze "geen onveilige acties" in de Straat van Hormuz tolereren. De Iraanse elitetroepen beginnen zondag een tweedaagse oefening met scherpe munitie in het gebied.

Het Amerikaanse leger zal "onveilige" manoeuvres, zoals vluchten boven Amerikaanse oorlogsschepen en het naderen van Iraanse speedboten op ramkoers met Amerikaanse schepen, niet tolereren, aldus Centcom, het Amerikaanse commandocentrum in het Midden-Oosten. De Iraanse oefening mag de vrije doorvaart in de belangrijke zeestraat niet belemmeren, eist het Amerikaanse leger.

De Straat van Hormuz, een 55 kilometer brede waterweg tussen Iran en Oman, is een van 's werelds belangrijkste scheepvaartroutes voor olie-export. De scheepvaartroutes in de Straat van Hormuz liggen voornamelijk in de territoriale wateren van Oman en Iran, maar vallen onder het internationale zeerecht en het VN-verdrag inzake het recht van de zee (UNCLOS).

De waterweg ligt op ongeveer 11.000 kilometer van de Amerikaanse oostkust.

Founded in 1952 by Robert and Signe McMichael, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is synonymous with icons like the Group of Seven, Emily Carr, and Tom Thomson. Beyond this legacy lies a vibrant, evolving institution?home to contemporary and Indigenous art, groundbreaking exhibitions, and new scholarship, but despite this breadth, public perception remains rooted in the past. With a major expansion underway, BMD was tasked with creating a bold new brand identity and website to reposition McMichael as a dynamic cultural space?one that challenges ideas about Canada, art, and society.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo: