1. Hotel Sacher Wien – Vienna

Overview: Hotel Sacher Wien, located in the heart of Vienna, is an iconic establishment known for its elegance and historical significance. Opened in 1876, this luxury hotel combines traditional charm with modern amenities.

Highlights:

• Sacher Torte: The hotel is famous for its original Sacher Torte, a delicious chocolate cake.
• Luxurious Rooms: Lavishly decorated rooms and suites that exude old-world charm.
• Fine Dining: Multiple restaurants offering gourmet cuisine, including the renowned Restaurant Rote Bar.

Why Visit: Staying at Hotel Sacher Wien is like stepping back in time while enjoying all the modern comforts. Its central location makes it an ideal base for exploring Vienna.

2. Schloss Fuschl Resort & Spa – Hof bei Salzburg

Overview: Nestled on the shores of Lake Fuschl, Schloss Fuschl Resort & Spa offers a serene and luxurious retreat. This castle-turned-hotel dates back to the 15th century and provides breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Highlights:

• Historical Charm: Beautifully restored castle with antique furnishings and decor.
• Spa and Wellness: A world-class spa offering a variety of treatments and an indoor pool.
• Gourmet Dining: Excellent dining options with a focus on regional cuisine.

Why Visit: Schloss Fuschl combines historical elegance with modern luxury, making it perfect for a romantic getaway or a peaceful retreat.

3. Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol – Telfs

Overview: Set high in the Austrian Alps, Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol is renowned for its stunning alpine views and luxurious accommodations. This five-star hotel offers an unparalleled combination of luxury and natural beauty.

Highlights:

• Panoramic Views: Spectacular views of the Tyrolean Alps from every room.
• Spacious Spa: A 5,300-square-meter spa with an indoor and outdoor pool, saunas, and treatment rooms.
• Gourmet Cuisine: Multiple dining venues offering international and regional dishes.

Why Visit: Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol is ideal for those looking to relax in luxury while enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the Austrian Alps.

4. Hotel Imperial – Vienna

Overview: Hotel Imperial, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Vienna, is an epitome of grand elegance. Originally built as a private residence in 1863, this opulent hotel offers a regal experience with its majestic architecture and luxurious interiors.

Highlights:

• Historical Elegance: Sumptuously decorated rooms and suites with antique furnishings.
• Fine Dining: The award-winning restaurant OPUS offers exquisite culinary delights.
• Prime Location: Situated on the Ringstrasse, close to many of Vienna’s top attractions.

Why Visit: Hotel Imperial provides a royal experience in the heart of Vienna, perfect for those who appreciate history and luxury.

5. Aqua Dome – Längenfeld

Overview: Aqua Dome is a unique thermal spa hotel located in the picturesque Ötztal Valley. Known for its futuristic design and thermal baths, this hotel offers a distinctive blend of wellness and luxury.

Highlights:

• Thermal Spa: Extensive spa facilities with thermal pools, saunas, and wellness treatments.
• Modern Design: Stylish rooms and suites with contemporary decor.
• Outdoor Activities: Excellent location for skiing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

Why Visit: Aqua Dome is perfect for travelers seeking a wellness retreat with the added benefit of outdoor adventure in the stunning Austrian Alps.

These top hotels in Austria offer a variety of experiences, from historical elegance to modern luxury and wellness. Whether you’re exploring the cultural heart of Vienna or relaxing in the serene alpine landscapes, these hotels provide the perfect setting for an unforgettable stay.

Google revealed in its 2024 Environmental Report released this week that the company’s greenhouse gas emissions jumped nearly 50 percent in the last five years. The culprit? Energy-hungry artificial intelligence (AI).

The annual report details Google’s progress (or, in this case, lack thereof) toward its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. This year’s report revealed that Google released 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023. That’s up 48 percent from 2019 and 13 percent higher than 2022.

“This result is primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions. As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” the report said.

