Lucknow: KGMU on Monday introduced advanced Functional MRI (fMRI) services to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with complex brain conditions like tumours and trauma. These services were announced during the 38th Foundation Day celebrations of the radiodiagnosis department, which also featured a continuing medical education (CME) programme on advanced neuroimaging techniques . Head, radiodiagnosis department, Prof Anit Parihar shared that the fMRI services are currently being offered at Shatabdi Hospital Phase I for research purposes and are provided free of cost to patients who meet specific medical criteria. He described fMRI as a more advanced imaging technology than conventional MRI that helps map critical areas of the brain responsible for movement, sensation and speech. This mapping is particularly useful for pre-surgical planning and is expected to improve treatment for epilepsy, stroke, brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Prof Parihar said that fMRI can assist in evaluating psychiatric conditions such as depression and schizophrenia. Dr Mona Tiwari from the Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata, discussed basics of fMRI physics and its use in identifying neurological issues. She explained the role of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) in detecting subtle brain injuries and managing autism. Dr Shriram Varadharajan from Chennai spoke about clinical applications of fMRI and DTI. KGMU VC Prof Soniya Nityanand, praised the department for its progress in medical technology. The celebrations concluded with awards ceremony. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .Veteran banker Chitral De Silva joins SDB bank leadership teamHuntington Bancshares Inc. stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the day

CleanSpark, Inc. Announces Proposed Private Offering of $550 Million of Convertible Notes

At Harvard Symposium, Squirrel Ai's Dr. Joleen Liang Forecasts The Next Chapter In AI-Driven Education

NoneHuntsville, AL, Dec. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GeoCue , a leading provider of advanced LiDAR hardware and software, is pleased to announce the addition of Epotronic as its latest distributor in Germany. Based in Düsseldorf, Epotronic specializes in the commercial distribution and use of surveying drones, industrial drones, sensors, and laser scanners for surveying and inspection purposes. "We are excited to welcome Epotronic to our network of distributors," said Samuel Flick, European Sales Manager at GeoCue. "Their expertise in drone technology and commitment to providing tailored solutions sync with our goal to deliver best-in-class hardware and software to our customers." Epotronic is well known for offering drone and sensor solutions that are tailored to meet the individual requirements of their clients. With an extensive network and years of experience, they now bring GeoCue's TrueView 3D Imaging Systems and LP360 software into its extensive catalog of equipment, surveying supplies, and software solutions. This partnership aims to empower Epotronic’s customers with efficient and accurate surveying tools that seamlessly integrate into their workflow, enhancing their overall productivity. "Partnering with GeoCue allows us to fulfill our customers' needs with precise, reliable, and consistent surveying results at fair pricing for years to come," said Tobias Wentzler, CEO of Epotronic GmbH. "GeoCue's TrueView LiDAR products and LP360 software are best-in-class, and we're confident that this collaboration will bring significant value to surveying and construction companies, government entities, and universities across Germany." Epotronic's decision to become a TrueView and LP360 provider was driven by GeoCue's reputation for delivering high-performance products backed by a trusted and experienced team. This partnership is expected to enhance the capabilities of professionals in the surveying and inspection industries by providing access to cutting-edge technology and comprehensive support services. Epotronic's expertise goes beyond technology. The company provides comprehensive training and customer project support, ensuring businesses can seamlessly integrate advanced drone and sensor technology into their operations with minimal investment risk. Epotronic’s addition to GeoCue’s global distribution network marks another step in expanding access to transformative LiDAR and geospatial solutions worldwide. About Epotronic Epotronic GmbH, based in Düsseldorf, Germany, specializes in the commercial distribution and application of advanced drones, sensors, and laser scanners for surveying and inspection. With a focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, Epotronic provides tailored hardware, software, and training services to empower businesses, government entities, and universities. Their commitment to precision, reliability, and efficiency ensures clients achieve unparalleled accuracy in their projects, whether for surveying, construction, or research. For more information, visit https://epotronic.com . About GeoCue GeoCue brings geospatial experts the very best in drone, mobile and land surveying equipment, geospatial point cloud software, workflow, training, and support for high-accuracy LiDAR and Imagery mapping to help civil engineering and surveying professionals achieve successful data collection, processing, and management. With TrueView LiDAR/Imaging sensors and LP360 point cloud data processing software we are the leader in LiDAR mapping processing in North America able to meet customers where they are in terms of technology adoption, budget, and resources. For more information about GeoCue, visit www.geocue.com . Attachments Epotronic TrueView Go

