Kalakshar US

In the latest episode of How to Dismantle Public Services in 12 Easy Steps, a Trump executive order targeting libraries has real-world consequences. The AP reported over the weekend that libraries across the country are cutting programs that offer ebooks, audiobooks and other loan programs. These initiatives exploded in popularity following the pandemic, with over 660 million people globally borrowing them in 2023 — a 19 percent annual increase.

The cuts and slashing of grants followed a Trump executive order issued on March 14 targeting the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). His appointee to helm the agency, Keith E. Sonderling, quickly signaled that he was there to do the president’s bidding. He placed the IMLS’s entire staff on administrative leave, sent termination notices to most of them, canceled grants and contracts and fired everyone on the National Museum and Library Services Board.

Federal judges have temporarily blocked the administration from further gutting the IMLS. But while lawsuits from 21 states and the American Library Association make their way through the courts, the agency’s federal funding remains frozen. And libraries are scrambling to adjust.

If you’ve ever used your library to borrow an ebook or audiobook through an app like Libby or Hoopla, there’s a good chance federal funding made that possible. Libraries purchase digital leases for ebooks and audiobooks from publishers, enabling them to lend titles to patrons. The leases typically cost much more than physical copies and must be renewed after a set period or number of checkouts.

With library digital borrowing surging, those federal funds went a long way toward keeping the programs afloat. Mississippi has indefinitely suspended its Hoopla-based lending program.

The IMLS was created in 1996 by a Republican-controlled US Congress. The agency has an annual budget of under $300 million, with nearly half of that amount allocated to state libraries, which, in turn, help fund local libraries’ digital lending programs. “The small library systems are not able to pay for the ebooks themselves,” Rebecca Wendt, California’s state library director, told the AP.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/us-libraries-cut-ebook-and-audiobook-lending-programs-following-trump-executive-order-205113868.html?src=rss 

The French government has forbidden Telegram CEO Pavel Durov from leaving the country without official authorization, according to a report from Politico. Durov was arrested in France in August 2024 and later indicted for being complicit in illegal activity that occurrs on Telegram, like money laundering and the distribution of CSAM (child sexual abuse material).

Durov was attempting to travel to the US for “negotiations with investment funds,” Politico writes, something that French officials decided “did not appear imperative or justified.” In March, Durov received permission to travel to the United Arab Emirates, where he maintains citizenship. 

Following Durov’s arrest, Telegram shared that it abided by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and that “its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving.” As evidence of that constant improvement, Telegram decided it would provide user IP addresses and phone numbers in response to legal requests in September 2024, something it originally made a point of avoiding. The messaging platform later partnered with the International Watch Foundation in December 2024 to use the organization’s tools to block links to CSAM in Telegram. Both moves could be seen as attempts to appease authorities who might want the messaging platform to answer for the criminal activity it’s seemingly enabled. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-is-banned-from-leaving-france-without-permission-following-his-arrest-210401130.html?src=rss 

Whether you’re traveling for a vacation or just relaxing in the sunshine, a tablet is one of the easiest ways for you and your family to stay entertained while out and about during the summer. If you’re looking for a new tablet, Amazon is selling the most recent Apple iPad (A16) for $50 off. It’s an 11-inch model powered by the A16 chip. You can buy the 128GB tablet in any of the four available colors — silver, blue, pink or yellow — of the tablet for $299. If you need more storage, you can opt for the 256GB model for $399 or the 512GB version for $595. All of these discounts are for the WiFi only models and do not include any time under the Apple Care protection plan.

Apple has a bunch of different iPads for sale these days, and the A16 one is our favorite budget option for this brand. That’s because although the A16 chip is notably less powerful than the M3 or M4 you’ll find in higher-end tablets, this model still performs well on the basic tasks that you’d use an iPad for. This iPad has a liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2360×1640. Again, it’s not flashy, but plenty serviceable. 

One additional caveat for the A16 is that it can’t run Apple Intelligence, so this isn’t the iPad for you if you’re looking to experiment with lots of AI tools. But for about $300, it’s a great starter option if you want to have an easy way to play games, watch shows or read on a larger screen.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-latest-ipad-is-on-sale-for-50-off-ahead-of-memorial-day-195749473.html?src=rss 

The popular Amazon Fire Stick HD is on sale for $20 as part of a Memorial Day promotion. This is a discount of 43 percent, as the usual price is $35.

This particular stick made our list of the best streaming devices, and we particularly recommend it for the budget-conscious. The Fire Stick HD supports 1080p streaming at 60 FPS and includes an Amazon remote that can control the power and volume on the actual TV. This is something the previous iteration, the Fire TV Stick Lite, couldn’t do. The days of having to navigate multiple remotes are over.

The remote also integrates with Alexa for voice control. Amazon’s Fire TV interface supports all of the major streaming services, including Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu and all the rest. The Fire TV Stick HD ships with the updated interface that includes user profiles and a simpler UI.

