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What are the advantages of creating a digital mirror of a city – or an entire island? 
© 2025 BBCWorld 0:55am 

Slovakian rap festival featuring Kanye West called off
Protest groups had raised a petition against West's appearance at the Rubicon festival in Slovakia. 
© 2025 BBCWorld 0:05am 

This smart lighting brand is Matter agnostic, and that’s fine by me
Lutron, the smart lighting company that developed the world’s first dimmer switch, has a seat on the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s board of directors, but its products don’t support Matter, the smart home standard the CSA released in late 2022 and continues to iterate on. Do I care? Not a whit. Lutron’s smart home products are so good—and compatible with so many other ecosystems, including Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Ring, and even Sonos speakers—that the absence of Matter support doesn’t bother me in the least. I have several Lutron Caséta and Lutron Diva products in my walls, and I’m considering adding more given the excellent discounts that are available during Amazon’s Prime Day sale (Lutron’s products rarely go on sale). The Lutron Smart Hub must be hardwired to your router.Michael Brown/Foundry If you’re new to the Lutron ecosystem, there are two distinct consumer product families, and in many cases, neither of them requires the presence of a neutral wire in the box where you install them. They both rely on Lutron’s Smart Hub, however, which must be hardwired to your router. If you already have the hub, you can buy the switches, ceiling-fan and smart-shade controllers, and wireless remote controls, and other components a la carte. I’ll point out deals on both starter kits and single products. Lutron Caséta is Lutron’s original smart lighting offering, which some people think looks too geeky by way of having a lot of buttons (I’m not in that camp). The Diva product line is newer and sleeker; it looks more like a conventional paddle switch, with the dimmer version having a slider to the connected load’s control brightness. Not everyone cares for the original Lutron Caséta dimmer’s industrial design, but I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss it as geek chic.Michael Brown/Foundry The Lutron Caséta smart dimmer switch starter kit (model BDG-PKG1W-A) is on sale for 24% off ($87.35) for Prime Day. It consists of the Lutron Smart Hub, an in-wall dimmer switch, a Pico remote (a wafer-thin wireless remote control that replicates the buttons on the switch), and a wall bracket you can use to mount the remote on the wall for 3-way operation. Lutron also sells a pedestal if you’d prefer to place the remote on a tabletop, but that’s not included in this kit. A “deluxe” Caséta dimmer starter kit with the hub, two dimmer switches, and two Pico remotes is also available for 20% off ($152). If you just want an on/off switch without dimming, for controlling non-dimmable lights or a fan, for example, the Lutron Caséta in-wall smart switch and hub is on sale for $79.75 this week, also a 24% discount off the MSRP. This switch does depend on a neutral wire, and the kit does not include a Pico remote. The “deluxe” version of the Caséta switch bundle includes the hub, two switches, a pico remote, and a wall bracket for the remote. It’s also getting a 24% discount, bringing your final price down to $136.75. Should you prefer the more understated look of the Lutron Diva smart dimmer (pictured up top), Amazon has knocked 20% off the price of the Diva smart dimmer kit, bringing its price down to $100. This package consists of the hub, one dimmer, a Pico remote, and a Pico remote pedestal. Already have a Lutron Smart Hub? You can buy a Caséta smart dimmer by itself for $49.39 (24% off), or a Diva smart dimmer by itself for $59.80 (a 19% discount). Don’t miss out on these rare deals on Lutron Caséta and Lutron Diva smart lighting controls. PCWorld’s editors have found plenty of other great tech deals, too, so be sure to check those out as well. This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart dimmer switches. 
© 2025 PC World 0:05am 

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EastEnders and theatre actor Frank Barrie dies
The Scarborough-born actor died peacefully at home with family by his side, his agency says. 
© 2025 BBCWorld 0:15am 

xAI launches Grok 4 and announces immediate model availability
Elon Musk's xAI launches Grok 4, a powerful new AI model now available for users and businesses with advanced multitasking and multimodal features. 
© 2025 ITBrief 0:05am 

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