Of course, Google isn’t alone in this. Microsoft recently revealed that its greenhouse gas emissions had increased almost 30 percent since 2020 due to the construction of data centres. And other tech giants, including Apple, Meta and Amazon, are investing heavily in AI, which will likely see further emissions increases from those companies too. It’s not just training AI or operating data centres — using AI also consumes significant amounts of energy. As pointed out by Engadget, researchers at AI startup Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University found that generating a single image with AI could use as much power as charging a smartphone.

Water use is also of concern, with Google’s report highlighting that its data centres and offices used 24 billion litres of water in 2023, up 14 percent from 2022, “primarily due to water cooling needs at our data centres.”

All this raises some serious questions about the proliferation of AI. Is it really worth all this just so Google Search can tell people to put glue on their pizza or for Google’s Gemini to generate images of ethnically diverse Nazis?

Google’s report says the company expects emissions to rise (no surprise, given it plans to incorporate Google AI into the Pixel 9 series) “before dropping toward our absolute emissions reduction target.” But the company doesn’t explain why it will drop.

Distributed also on: Google Via: Engadget

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CMF by Nothing is the Nothing company’s more affordable brand, which is now offering a smartphone. This handset, called the Phone 1, is supposed to provide a more customizable and functional experience.

The engineer’s aesthetic.

CMF Phone 1 celebrates technical craftsmanship with its uniquely adaptable nature. Customisable. Functional. Yours.

Learn everything at the next Nothing Community Update on 8 July 2024, 10:00 BST. pic.twitter.com/0fqYkaf4OX

— CMF by Nothing (@cmfbynothing) July 3, 2024

CMF will show off Phone 1 on July 8th, and you can watch the reveal on YouTube.

According to leaker Ishan Agarwal, the handset will offer four swappable back plates in Black, Light Green, Orange and Blue. The Orange and Blue backings also have a vegan leather layer and come with a lanyard.

Rumours indicate the CMF Phone 1 will feature a Dimensity 7300 chipset, a 50-megapixel primary shooter, a 6.7-inch 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED panel, a microSD card slot, a 5,000mAh battery and more.

CMF will introduce the Phone 1 on July 8th alongside the Buds Pro 2 and Watch Pro 2.

Distributed also on: CMF, Android Authority 

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Nintendo of Canada and Boston Pizza are partnering up again for a slew of video game centric promotions.

The strangest element of this crossover will only happen at select Boston Pizza locations in Ontario, B.C., Manitoba, Alberta and Quebec. On Sundays in September, some of these stores will allow patrons to order a Nintendo Switch from the menu that they can use while in the restaurant. The Boston Pizza press release doesn’t mention anything beyond the fact that this console will come pre-loaded with Mario games. I’d expect Mario Kart, Mario Party and maybe the new Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

At all Boston Pizza locations, there will be a new kids menu item featuring a pepperoni and mushroom pizza to celebrate Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom. Some locations will also have a draw that people can enter to win a Switch prize pack or some Nintendo merch.

Distributed also on: Boston Pizza

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For a limited time, the iPhone 13 mini will be available for $499 at Walmart Canada — an $860 drop from its regular $1,359 price tag.

While the phone is a little under three years old, this is still a pretty low-cost way to get an unlocked and relatively modern iPhone. (At least it’s not considered “vintage” like 2017’s iPhone X!) Note that the deal only applies to the 512GB model and it’s exclusive to Walmart.ca.

The deal is part of Walmart Canada’s ‘Big Save’ promotion, which runs from July 4th to 10th. Other notable tech deals include:

Walmart’s full ‘Big Save’ flyer can be found here.

Via: RedFlagDeals — 22GDealdone

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Nintendo has added seven more NES games to its Nintendo Switch Online service.