On the downside, this is a streaming stick for HD content. It cannot stream stuff in 4K. Also, Amazon’s interface is heavy on the ads, especially when compared to rival platforms. Still, the price is right. We enjoyed this streaming stick at the original cost, so we definitely recommend it at $20. Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max is also on sale for $40, which is a discount of 33 percent. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-budget-streaming-stick-drops-to-only-20-for-memorial-day-185649504.html?src=rss 

Google has dug back into its past and introduced its latest take on smart glasses during I/O 2025. Glasses with Android XR brings Gemini AI to smart glasses thanks to an expanded partnership between Google and Samsung. These smart glasses can sync with a smartphone to access apps, and they’re equipped with speakers and an optional in-lens display for privately viewing information.

And for those that remember the less-than-stylish old Google Glass frames, this iteration seems more focused on real world wearability and style. Google is also working with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker as inaugural partners for providing the frames.

The highlight of the I/O presentation of the glasses attempted to do a live translation. Shahram Izadi and Nishtha Bhatia spoke Farsi and Hindi to each other as the XR frames provided real-time translation into English. The demo fell victim to the curse of AI misbehaving during a live show, but there was a brief moment where each of their glasses did successfully work as hoped.

In addition to that demo, Bhatia also showcased how the Gemini assistant could work with the XR glasses, asking it questions about images she was seeing backstage at the theater and calling up information about the cafe where she got coffee before the show.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/google-demos-android-xr-glasses-at-io-live-translation-191510280.html?src=rss 

Google has started testing a reasoning model called Deep Think for Gemini 2.5 Pro, the company has revealed at its I/O developer conference. According to DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, Gemini’s Deep Think uses “the latest cutting-edge research” that gives the model the capability to consider multiple hypotheses before responding to queries. Google says it got an “impressive score” when evaluated using questions from the 2025 United States of America Mathematical Olympiad competition. However, Google wants to take more time to conduct safety evaluations and get further input from safety experts before releasing it widely. That’s why it’s making Deep Think initially available to trusted testers via the Gemini API first in order to get their feedback first. 

The company has also introduced a better Gemini 2.5 Flash model, which is optimized for speed and efficiency. It’s now more efficient than before, uses fewer tokens and has scored higher in benchmarks for reasoning, multimodality, code and long context than its predecessor. It will be generally available in early June. For now, the improved Gemini 2.5 Flash is available as a preview via Google AI Studio for developers, via Vertex AI for enterprise customers and via the Gemini app for other users. 

While most of the efficiency gains covered on the I/O stage were focused on 2.5 Flash, Google did announce that it’s bringing the 2.5 Flash concept of “Thinking Budgets” to its more advanced 2.5 Pro model. This feature will let you balance tokens spent vs. accuracy and speed of output.

Separately, Google is bringing Project Mariner into the Gemini API and Vertex AI, as well. Project Mariner is Google’s Gemini-powered AI agents that can navigate pages on the web browser to complete tasks for users. The company will roll the agents out more broadly this summer so that developers can experiment with them. In addition, the company is releasing new previews for text-to-speech on both 2.5 Pro and 2.5 Flash models via the Gemini API, with support for two voices in 24 languages. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-introduces-the-deep-think-reasoning-model-for-gemini-25-pro-and-a-better-25-flash-174531020.html?src=rss 

One of the new AI features that Google has announced for Search at I/O 2025 will let you discuss what it’s seeing through your camera in real time. Google says more than 1.5 billion people use visual search on Google Lens, and it’s now taking the next step in multimodality by bringing Project Astra’s live capabilities into Search. With the new feature called Search Live, you can have a back-and-forth conversation with Search about what’s in front of you. For instance, you can simply point your camera at a difficult math problem and ask it to help you solve it or to explain a concept you’re having difficulty grasping. 

Search will also give you links to more resources you can explore. To be able to access Search Live, you’ll have to tap the Live icon in Google Lens or in AI Mode, which the company has just rolled out in the US after making it available to Labs users earlier this month. AI Mode is a new chatbot Google built directly into Search that can break down your query into subtopics so it can serve you more thorough results with “hyper-relevant content.” The new AI Mode tab will show up in Search and in the Google app in the coming weeks. 

AI Mode will be able to help you analyze and visualize numbers and data, as well, by generating interactive graphics for you. If you want to compare two different sports teams, for instance, Google will be able to generate a graph showing their performance using its own real-time sports information. The company will also be able to create real-time graphs for finance queries. 

Soon, AI Mode will be able to give you personalized responses based on your past activities. If you ask it where you can eat while visiting a specific city, for example, it can name restaurants with outdoor seating if you’ve booked an outdoor table in the past. It can also give you suggestions based on your hotel and flight bookings. In addition, AI Mode will come with a Shopping experience that will let you try on clothes virtually by uploading a photo of yourself. When you’re done, Google’s new checkout feature will be able to buy the clothes you want in your stead from their respective websites with Google Pay. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-search-live-will-let-you-ask-questions-about-what-your-camera-sees-174532593.html?src=rss