Immigration, Social Security, abortion rights: Gov. addresses Idahoans' key questions

ATLANTA — Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats grappled Monday with President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son for federal crimes, with some calling the move misguided and unwise after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law. The president pardoned Hunter Biden late Sunday evening, reversing his previous pledges with a grant of clemency that covers more than a decade of any federal crimes his son might have committed. The 82-year-old president said in a statement that his son’s prosecution on charges of tax evasion and falsifying a federal weapons purchase form were politically motivated. “He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. She, along with Biden and other White House officials, insisted for months that Hunter Biden would not get a pardon. That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump, who argues that indictments and a conviction against him were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote on social media. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., posted: “This wasn’t a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” Certainly, the president has Democratic defenders who note Trump’s use of presidential power to pardon a slew of his convicted aides, associates and friends, several for activities tied to Trump’s campaign and first administration. “Trump pardoned Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, as well as his son-in-law’s father, Charles Kushner — who he just appointed US ambassador to France,” prominent Democratic fundraiser Jon Cooper wrote on social media. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said there “is no standard for Donald Trump, and the highest standard for Democrats and Joe Biden.” Harrison pointed to Trump’s apparent plans to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray and replace him with loyalist Kash Patel and suggested the GOP’s pursuit of Hunter Biden would not have ended without clemency. First lady Jill Biden said Monday from the White House: “Of course I support the pardon of my son.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!Cavaliers plan to regroup vs. NBA-worst Wizards

DETROIT: If Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25 percent tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, booze and other goods. The president-elect floated the tariff idea, including additional 10 percent taxes on goods from China, as a way to force the countries to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the US But his posts Monday on Truth Social threatening the tariffs on his first day in office could just be a negotiating ploy to get the countries to change behavior. High food prices were a major issue in voters picking Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, but tariffs almost certainly would push those costs up even further. For instance, the Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said Tuesday that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt US farmers when other countries retaliate. “Tariffs distort the marketplace and will raise prices along the supply chain, resulting in the consumer paying more at the checkout line,” said Alan Siger, association president. Mexico and Canada are two of the biggest exporters of fresh fruit and vegetables to the US In 2022, Mexico supplied 51 percent of fresh fruit and 69 percent of fresh vegetables imported by value into the US, while Canada supplied 2 percent of fresh fruit and 20 percent of fresh vegetables. Before the election, about 7 in 10 voters said they were very concerned about the cost of food, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. “We’ll get them down,” Trump told shoppers during a September visit to a Pennsylvania grocery store. The US is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent US Census data. People looking to buy a new vehicle likely would see big price increases as well, at a time when costs have gone up so much they are out of reach for many. The average price of a new vehicle now runs around $48,000. About 15 percent of the 15.6 million new vehicles sold in the US last year came from Mexico, while 8 percent crossed the border from Canada, according to Global Data. Much of the tariffs would get passed along to consumers, unless automakers can somehow quickly find productivity improvements to offset them, said C.J. Finn, US automotive sector leader for PwC. That means even more consumers “would potentially get priced out,” Finn said. Hardest hit would be Volkswagen, Stellantis, General Motors and Ford, Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska wrote Tuesday in a note to investors. “A 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada would severely cripple the US auto industry,” he said. The tariffs would hurt US industrial