The highlight is Donkey Kong Jr. Math, an educational title featuring everyone’s favourite gorilla. The full list of new Switch Online titles is as follows:

Cobra Triangle — 1989 vehicular action game
Donkey Kong Jr. Math — 1986 educational platformer
Golf — 1990 sports game
Mach Rider — 1985 vehicular combat game
The Mystery of Atlantis — 1986 side-scrolling adventure
Solar Jetman — 1990 multidirectional shooter
Urban Champion — 1986 fighter

All seven games are now available on Nintendo Switch Online.

A base Nintendo Switch Online subscription, which includes NES games, is priced at $4.99/month or $24.99/year. The $63.99/year Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership is required for N64 games.

Image credit: Nintendo

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Bell changed up a couple of its wireless plans, dropping the data bucket from 200GB to 150GB while keeping prices the same.

Both Bell’s Essential and Ultimate plans now offer 150GB of data at the company’s “fastest available 5G+ speeds.” Additionally, the plans still offer unlimited data throttled to 512Kbps beyond the data cap. The Essential plan costs $90, but currently, there’s a $10/mo credit for 24 months available that drops the price to $80. The Ultimate plan costs $110/mo.

Beyond price, there are two main differences between the two plans. The Essential plan only includes Canada-wide calling and texting, while the Ultimate plan features calling, texting, and data use in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. That makes it a better option for frequent travellers, though you’d have to travel enough for the increased plan cost to be more cost-effective than Bell’s high roaming fees.

The other big difference is that Bell caps video streaming on the Essential plan to 480p, while the Ultimate plan is capped at 1080p. Customers can purchase a $5/mo add-on to boost Essential plan streaming to 1080p.

It appears that Bell followed Rogers and Telus in bumping its plans up to 200GB in early May. At the time of writing, however, Telus and Rogers still had 200GB plans.

Header image credit: Shutterstock

You can find Bell’s plans here.

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Bell-owned Virgin Plus changed its 4G plans once again, removing its 40GB plan entirely and raising the prices of other plans.

Here’s a quick breakdown of Virgin’s plans:

$54/60GB 4G (previously $49/mo)
$50/50GB 4G (previously $44/mo)
$44/20GB 4G (previously $34/mo)

It’s worth noting that the now-removed 40GB plan cost $39/mo. There is, however, a new ‘Basic’ plan with 3GB of 3G data and unlimited Canada-wide calling and texting available for $39/mo. Speaking of basic plans, Virgin also increased the cost of its talk and text plan from $30 to $35.

Virgin’s $65/75GB 5G plan has remained unchanged so far.

Overall, these price increases are quite disappointing, though not unsurprising. The Bell flanker brand has been all over the place with pricing in recent weeks. For example, Virgin hiked the prices of several plans by $5/mo in June only to walk back the changes the next week. Some of the latest increases are even great, for example, the 20GB plan is now $10/mo more than before.

You can check out Virgin’s plans here, though I’d strongly recommend against getting any of these plans right now. They weren’t exactly good deals before and after the price hikes, the value is even worse. At the time of writing, Koodo and Fido still offered plans that matched Virgin’s old pricing (though when one changes, the other three usually follow quickly). Plus, Freedom Mobile and Public Mobile still have $34/50GB 5G plans with Canada/U.S. calling, texting and data use, making them both the best value options right now.

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Rogers flanker brand Fido has added an end date to its $34/20GB 4G plan. The plan will now end on July 8th, so you’ve got a few more days to get the plan if you were thinking about it.

That said, Fido’s $34/20GB plan isn’t exactly the best value out there, considering Freedom Mobile and Public Mobile have $34/50GB 5G plans with Canada/U.S. calling, texting and data use. Notably, Fido’s plan actually costs $39/mo but drops to $34 if customers sign up for automatic payments.

It’s not clear what will happen to the 20GB plan on July 8th. Fido could remove the plan entirely or change the price. Considering Bell’s Virgin Plus just increased the price of several of its plans, including bumping the 20GB plan from $34 to $44, I could see Fido following suit. However, none of Fido’s other plans are marked as ending on July 8th, so it’s not clear if those will change, too.

You can check out Fido’s plans here.

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