The gap between smartphones and computers has never been closer: Your phone is powerful and can likely do most of the things you traditionally needed a computer to do. Some things, however, are still quite different. Display settings, for one: The controls I have over my iPhone's display pales in comparison to what I can adjust on my Mac. For most display settings, I'm reliant on Apple's defaults.That's no longer the case with Samsungat least, for some devices. While Android devices tend to offer more control over settings (including for the display), Samsung is taking things to another level. The company just released a new "Display Assistant" app in beta alongside the company's One UI 7.0 beta. This new app adds a number of new controls for the display on your Galaxy S24, which can help for maximizing battery life or just generally getting more out of your screen.What does Display Assistant let you control? With the new Display Assistant beta, you'll find six different settings you can mess with that all adjust how your display behaves. With "App's screen timeout," you can set a timer per app that turns off the display. Maybe you want to keep your display active for longer on apps like Instagram or WhatsApp, but prefer to keep it shorter for apps like banking or credit card apps. "Keep screen on" lets you choose to keep your device's display on for 30 minutes at a time, except when you press the power key, reboot the phone, or the battery is below 15%. "Brightness limit profile," on the other hand, lets you override the standard brightness limit on your Galaxy, and push it brighter than Samsung typically allows. Android Police warns doing so will cause your phone to run hotter than usual, and it will take longer for it to cool."Adaptive brightness options" allows you to either double or quadruple the speed your display's brightness changes, while "Standard refresh rate apps" lets you set a 60Hz refresh rate for specific apps. This is a good call for apps where you won't miss the smooth motion of 120Hz: Cutting the refresh rate in half will save battery, and since this is app-by-app, you don't have to completely go without 120Hz throughout your Galaxy.Finally, there's "Screen Curtain," which puts the screen in a "doze" state, as the beta puts it. It doesn't go into more technical details than that, but Android Authority says it puts your display in an "extremely low brightness mode," without actually locking the screen. Samsung says it's good for situations such as phone calls, playing games, YouTube, and YouTube Music, but I'm not so sure about two of those example. Sure, for phone calls or YouTube Music, keep the brightness all the way down (or off, even), but you probably want to be able to see what you're doing if you're playing games or watching YouTube. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. How to try out Display AssistantIf you want to try the Display Assistant beta and have more control over your phone's display, you'll need a couple things. First, this only works on Galaxy S24 devices at this time. Second, your S24 needs to be running One UI 7, which is currently in beta. Once you're running the beta, you can install the app from the Galaxy Store.

One of my first memories of Christmas baking is watching my mom cut shapes out of sugar cookie dough, then ball up the scraps to roll out again. Repeat this process, and the ball of scraps gets smaller and tougher. I didnt have much patience for it as a kid, and now that Im baking with my own kids, we do things a little differently. We consider the scraps to be cookies in their own right, and we bake them as-is.The resulting cookies are what I call scrappies. Theyre irregularly shaped, containing the outlines of gingerbread arms and snowman hats. I dont ball them up and roll them out again; I just cut out the shapes I want (or have the kids do that step), and put everything on a baking tray. The nice cookies go on one tray, to be carefully decorated and lovingly cared for until they can be served or gifted; and the scrappies go on the other side, to be smeared with icing and devoured willy-nilly. Credit: Beth Skwarecki The scrappies solve a handful of minor problems all at the same time. First, theres the tedium of re-rolling the scraps into a smaller and smaller canvas for cookies. This can take forever, Zenos paradox style. If the kids are having fun cutting them out, great, but usually everybody is impatient to get on to the decorating and the eating.Second, theres the fact that re-rolling doesnt make for very good cookies. As Allie Chanthorn Reinmann, our food editor, told me, re-rolling cookie dough more than once can overwork the mixture, resulting in stronger gluten development. A stronger gluten network leads to tougher cookies, and not as much rise." From a taste and texture standpoint, youre better off baking the scraps as-is.And then we get to the more serious issues, like how soon the kids and I can eat the cookies were making. Do you just chow down on a perfect gingerbread man? Accidentally break his head off? Wait until you see someone else sneaking a bite, and then declare that fairness insists you get a cookie too? Or make the argument that youre not doing your due diligence as a chef unless you taste your creations early and often?No worries when you have scrappies. The good cookies and the scrappies come out of the oven at the same time. You can break a scrappie to test its doneness. You can sample one to evaluate its flavor and crunch. And, best of all, you have a free supply of snacking material and a test canvas for decorations. The two-year-old wants to squeeze icing all over something? She can squeeze it onto a scrappie. Ill be doing the same, applying a squiggle of the surplus onto a cookie that looks like a squiggle itself.