production so much that “we expect this is unlikely to happen in practice,” Roeska said. The tariff threat hit auto stocks on Tuesday, particularly shares of GM, which imports about 30 percent of the vehicles it sells in the US from Canada and Mexico, and Stellantis, which imports about 40 percent from the two countries. For both, about 55 percent of their lucrative pickup trucks come from Mexico and Canada. GM stock lost almost 9 percent of its value, while Stellantis dropped nearly 6 percent. It’s not clear how long the tariffs would last if implemented, but they could force auto executives to move production to the US, which could create more jobs in the long run. However, Morningstar analyst David Whiston said automakers probably won’t make any immediate moves because they can’t quickly change where they build vehicles. Millions of dollars worth of auto parts flow across the borders with Mexico and Canada, and that could raise prices for already costly automobile repairs, Finn said. The Distilled Spirits Council of the US said tariffs on tequila or Canadian whisky won’t boost American jobs because they are distinctive products that can only be made in their country of origin. In 2023, the US imported $4.6 billion worth of tequila and $108 million worth of mezcal from Mexico and $537 million worth of spirits from Canada, it said. “Tariffs on spirits products from our neighbors to the north and south are going to hurt US consumers and lead to job losses across the US hospitality industry,” it added. Electronics retailer Best Buy said on its third-quarter earnings conference call that it runs on thin profit margins, so while vendors and the company will shoulder some increases, Best Buy will have to pass tariffs to customers. “These are goods that people need, and higher prices are not helpful,” CEO Corie Barry said. Walmart also warned last week that tariffs could force it to raise prices. Tariffs could trigger supply chain disruptions as people buy goods before they are imposed and companies seek alternate sources of parts, said Rob Handfield, a professor of supply chain management at North Carolina State University. Some businesses might not be able to pass on the costs. “It could actually shut down a lot of industries in the United States. It could actually put a lot of US businesses out of business,” he said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who talked with Trump after his call for tariffs, said they had a good conversation about working together. “This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on and that’s what we’ll do,” Trudeau said. Trump’s threats come as arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico have been falling. But arrests for illegally crossing the border from Canada have been rising over the past two years. Much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico, and seizures have increased. Trump has sound legal justification to impose tariffs, even though they conflict with a 2020 trade deal brokered in large part by Trump with Canada and Mexico, said William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Clinton administration trade official. The treaty, known as the USMCA, is up for review in 2026. In China’s case, he could simply declare Beijing hasn’t met obligations under an agreement he negotiated in his first term. For Canada and Mexico, he could say the influx of migrants and drugs are a national security threat, and turn to a section of trade law he used in his first term to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum. The law he would most likely use for Canada and Mexico has a legal process that often takes up to nine months, giving Trump time to seek a deal. If talks failed and the duties were imposed, all three countries would likely retaliate with tariffs on US exports, said Reinsch, who believes Trump’s tariffs threat is a negotiating ploy. US companies would lobby intensively against tariffs, and would seek to have products exempted. Some of the biggest exporters from Mexico are US firms that make parts there, Reinsch said. Longer term, Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the threat of tariffs could make the US an “unstable partner” in international trade. “It is an incentive to move activity outside the United States to avoid all this uncertainty,” she said. Trump transition team officials did not immediately respond to questions about what he would need to see to prevent the tariffs from being implemented and how they would impact prices in the US Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested Tuesday that Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own. Sheinbaum said she was willing to talk about the issues, but said drugs were a US problem.Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise prices, won't rule out revenge prosecutions

