Meta is introducing a subscription for expanded access to advanced smart-glasses features. According to Wired, "[U]sers will need the Meta One Premium Plan to unlock expanded access to some features for their smart glasses, whether it's the Ray-Ban, Oakley, or Meta-branded version." They'll still be usable with a subscription, but "certain features will be limited," the report says. From the report: Specifically, a feature called Conversation Focus, which boosts the audio of the person you're speaking with so you can hear them better in loud environments. You'll get three hours per month without a subscription, but if you want to use it more often, then you'll need to pay up. Though even then, you're still capped at 15 hours. Subscribing also nets you "Premium Device Support," where you'll get faster access to what Meta says are "human experts" trained on the smart glasses' features, should any problems arise. Guess humans are better at some things after all.

A Meta spokesperson tells WIRED that this is "not an AI rate limit." Rate limits are common on other AI platforms -- users get free access to a feature until they hit a certain cap, then they'll need to subscribe to use it more until the limit resets at the end of the month. However, the Conversation Focus feature runs on-device, meaning it doesn't need to head to Meta's servers for AI processing. There's no real-time way to monitor how many hours you've used Conversation Focus, but you'll receive a notification when you get near the limit.

"The subscription supports that ongoing work and gives power users expanded access along with premium device support," the spokesperson says. "We're going to start testing new optional subscription plans that offer more premium features and advanced capabilities for those who want to unlock more from our apps and AI glasses."

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OpenAI is reportedly in early talks to give the U.S. government a 5% stake, potentially alongside similar contributions from other major AI companies. "Such a deal would help improve the industry's relations with the Trump administration and could help garner political support by sharing wealth generated by the AI boom with the public," reports The Guardian. From the report: [OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] and other OpenAI bosses have suggested that each of the biggest AI developers in the US should give 5% to their equity to an investment vehicle such as the Alaska Permanent Fund, a sovereign fund that invests US oil wealth into stocks and pays dividends to the state, the FT reported.

The talks are "conceptual" and in early stages, it said, and any deal could require an act of Congress to implement. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have previously suggested in policy papers that a public or sovereign wealth fund may be required in the future to distribute shares to the public. In April, OpenAI said that a "public wealth fund" could provide "every citizen -- including those not invested in financial markets -- with a stake in AI-driven economic growth." Further reading: Bernie Sanders Unveils $7 Trillion Plan To Give Americans Control of AI Industry

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: WhatsApp this week started rolling out username reservations ahead of the broader launch planned later this year. The feature -- which lets people find and message each other by handle instead of phone number -- is already raising impersonation concerns, drawing scrutiny from security experts and regulators in India, the app's largest market, with more than 500 million users. The rollout marks a shift in how people identify one another on WhatsApp. Instead of relying on phone numbers as the primary identifier, users will increasingly interact through platform-managed usernames, a change that Meta says improves privacy but that critics argue could create new opportunities for impersonation.

[...] Asked about how it protects against impersonation, Meta told TechCrunch it reserves usernames for public figures, government entities, and "some variations" of those names so only the legitimate owner can claim them. The company did not explain, however, how it decides which lookalike usernames get proactively reserved and which don't. The concerns have already reached regulators in India, where cyber fraud schemes frequently exploit messaging platforms to impersonate police, banks, and government officials. [...] Rachel Tobac, chief executive of SocialProof Security, called usernames a net privacy gain because they reduce the need to share phone numbers, which can expose users to SIM-swap attacks, phishing, and account takeovers. Still, she said, lookalike usernames still create opportunities for impersonation. "Ultimately, usernames are a great idea to avoid leaking your phone number to folks you don't know, but it's important to verify identity with the username function too," Tobac told TechCrunch. Her advice for most users: Pick a username that isn't easily guessable, so it's harder for attackers to find you, message you cold, or harass and spam you.

[...] The Mozilla Foundation said the introduction of usernames is likely to bring new tradeoffs. "Increased scams and impersonation from fake handles are potentially a big one," it told TechCrunch. "Checking a phone number can be a useful verification tool, but these harms are also permitted by the platform's fundamental design choices." Mozilla also flagged a broader interoperability question -- one worth logging if you're building on top of, or competing with, Meta's ecosystem. While letting users claim their existing Facebook and Instagram usernames may cut down on impersonation, it also shows how easily Meta can stitch identity together across its own apps, even as users still can't take that identity, or their contacts, to a rival platform. For now, WhatsApp says it is taking a gradual approach to the rollout. "We're taking our time and listening to feedback so that when it rolls out later this year we get it right," the company said in its FAQ.