Movie icon and super spy James Bond seemed to be on another rise to the top of the box office just a few years ago, but things have been almost as quiet as a shot from a Walther PPK with a silencer ever since then. Daniel Craig took on the role in 2006 with Casino Royale and passed the baton with 2021s No Time to Die in one of the most heart-wrenching endings in Bonds cinematic history (you cried, just admit it).The only thing sadder is the reason why we havent seen a new Bond movie since then.The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the franchise from her father and film producer Albert Cubby Broccoli when he died in 1996, are in the middle of an ugly fight thats halted production on the next Bond film. Apparently, Barbara doesnt trust Amazon with her familys famous film franchise.How bad is it? Well, heres a quote from Barbara to some of her friends explaining how she feels about the people who run Amazons media empire: These people are fing idiots. Man, thats awkward with a capital awk.The stalemate started back in 2021 when Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion and thus acquired the rights to distribute Bond films, according to Variety. The deal seemed like a big move for Amazon to weave its way into Hollywood using one of its most storied and rock solid film franchises.Unfortunately for Amazon, the true power over the James Bond films lies with Broccoli. She supplies the ideas for Bonds big screen adventures and when they go into production, and Broccoli isnt keen on working with Amazon anytime soon. The WSJ spoke to 20 people familiar with the feud who say Broccoli feels Amazon isnt the right place for a Bond movie because its core business is retail and ecommerce.When Amazon purchased MGM, clinching the rights to the Bond franchise was a key part of the deals value. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some reservations but were assured they would still retain creative control. COVID lockdowns were already making it hard to jump into the next Bond film production as well. However, things seemed to be smoothing over between the two parties when Amazon also insisted that its next Bond movie No Time to Die would get a theatrical release.But as soon as the deal closed, Amazon executives started thinking of ways to expand the Bond film franchise to other mediums like a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a separate spy film or TV show that took place in the Bond universe. Broccoli refused to let any of these projects go forward. She also took umbrage with Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salkes use of the word content to describe new James Bond projects and any ideas Amazon had for Bond were labeled TBD in memos. To date, the only Bond property Amazon could get Broccoli to sign off on is a reality series 007: Road to a Million thats entering its second season.Broccoli and her family have been part of the Bond movie franchise for almost as long as she lived so shes fiercely protective of the brand and her fathers cinematic legacy. Shes also started training Wilsons son Gregg to produce recent installments and possibly prepare him to take over the franchise someday. Even that has led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next film. Thats assuming we get one and it doesnt look like that will happen anytime soon.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/james-bond-the-movie-franchise-not-the-spy-may-be-in-deep-jeopardy-211608094.html?src=rss

A little more than a week after announcing Gemini Deep Research, Google is making the tool available to more people. As of today, the feature, part of the companys paid Gemini Advanced suite, is available in every country and language where Google offers Gemini. In practice, that means Gemini Advanced users in more than 100 countries globally can start using Deep Research right now. Previously, it was only available in English.As a refresher, Deep Research takes advantage of Gemini 1.5 Pros ability to reason through long context windows to create comprehensive but easy-to-read reports on complex topics. Once you provide the tool a prompt, it will generate a research plan for you to approve and tweak as you see fit. After it has your go-ahead, Gemini 1.5 Pro will search the open web for information related to your query. That process can sometimes take several minutes, but once Gemini is done, youll have a multi-page report you can export to Google Docs for later viewing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-gemini-deep-research-tool-is-now-available-globally-210151873.html?src=rss