Syrians rejoice as Assad flees, ending brutal reignIf you get your phone wet, your first thought is probably to put it in rice. But please don't. You shouldn't use rice to dry out a wet smartphone , period. Experts have been saying for years that the rice method actually works slower than simply setting the phone on a counter. It can even make the situation worse by leaving goopy, wet grains stuck in your phone's crevices. Yet this myth is so pervasive that Apple explicitly told people to stop doing it as late as 2024. People keep doing it despite all the warnings against it. Case in point, smartphone myths don't take much to get started and become almost impossible to debunk once they do. And trust us, the rice myth is only one in a very, very long list. Some myths are more or less harmless. Others could put your entire digital life in peril. Here are 12 smartphone myths that we all need to stop believing yesterday. For many people, it's become a sort of end-of-the-day ritual to open the app switcher and close all the background apps they've used during the day. The logic comes from computers — open background programs consume resources, so closing them frees those resources. Except, smartphones work differently. This one has been known to be wrong for a long time. Back in 2016, an Apple executive confirmed there was no reason to do it. Apple's support page on closing an app corroborates this, recommending it only if an app is unresponsive. The same goes for Android. In fact, experts say closing background apps probably makes things worse. Smartphones are extremely efficient with their limited horsepower, automatically freeing up system resources by suspending apps as necessary. To actually limit which apps are running in the background and eating up resources, go to General > Background App Refresh on your iPhone and toggle off any offending apps. On Android, go to Battery > Battery Saver and enable Adaptive Battery. If you want to go even further, go to the app's setting page and disable Allow background usage. Just be aware that this could cause notification problems . Sometimes, a myth starts as good advice, then time goes by, and it becomes problematic. You've probably been told by tech-savvy people over the years that leaving your phone plugged in overnight will ruin the battery. It used to be that your phone was effectively topping itself off nonstop throughout the night — dropping from 100% to 99%, charging back up to 100%, and ad nauseam — which is bad news for a lithium-ion battery's health. Nowadays, though, optimized battery charging modes are commonplace. Optimized charging should be enabled by default, but just in case, head to Settings > Battery > Charging and enable Optimized Battery Charging on iPhone. On Android, it's in Settings > Battery > Charging optimization. Your phone learns from your daily sleep schedule, charging up to 80%, then waiting to charge the rest of the way a few minutes before you wake up. Really, the bigger issue here is that people shouldn't be charging their phones to 100% and letting them drop to 0%. Lithium-ion batteries last the longest when you keep them in the Goldilocks zone of 20% to 80% — or, if you're especially dedicated, 40% to 80%. Hopefully, new revolutionary battery technologies will make all this fussing with charging optimization a thing of the past. Yet another piece of wisdom that, if someone told you this 15 years ago, was probably true to an extent. Phone manufacturers used to ship proprietary charging bricks and cables with their devices and often recommended only charging with same-brand hardware for safety reasons. Perhaps you heard a secondhand story or two of someone's phone dying after plugging into a mystery charger. Times have changed. Nowadays, you can charge an iPhone or Android device without the proprietary brick or cable. Smartphones have improved drastically, with built-in protections to prevent battery damage if a brick supports a higher charge level than the phone. It's only when you need fast-charge speeds that using the right brick matters. The real issue is using cheap bricks and cables from questionable companies. In other words, maybe skip that $5 charger you found at the gas station or on Alibaba. Buy from a highly-rated third-party brand like Anker. Invest in that iPhone 3-in-1 charger , and your phone will thank you for it. This goes double for a wireless charger, which can be bad for your phone's battery even if it's a brand-name product. One thing that most certainly is not a myth is how dangerous it is to click on unknown download links. All it takes is opening one malicious executable on your desktop computer to blow the doors wide open for a hacker. Fortunately, smartphones get most of their apps from the tightly regulated, closely controlled Google Play Store and Apple App Store, so they're safe ... right? Not exactly. For years, both app stores have been negligent enough to allow outright malware and scams to be distributed through their platforms. In 2024, Zscaler found 90 malicious applications that had gotten 5.5 million downloads on the Google Play Store — and this is only one report in 2024. The situation isn't necessarily better on Apple's famously strict App Store. In 2019, 18 malware-laden apps slipped through Apple's defenses. In 2021, The Washington Post reported that 2% of the top 1,000 App Store apps were effectively scams. We could keep giving examples, but the evidence makes the point: just because an app is on the official store doesn't mean it's safe. The takeaway here is to "drive defensively" online. Avoid the worst cybersecurity mistakes , whether it's using simple passwords or thoughtlessly clicking on links. Check an app's user reviews and use common sense. If you're getting a weird gut feeling, heed it and keep your distance. Smartphones have given