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OnePlus is directing customers in some European markets toward OPPO devices, with its German website presenting OPPO as the natural upgrade path for existing users. The regional handoff adds to "months of speculation that the smartphone brand is slowly being folded into its parent company," reports Android Authority. From the report: The banner, seen on OnePlus' German website, tells visitors seeking "the experience you trust" that OPPO offers the same speed, performance, and compatibility that OnePlus users have come to expect. It hosts devices ranging from earbuds and tablets to OPPO's latest foldables, with each button taking users straight to OPPO's website. Particularly revealing is the wording. Instead of pushing future OnePlus hardware, the company focuses on the fact that OPPO's products are built on the hardware and software that users already know, while promising seamless compatibility with current OnePlus devices. In other words, if you're up for your next upgrade, OnePlus seems to be saying OPPO has what you're looking for right now.

Reports in the past several months have said OnePlus has been scaling back operations in several global markets. Previous restructuring reportedly included cutting headcount, a more focused regional strategy, and greater dependence on OPPO's infrastructure. The two brands have been sharing engineering resources, software development, and supply chains for years now, particularly as OxygenOS and ColorOS have begun to look more and more alike.

Interestingly, the change appears to be regional. OPPO already has a retail footprint in Germany, so the handoff is fairly straightforward. In the United States, however, things are very different, where OPPO does not officially sell smartphones. That means American OnePlus customers aren't getting the same messaging, mostly because there isn't an OPPO lineup waiting to step in.

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Following another tough weekend in Austria, Charles Leclerc has outlined his expectations for Ferrari’s performance at the British Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli faced some setbacks in Barcelona and Austria, but the Mercedes driver is confident that he can take the learnings forward ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend.

There have been plenty of memorable off-track moments at Silverstone – here are some of the most viral from previous Grands Prix.

Lewis Hamilton has been looking ahead to what might be possible at his home event, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – a track at which he has experienced record-breaking success.

Lando Norris has shared his thoughts after reports emerged that Max Verstappen’s management have held discussions with McLaren.

Haas have faced some tricky weekends of late, with Ollie Bearman admitting that there is a reason why the squad have fallen behind their competitors.

Arvid Lindblad will take part in his first home race as an F1 driver at this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Gedoe in Groningen. Dat heb je vaak, en wat je dan ook vaak hebt, is dat de hier ter redactie (en ter redactie van de zeloten van Pointer) bekende Driekus Vierkant zich er diametraal tegenaan bemoeit. Nu dit weer. "Komen er nieuwe kerncentrales in Groningen of in Zeeland? Dat is de grote vraag nu voor het kabinet twee locaties zijn overgebleven: De Eemshaven of Terneuzen. De Zeeuwen lijken er voorzichtig voor open te staan, maar de Groningers absoluut niet", meldt Met Het Oog Op Morgen, de blik van de Randstad. Maar is dat wel zo? Driekus dook in de enquêteresultaten en in de berichtgeving tot aan metadatalevel aan toe (kalm aan Sherlock, red.) en vond dat het met "absoluut" reuze meevalt. Sterker nog, het lijkt haast wel alsof de lokale politiek en media vooral heel erg graag willen dat er geen draagvlak is. Wat gek is, want er gaat niets boven kernenergie. En in het kader van de constructieve journalistiek komt hij ook nog met een plan! "Geef Groningers en hun bedrijven stroom tegen kostprijs plus, en geef de regio een aandeel met dividend op de export naar de rest van het land. Dan schiet die 51 procent draagvlak moeiteloos richting 75. De vraag is niet of Groningen het zich kan permitteren een kerncentrale toe te laten. De vraag is of het zich kan permitteren die kans te laten lopen, omdat het te druk was met klagen. Zet de draagvlakmachine uit. En begin met de hand die er het hardst aan draait: de eigen." BINDENDE LEESTIP derhalve.