Instagram is still thought of as a feed of algorithmically-suggested photos first and foremost, but the app is also pretty popular for messaging, too. If you want to take some of the stress out of remembering to send a birthday message to a friend, as part of a recent update, you can now schedule Instagram messages in advance. Scheduled messages can't contain media like GIFs, photos or videos, but you can schedule them up to 29 days in advance on both the Android and iOS versions of the app.What are Instagram DMs?If you've stuck to using Instagram as a repository for your smartphone photos, you might have missed out on the introduction of Instagram Direct back in 2013, a direct messaging system integrated right in the Instagram app for sharing photos and videos with friends and family.Meta has changed the look, location, and features of Instagram DMs over the years, hooking it up with Messenger in 2020, and more recently adding location-sharing abilities in November 2024. Adding scheduled messages brings Instagram more line with messaging tools like iMessage and Gmail.How to schedule an Instagram messageYou can access DMs by tapping on the arrow or chat bubble icon in the top right corner of your feed. To schedule a message, choose an existing chat or create a new message by tapping on the new message icon in the top right corner. Then fill out the text box with whatever you want to say, and tap and hold on the blue arrow icon to the right of the text box.Instagram will then pull up a series of dials you can use to set the date and time you want your message to be sent. Once you're happy, tap the blue send button at the bottom of the menu and the message will be scheduled.Ian Carlos Campbell for EngadgetHow to delete a scheduled Instagram messageIf you change your mind about a scheduled message, you can delete them directly from your chat. From inside a chat, tap on the small text that says "scheduled messages" above the text box. Then tap and hold on the message you want to delete. From the dropdown menu that appears, tap on "Delete" to remove the message.How to edit a scheduled Instagram messageIf you want to edit your message instead of deleting it, things get more complicated. It became possible to edit normal Instagram messages in March 2024, but editing a scheduled message currently isn't possible. There is a way to achieve the same effect if you're willing to do some extra work, though.First, open the chat were the scheduled message you want to edit is. Then tap on "scheduled messages" near the bottom of the screen above the text box. Find the message you want to edit, then tap and hold on it. Tap on "Copy" from the menu that menu to copy the text to your clipboard, then repeat the process and tap on "Delete."With your copied message in hand, paste it into the text box of your existing chat or a new message. Edit it however you see fit, then tap and hold on the blue arrow to the right of the text box to schedule it again for your desire date and time. Tap on the send button at the bottom of the menu, and it will be scheduled.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/how-to-schedule-messages-on-instagram-205659294.html?src=rss

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President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that the European Union may face tariffs if the bloc does not cut its growing deficit with the United States by making large oil and gas trades with the worlds largest economy.The EU already buys the lions share of U.S. oil and gas exports, according to U.S. government data.No extra volumes are currently available as the United States is exporting at capacity, but Trump has pledged to further grow the countrys oil and gas production.I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!! he added.The European Commission said it was ready to discuss with Trump how to strengthen what it described as an already strong relationship, including in the energy sector.The EU is committed to phasing out energy imports from Russia and diversifying our sources of supply, a spokesperson said.The United States already supplied 47% of the European Unions liquefied natural gas imports and 17% of its oil imports in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from EU statistics office Eurostat.Tariff threatsTrump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has vowed to impose tariffs of 10% on global imports into the U.S. along with a 60% tariff on Chinese goods duties that trade experts say would upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation against U.S. exports.The U.S. ran a $208.7-billion goods trade deficit with the EU in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Although the U.S. runs a surplus with the EU on services, Trump has focused mainly on goods trade, frequently complaining about the blocs car exports to the U.S. with few vehicles shipped east across the Atlantic.German and Italian car exports currently face a 2.5% U.S. tariff, which could quadruple if Trump makes good on his threats.Trump has also vowed to authorize hefty tariffs on the top three U.S. trading partners, Mexico, Canada and China, on his first day in office if they fail to stem illegal border crossings into the U.S. and trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl.William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the EU could negotiate its way out of Trumps tariffs.This could be a win-win, telling them to buy something they want and need anyway, Reinsch said.However, most European oil refiners and gas firms are private and governments have little say on where their purchases come from unless authorities impose sanctions