DSLRs a run for their money in the past decade, and you only need a handful of photography tips to take great photos. Thing is, progress has stagnated. Cheap Android phones can take excellent shots, while flagship devices from this year produce only marginally better pictures than their predecessors from five years ago. Despite this, cameras remain the marquee selling point of just about every smartphone these days, and the big statistic they always focus on is the megapixel count. For the layman, it seems fairly straightforward: more megapixels, better pictures. But this isn't necessarily true. More megapixels do produce bigger, more detailed images. Zooming in, you will find more detail in a 24 MP picture compared to a 12 MP one. However, what really makes a good smartphone picture is the onboard processing. The Google Pixel doesn't necessarily have the biggest or best camera sensor, but it did win the top three spots in Marques Brownlee's blind smartphone camera test. It's not about how much money you spend, either. The $1,200 Sony Xperia 1 V produced some of the worst portrait shots in Brownlee's testing. At the end of the day, what matters is choosing a smartphone with processing that produces pictures you like, not a smartphone with top-of-the-line camera specs. Aside from having a phone that supports fast charging, there's not much else you can do to speed up charging. That is (some might say) unless you disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, turn on low power mode, set screen brightness as low as it will go — and most importantly, turn on airplane mode. Airplane mode is touted as a one-tap way to do most of that without creating a shortcut or changing a whole bunch of settings that you'll have to revert later. Or is it? CNET tested this theory way back in 2014. According to them, enabling airplane mode only reduced charging time by about four minutes, and in some cases, 11 minutes. That might seem like an open-and-shut case, but there are a couple of things to consider. One, airplane mode isn't technically charging your phone faster. It disables settings (like Wi-Fi and cellular) that consume energy, allowing more power to go toward charging. But those settings are going to consume varying amounts of energy depending on how strong your Wi-Fi and cellular signal is in a given place. Two, this test was conducted 10 years ago. Smartphones have become much more efficient since then, and the test would need to be replicated on dozens of modern smartphone models to reach a definitive conclusion. Finally, most smartphones take about an hour to charge anyway — making an 11-minute improvement almost negligible — and you'd be robbed of the smartphone's functionality in the meantime. Over the past decade or so, it's come to light (pun intended) that blue light from your phone's screen disrupts your circadian rhythm, making it difficult to fall asleep after exposure to it. To combat this, smartphone manufacturers introduced dark mode and features like Night Shift on iPhone that give your screen an orange hue to help you sleep better. It seemed like we had the problem solved — until recent research. A 2019 study by the University of Manchester suggested that blue light has less impact on sleeping patterns than yellow light, and a 2023 study published in Nature Human Behavior concurred. We may have gone on this blue-light-eradicating craze based entirely on earlier, misunderstood research. So what's keeping us awake, then? Short answer: screens, regardless of color. It makes sense when you think about it. Light (like the sun) tells your body to wake up and be alert, so shining a bright light in your face — your screen — clearly isn't going to help you feel sleepy. Get away from those screens a couple of hours before bedtime. Read a book, listen to some relaxing music, and give your poor eyes a break for once. When 5G started rolling out in 2019, it was supposed to revolutionize mobile data. Instead, many people disable it because it drains battery. What 5G did revolutionize, however, was a new era of disinformation — particularly the scary idea that 5G emits dangerous radiation that causes cancer and headaches. To all the people who believe this, let's be abundantly clear: 5G has no proven, conclusive negative health effects. None. Nada. Zilch. Some studies have claimed to find a link between 5G and potential health issues, but they haven't been replicated enough and are often contradicted by other studies. This isn't to say more research won't change the paradigm later, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. A raft of independent, replicable studies would be needed before anyone can credibly claim that 5G is harmful. Anyone who champions the claim of harm despite this is either acting in bad faith or is dangerously misinformed. Humans have been exposed to electromagnetic radiation from cell towers (and many, many other sources) for decades, and there's still no evidence that it's hurting us. If you're worried about harmful radiation, then you are much better off focusing on wearing sunscreen. The evidence is indisputable: UV rays from the sun damage your DNA and increase your skin cancer risk. Never open banking apps or sensitive accounts on public Wi-Fi, people often say, unless you're using a VPN. Otherwise, hackers will intercept your