Duitsers, wat zijn het toch luie donders. Zulke luie donders dat het aantal Duitsers dat bij het minste of geringste kuchje de baas belt dat er niet gewerkt kan worden echt volledig de pan uit rijst. In 2025 meldde de gemiddelde Duitser 19,5 dagen ziek, waarmee ze nog 0,2 dag luier zijn dan Nederland. Bah. Ze zeggen weleens dat elke keer dat je met je ogen knippert, er ergens een Duitser met een licht aangezet kreuntje in de stem naar zijn baas belt met de boodschap dat het "heute ff nicht geht". Gelukkig zijn de Duitsers weliswaar aartslui maar tegelijkertijd niet van de halve maatregelen, dus wordt naar de baas bellen dat je te beroerd bent om de handjes te laten wapperen VERBOTEN. Voordat iemand ziekteverlof krijgt, moet de dokter zich voortaan in het proces mengele. Al vanaf de eerste dag dat een werknemer ziekteverlof opneemt, moet er een verklaring van de huisarts worden aangeleverd bij de baas. Wunderbar! Smoesjes over migraines en buikgriepjes RAUS!

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FRANKFURT AM MAIN (ANP/DPA) - Duitse media stellen dat Julian Nagelsmann alsnog wordt ontslagen als bondscoach van het Duitse voetbalelftal. Bild meldt dat hem al is geadviseerd om de eer aan zichzelf te houden en op te stappen.

Die Mannschaft overleefde op het WK voetbal wel de groepsfase, maar vloog er in de eerste ronde van de knock-outfase al uit door een nederlaag na strafschoppen tegen Paraguay.

Volgens de Frankfurter Rundschau is zijn vertrek een feit en zal de raad van toezicht van de Duitse voetbalbond DFB komend weekend beslissen over de beëindiging van het contract van de 38-jarige Nagelsmann, die een verbintenis heeft die loopt tot en met het EK van 2028.

Nagelsmann gaf na de uitschakeling aan dat hij van plan was aan te blijven als bondscoach van het Duitse nationale voetbalelftal. Hij zou nu bedenktijd hebben gevraagd na gesprekken met hoge functionarissen van de DFB.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Werkgevers die de pensioenen voor hun personeel regelen bij verzekeraars of premiepensioeninstellingen, moeten haast maken met de overgang naar het nieuwe pensioenstelsel. De transitie bij deze categorie pensioenen gaat nog te langzaam, stelt het ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid in een voortgangsrapport.

Naast pensioenfondsen is het ook mogelijk om de oudedagsvoorziening onder te brengen bij andere partijen, zoals verzekeraars of premiepensioeninstellingen (PPI's). Waar de fondsen volgens het voortgangsrapport op schema liggen om voor de deadline van 1 januari 2028 over te zijn, ziet het ministerie bij die andere instellingen de tijd dringen. In die categorie moeten in totaal nog 44.000 regelingen worden omgezet.

"Hoewel voortgang wordt geboekt, ligt het tempo van de omzetting onder het niveau dat nodig is", staat in het voortgangsrapport. Een grote zorg is dat waarschijnlijk veel overgangen in de laatste kwartalen voor de deadline plaatsvinden. De druk op uitvoerders en adviseurs dreigt dan zo groot te worden dat er knelpunten ontstaan.

⚽️ Kick-off time: 12pm local/3pm EDT/8pm BST/5am AEST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | The full draw | Golden Boot

Spain make two changes to the team that beat Uruguay 1-0 in their final group game: Dani Olmo and Pedro Porro replace Mikel Merino and Marcos Llorente.

Austria bring in Kevin Danso, Paul Wanner and Michael Gregoritsch for Philipp Lienhart, Phillip Mwene and Marko Arnautovic.

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• ‘It’s very much on our mind’: Tour’s technical director

• Extreme weather could impact the peloton on Sunday

The 2026 Tour de France, which starts in Barcelona on Saturday, is steeling itself for climate change disruption with another extreme heatwave predicted to return to Europe in the coming days which could see stages cancelled.

“It’s something that’s very much on our mind,” said Thierry Gouvenou, the Tour’s technical director. “It’s not the first time we have faced this, but this time it’s worse because of what we have already experienced in May and June.”

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Staatssecretaris Claudia van Bruggen heeft namens het kabinet excuses aangeboden voor de rol die de overheid speelde bij binnenlandse afstand en adoptie. „Alles zat erin, ik had de woorden niet mooier kunnen bedenken.”