or tariffs. The owners usually buy their resources based on price and efficiencies.The U.S. is already producing and exporting record volumes of oil and gas and increasing those would require significant investment, especially for LNG export terminals.Reinsch noted that while there is demand in Europe now for U.S. oil and gas to replace shunned Russian supplies, long-term demand is unclear with the transition to renewable energy sources. Companies will be reluctant to invest if they think current demand is transitory, Reinsch said.Buying more U.S. energyThe EU has steeply increased purchases of U.S. oil and gas following the blocks decision to impose sanctions and cut reliance on Russian energy after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.The United States has grown to become the largest oil producer in recent years with output of over 20 million barrels per day of oil liquids, or a fifth of global demand.U.S. crude exports to Europe stand at around 2 million bpd, representing over half of U.S. total exports, with the rest going to Asia.The Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden are the biggest importers, according to the U.S. government data.Europe is taking close to its maximum capacity for U.S. crude, meaning there is little scope for stronger imports next year, said Richard Price, oil markets analyst at Energy Aspects. He also said refinery closures in Europe in 2025 wont help increase imports.The United States is also the worlds biggest gas producer and consumer with output of over 103 billion cubic feet per day.The U.S. government projects that U.S. LNG exports will average 12 bcfd in 2024. In 2023, Europe accounted for 66% of U.S. LNG exports, with the UK, France, Spain and Germany being the main destinations.U.S. oil production growth will likely be slow until 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.Gas output could meanwhile rise further to meet record U.S. domestic demand and LNG exports could also increase if the government approves more LNG terminals.The EU imported around 2 bcfd of Russian LNG in 2024 and it could move to ban those supplies and seek replacement from other sources, said Alex Froley, LNG analyst at ICIS.Rishabh Jaiswal, Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Enes Tunagur, Alex Lawler, Marwa Rashad, Philip Blenkinsop, and Jan Strupczewski, Reuters

With just days until Christmas and the start of the holidays, President Joe Biden is taking care of some last-minute business, givingmost federal employees Christmas Eve off. Bidens parting gift to government workers was signing an executive order on Thursday giving them an early start to the holiday to be with family and friends. However, employees who are vital to national security, defense, or other public need are exempt.If youre wondering if this makes it a national holiday, were sorry to say, the answer is no. Unfortunately, Christmas Eve is not a designated federal holiday. To create a federal holiday, it needs to be proposed like any other bill in the U.S. Senate and House, passed, and then signed by the president.And Biden isnt the first president to give government employees the day before Christmas off. Federal staffers last had Christmas Eve off in 2020, under President Donald Trump, who also gave them the day off in 2018 and 2019. (This is, of course, ironic because Trump is currently working on a plan to slash thousands of government jobs, which could leave many out of a job in the new year. Under Trump,billionaires Elon Muskand former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy have said they aim to cut government spending by 30%, with Ramaswamy calling for firing half of the federal workforce.)So, for most American workers, Christmas Eve remains a work day, unless you requested paid time off or your employer just happens to be as generous as Joe.What are the federal holidays in 2025?Typically, there are only 11 federal holidays.In 2025, however, there is one catch, but a good one. Inauguration Day is on the list, but the holiday only applies to federal employees in Washington, D.C., and certain federal offices. However, January 20, is also the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., so it will be observed as a federal holiday either way. Heres the list of federal holidays in 2025. These are the official holiday names as designated when they were signed into law and they may differ from how state governments list them or how theyre known colloquially (i.e. January 20 is listed as Martin Luther King Jr. Day on many state calendars; and for at least two dozen states, the third Monday in February is called either Washington and Lincolns Birthday or Presidents Day):January 1, 2025: New Years DayJanuary 20, 2025: Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. January 20, 2025: Inauguration DayFebruary 17, 2025: Washingtons BirthdayMay 26, 2025: Memorial DayJune 19, 2025: Juneteenth National Independence DayJuly 4, 2025: Independence DaySeptember 1, 2025: Labor DayOctober 13, 2025: Indigenous Peoples DayNovember 11, 2025: Veterans DayNovember 27, 2025: Thanksgiving DayDecember 25, 2025: Christmas Day