A proposed ban on 'conversion therapy' in Northern Ireland could criminalise parenting, restrict religious freedom and "leave teachers fearful of expressing honestly held views", a DUP Minister has said.
The post Northern Ireland ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban “Could Criminalise Parents, Preachers and Teachers” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Apple’s new Upgrade leasing program lets you pay a low monthly fee for an iPhone, Mac, iPad, or Watch instead of the full price upfront. Max Tech creator Vadim Yuryev ran the numbers on a $2,999 MacBook Pro and claims that leasing, buying out the residual, and reselling can leave you hundreds ahead of purchasing outright — with zero interest. Here’s how the math works (and the caveats that still apply).
Chance Townsend for Mashable:
In a post on X in response to Bloomberg’s Apple expert Mark Gurman, Yuryev walked through the math, using a $2,999 MacBook Pro as an example.
Explained this in today’s YouTube video. If you lease a $2,999 Mac, you pay $58 a month for 36 months. At the end, you owe $911 to pay it off or return it.
However, Apple gives you 6 more months to decide. Meanwhile, you continue paying monthly payments of $53.
You now have 6… https://t.co/ZFm37Bnc5t pic.twitter.com/hH45E2rWvg
— Vadim Yuryev (@VadimYuryev) August 2, 2026
He said a 36-month lease would run $58 per month, leaving a $911 balance due at the end — though Apple gives lessees six additional months to decide, during which payments drop to $53 per month. Yuryev argued that paying off that final balance makes sense because the device could then be resold for “$1,500+ on eBay or Facebook marketplace,” rather than the customer simply losing the amount paid in over the life of the lease.
Yuryev emphasized that “you never pay more” than the device’s MSRP, since Apple Upgrade carries no interest or lease fees. He added that the primary risk is failing to keep up with payments or falling short on the final balance, and noted that once a device is paid off, users can start a new lease while keeping the original one.
MacDailyNews Take: While, as AAPL shareholders, we wish Apple every success with their Apple Upgrade program via Klarna, in an age of zero-interest financing, “buy now, pay later,” and glossy leasing schemes dressed up as smart upgrades, a simple truth keeps getting buried (caution, soap box sermon ahead):
The surest way to build lasting wealth is to avoid debt entirely, buy only what you can afford outright, and live within your means.
Leasing expensive hardware, stretching payments over years, may feel painless month to month. It is still debt. You are paying for the privilege of using something you do not fully own, often while assuming residual balances, credit checks, and the risk that the used-market value collapses when everyone else is dumping the same leased devices. The math can be made to look attractive on a YouTube whiteboard. Reality is less forgiving.
Paying cash for what you can actually afford forces discipline. It prioritizes value over status. It eliminates interest, fees, and the quiet stress of monthly obligations. When the device eventually ages, you own it free and clear — you can sell it, keep it, or pass it on without a lender’s permission. That freedom compounds.
Financial success is not about maximizing monthly cash flow or chasing the newest model every two years. It’s not about keeping up with The Joneses. It is about keeping more of what you earn, avoiding the traps that turn consumers into lifelong renters, and building genuine ownership over time.
Debt is easy. Discipline is harder. The latter is the only reliable route to real financial independence.
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
The post Apple Upgrade: Paying monthly for a MacBook Pro might actually save you hundreds of dollars appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Fibre proved fruitful for BT Group in the opening quarter of its fiscal 2027 (the period to end-June), becoming the key generator of broadband revenue as the operator booked record levels of connections and uptake.
BT added 514,000 FTTP connections in the three-month period alone, leaving it with a total of 23.4 million. The operator declared it is experiencing record demand for fibre services at its Openreach and consumer businesses.
In wireless, BT asserted EE “maintained its mobile leadership”, pointing to the receipt of a consumer award with category-topping figures in reliability, coverage and performance.
Its 5G network coverage hit 77% of the population.
CEO Allison Kirkby (pictured) declared it a “solid start” to the fiscal year, with gains in consumer customers increasingly backed by BT’s selection for “mission-critical” connections.
She said the consumer business is benefiting from ongoing investment in BT’s brands and services. It is also “stabilising” service revenue in its Business division on “sales order growth from major customers”.
Kirkby was of course positive about a recently-forged JV with Verizon and said BT is unparalleled in the “scale and pace” of work to upgrade the “digital backbone” of the UK.
BT’s numbers leave it “on track to deliver our targets, including cashflow of circa £2 billion”, the CEO explained.
The rising cost of finance impacted pre-tax profit, with the figure for continuing operations dropping from £526 million in fiscal Q1 2026 to £505 million. Revenue was flat at £4.3 billion.
The post BT boss positive on fixed, mobile progress appeared first on Mobile World Live.
© Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times
Political correctness has been blamed for the failure of social workers to stop a gay couple murdering their adopted baby, with the child's grandmother and a social worker suggesting officials' judgement was clouded.
The post Political Correctness Blamed for Failure to Stop Gay Couple Murdering Baby appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
BT Group embarked on a mission to improve critical communications, launching a portfolio of services to boost resilience by providing prioritised access to 4G and 5G networks through its EE unit.
Mission Boost spearheads a namesake range combining BT’s mobile and cloud infrastructure, and security capabilities with services from a host of partners. The system puts essential communications first during periods of network congestion or high demand.
Partnerships position the set-up for use by organisations involved in key national infrastructure, emergency response and transport.
BT plans to evolve its range to include contact management capabilities and PTT. It positioned the move as part of a $40 billion investment in digital infrastructure spanning the decade to 2030.
Faisal Mahomed, MD of Critical Communications, said the Mission portfolio is BT’s response to the “increasingly complex environments” organisations find themselves operating in.
Electricity provider UK Power Networks is among the first companies adopting BT’s system: its director of Asset Management Kieran Coughlan said reliable connectivity is now essential to the running of its network, highlighting capabilities including the capacity to remain connected to staff in the field and tools to help turn the lights back on during power outages.
Operators are increasingly looking to reposition themselves as trusted central players in digital sectors by combining their infrastructure with third-party services.
Orange Business and Telefonica are among those to recently make comparable moves.
The post BT offers critical services priority access appeared first on Mobile World Live.
BT claimed to be the first UK company to join Anthropic’s Project Glasswing, a move it said strengthens cybersecurity for its networks and enables better protection against the latest AI threats for customers.
The operator made the announcement at the UK Government’s AI Adoption Summit at London Tech Week, with the country committing to accelerate AI usage across the economy.
BT stated its membership to Project Glasswing will give it access to Anthropic’s frontier AI model Claude Mythos Preview, strengthening protection against cybersecurity threats for its network and customers.
Anthropic announced last week it had expanded access to Mythos to 150 new companies across 15 countries, after initially restricting it to a group of private technology players.
BT explained Project Glasswing brings together “critical infrastructure providers” to secure data and systems, allowing organisations to use Anthropic’s safe AI systems to identify vulnerabilities and help to fix them before criminals can take advantage.
In a speech during the summit, BT CEO Allison Kirkby outlined the critical role of connectivity in ensuring the UK can seize the growth potential of AI, emphasising the operator’s commitment to working with the government to support “sovereign British AI capability so that the UK can be an AI maker and not just a taker”.
In line with its participation in Project Glasswing, BT said it prevents more than 4 million cyberattacks across its network every day.
CEO of BT Business Jon James added AI is changing cybersecurity fast and “businesses need trusted partners who can help them stay one step ahead”.
The post BT taps into Project Glasswing in UK first appeared first on Mobile World Live.
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