information, steal your money, and leave you high and dry. Except ... no, not really. This used to be true when HTTP (unencrypted web traffic) was the norm and Wi-Fi protocols were weak. These days, the vast majority of websites use HTTPS (encrypted web traffic), and most web browsers warn you before connecting to an unencrypted website. Further, modern devices notify you if the network security is weak. Using HTTPS on properly configured Wi-Fi networks is generally enough to stay safe on public Wi-Fi. The real threat isn't hackers lurking on trustworthy public Wi-Fi networks — it's hackers pretending to be trustworthy public Wi-Fi networks. This is known as an "evil twin" attack. According to NordVPN , hackers go to places with free public Wi-Fi and create a false network with the exact same name — or better yet, provide a free network where none exists. Once you connect to an evil twin, the hacker redirects you to fake websites that mimic the ones you use, like your email or bank account. They skim your credentials when you try to log in, using them to access your accounts. Evil twins pop up anywhere you'd expect to find free Wi-Fi — airports, universities, even your nearby Starbucks — and it's virtually impossible to differentiate a legitimate network from an evil twin. Basically, you should avoid public Wi-Fi as much as reasonably possible. If you can't avoid it, at least don't log in to sensitive accounts or services while using it. Aside from putting bags under seats, buckling up, and watching tired flight attendants teach you how to strap on an oxygen mask, you know you'll inevitably be required to put your phone in airplane mode. We've been told for years that cellphone signals interfere with sensitive equipment, conjuring a scary image of the plane dropping out of the sky just because you were too lazy to toggle it on. But is there any truth to this? No, not really. According to CNN , smartphones not set to airplane mode don't pose a threat to the airplane's signal-sensitive gear. There was some concern in the early days of mobile phones about this theoretical interference, but studies have yet to demonstrate any issues — even after the rollout of 5G, which has so far proven harmless despite its proximity to airline frequencies. One reason for airplane mode may be to avoid disrupting the flight crew. According to Britannica , smartphones occasionally provoke audio artifacts that, while not risky to the plane, can annoy the pilots. Another reason may be to prevent inconsiderate people from being more disruptive than they already are. Imagine how annoying it would be to have a whole bunch of loud, chatty passengers taking calls during a flight that's already uncomfortable. It's a recipe for so-called "air rage." The EU has already allowed in-flight phone usage, so it may only be a matter of time before the myth gets debunked and the U.S. allows the same. Until then, the biggest reason to enable airplane mode (aside from complying with the flight crew) is to save your battery. Your phone wastes a ton of energy searching for signals, which could leave you with a dead battery on arrival. We've discussed how efficient phones are and why it's pointless to close background apps unless they are misbehaving. But this has led to another myth that requires debunking: your phone never needs to be restarted except for updates. This isn't true. Phones, like computers, have apps that suffer memory leaks, experience bugs, and don't always succeed in clearing RAM or resolving issues. These problems can accumulate and worsen performance. Restarting is a quick and easy way to freshen up a sluggish phone. So how often should you restart? About once a week is ideal. It only takes a minute, so set a reminder to do so each weekend. Another reason for this weekly restart comes from the NSA. Ostensibly, certain types of cyberattacks can be thwarted just by powering off regularly. Restarting keeps your phone fast and protected in one simple step. We saved the best for last: The biggest myth that needs debunking is this – updating your phone slows it down. Over the years, we've seen various seeming confirmations that smartphone manufacturers quietly slow older devices in an effort to get people to buy new ones. Apple famously got busted big time with "Batterygate," where it confirmed it was slowing down older iPhones. Many people took this as a cue to stop updating their phones to prevent being throttled by software updates. However, this myth is a misunderstanding of a well-intentioned decision, and heeding it puts you in grave digital danger. It's hard to defend Apple's anti-consumer practices, but as far as Batterygate goes, they were in the right. Worn-out batteries in old devices don't just lose capacity; they also put out less current, which could cause random shutdowns. To prevent this, Apple underclocked older devices. Replacing the battery on an old device is all it takes to bring it back to maximum performance. Updates don't just include new features and bug fixes — they also patch known vulnerabilities. Failing to update puts you at the mercy of hackers, who scan for vulnerable devices within 15 minutes of a vulnerability becoming public. Finally, the apps you use will eventually drop support for outdated operating systems. Trust us, updating your phone is in your best interest.

Russian news agencies late Sunday said Assad and his family were in Moscow. Crowds toured Assad's luxurious home after the rebels declared he had fled, a spectacular end to five decades of brutal Baath party government. The government fell 11 days after the rebels began a surprise advance more than 13 years after Assad's crackdown on anti-government protests ignited Syria's civil war, which had become largely dormant until the rebel push. "This victory, my brothers, is historic for the region," Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS) that spearheaded the advance, said in an address at the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. US President Joe Biden said Assad should be "held accountable" but called the nation's political upheaval a "historic opportunity" for Syrians to rebuild their country. "The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice," Biden said from the White House. Residents cheered in the streets as the rebel factions heralded the departure of "tyrant" Assad, saying: "We declare the city of Damascus free." Celebratory gunfire sounded along with shouts of, "Syria is ours and not the Assad family's". AFP correspondents saw dozens of men, women and children wandering through Assad's modern, spacious home whose rooms had been stripped bare. "I can't believe I'm living this moment," tearful Damascus resident Amer Batha told AFP by phone. "We've been waiting a long time for this day," he said. The rebel factions on Telegram proclaimed the end to "50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and displacement". It is, they said, "the start of a new era for Syria." The foreign ministry of Assad's key backer, Russia, had announced earlier Sunday that Assad had resigned from the presidency and left Syria. The head of war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP: "Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left" the facility. Later Sunday, a Kremlin source told Russian news agencies that he and his family had arrived in Moscow where they had been granted asylum "on humanitarian grounds". Around the country, people toppled statues of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad's father and the founder of the repressive system of government he inherited. For the past 50 years in Syria, even the slightest suspicion of dissent could land one in prison or get one killed. During their advance, the rebels said they had freed prisoners, including on Sunday at the Sednaya facility, notorious for the darkest abuses of Assad's era. UN war crimes investigators urged those taking charge in the country to ensure the "atrocities" committed under Assad's rule are not repeated. Amnesty International called this a "historic opportunity" for those responsible for the abuses in Syria to face justice. The end of Assad's rule came just hours after HTS said it had captured the strategic city of Homs. Homs was the third major city seized by the rebels, who began their advance on November 27, the same day a ceasefire took place in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. Hezbollah had supported Assad during the long civil war but has been severely weakened by Israeli strikes. The group's forces "vacated their positions around Damascus", a source close to the group said Sunday. HTS is rooted in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda but has sought to soften its image in recent years. It remains listed as a terrorist organisation by Western governments. On Sunday afternoon the rebels announced a curfew in the capital until 5:00 am (0200 GMT) Monday. The commander of Syria's US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls much of northeast Syria, hailed the fall of Assad's "authoritarian regime" as "historic". A military council affiliated with the SDF clashed Sunday with Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Syria's north, leaving 26 fighters from both sides dead, the Observatory said, as the Turkish-backed group launched an offensive on the Manbij area. The Observatory said Israel had struck government security buildings and weapons depots Sunday on the outskirts of Damascus, as well as in the eastern Deir Ezzor province. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the overthrow of Assad was a "historic day in the... Middle East" and the fall of a "central link in Iran's axis of evil". "This is a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, Assad's main supporters," he added. The UN envoy for Syria said the country was at "a watershed moment". Turkey, which has historically backed the opposition, called for a "smooth transition". Iran said it expected "friendly" ties with Syria to continue, even as its embassy in Damascus was vandalised. Since the start of the rebel offensive, at least 910 people, mostly combatants but also including 138 civilians, have been killed, the Observatory said. Syria's war has killed more than 500,000 people, and forced half of the population to flee their homes. Millions fled abroad. "I can barely remember Syria," said Reda al-Khedr, who was only five years old when he and his mother escaped Syria's Homs in 2014. "But now we're going to go home to a liberated Syria," he told AFP in Cairo. Liberated, but facing enormous challenges. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the bloc would help rebuild a Syria that safeguards minorities after Assad's fall. bur-it/jj