Tech
BMW Is Betting Big on the New iX3. The Good News Is It’s Superb
BMW’s first car on its new EV platform has finally arrived. But will a big range, thumping charging tech, and a new driving brain that aims to deliver the ultimate ride be enough to beat China?
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Tech
Jimmy Wales Will Never Edit Donald Trump’s Wikipedia Page: He ‘Makes Me Insane’
Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales has been called the last decent tech baron. It’s sounds like a flattering label, although one I usually associate more with yacht-dwelling meatheads who feed their herds of cattle homegrown macadamia nuts; the kind of person who can most recently be found wining and dining with the President of the United States and his coterie of MAGA sycophants.
Wales, on the other hand, keeps things relatively low-key. Even as the site he founded, Wikipedia, turns 25 years old this month, he seems more interested in fixing his home Wi-Fi than joining the tech elite’s performative power games. He has also spent the past few months promoting a new book, The Seven Rules of Trust, that uses Wikipedia’s overarching strategy and unlikely rise to articulate Wales’ playbook for fixing much of what’s broken in today’s deeply polarized and antagonistic society.
On this week’s episode of The Big Interview, Wales and I discussed what it means to build something used by billions of people that’s not optimized for growth at all costs. During our discussion he reflected on Wikipedia’s messy, human origins, the ways it’s been targeted by governments from Russia to Saudi Arabia, and the challenges of holding the line on neutrality in an online ecosystem hostile to the notion that facts even exist. We also talked about what threatens Wikipedia now, from AI to conspiracy-pilled billionaires, and why he’ll never edit an entry about Donald Trump. Read our full conversation below.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: Jimmy Wales, welcome to The Big Interview. Thank you so much for being here.
JIMMY WALES: Thanks for having me on.
We always start these conversations with a few quick questions, like a little warmup for your brain. Are you ready?
Yes.
What’s an internet rabbit hole you’ve fallen into most recently?
Home Assistant. I’ve just started using Home Assistant to run smart home devices, and there’s a huge community and thousands of things to read about and so on and so forth. So it’s what I’m obsessed with.
What is this community doing?
Troubleshooting. People are working on extensions to deal with every kind of thing in the world, and it’s amazing.
What’s a subject you never argue about online anymore?
I would say I don’t argue with anybody about trans issues. There’s absolutely no point in it. It’s too toxic. I never did argue about it, but I don’t even talk about it.
You’re just going to stay away.
Yeah, it’s too unpleasant.
What do you trust more: Wikipedia or ChatGPT?
Definitely Wikipedia.
I had to ask. What’s your favorite website or app that is not Wikipedia?
I really do like parts of Reddit. There’s some really great communities on Reddit, and great people. I lurk and read in the personal finance subreddit. There’s just a lot of really nice people there. I’m always amazed by it.
Reddit is really having a moment. I find that I spend a lot more time lurking in the Reddit app on my phone, because I would rather read thoughtful conversations than scroll on X.
That’s exactly it. It’s like a place with paragraphs.
And often really thoughtful people. What is the best thing about living in the UK versus the US?
Well, my family’s here. I always say this about the US: Tech is in Silicon Valley, and politics is in Washington, and movies and showbiz are in LA, and finance is in New York. But all those things are in London.
So if I lived in Silicon Valley, I would only have tech friends because that’s who lives there. Whereas in London, it’s much more comprehensive. All kinds of people. So I like that.
Tech
Are DJI Drones Still Banned?
As of December 23, 2025, the US Federal Communications Commission barred Chinese-based drone maker DJI from importing any new drones into the United State. That might sound like you can’t buy a DJI drone right now, but that’s not true. Head over to Amazon and just about the whole DJI drone lineup is still for sale. So what gives? Are they banned or not?
The key word in the previous paragraph was any new drone. Nothing DJI has made in the past is banned. No one is taking your drone away. It’s still perfectly legal to fly a drone. And this isn’t just a DJI ban. It’s a ban on foreign-made drones, which includes those from companies such as DJI, Autel Robotics, HoverAir, and thers. That DJI is singled out in headlines has more to do with its market dominance than the way the rules are written.
I’d like to say that with the biggest competitor essentially removed from the market that US-based companies are swooping in with new drones. Actually we did say that once about Skydio, and we even liked the Skydio drone we tested, but since then Skydio has shifted away from the consumer market.
No New Drones
Courtesy of DJI
While it’s good news that the old stuff is still for sale, it’s unlikely that any new drones will arrive.
In order to sell in the United States, anything that uses radio frequency components has to be approved by the FCC. Drones use radio frequencies when flying, so they fall under FCC jurisdiction. Because none of the drone companies have had the security review they need by an approved US agency, they have all been placed on what’s called the Covered List. Companies on the Covered List do not have approval to import products into the US, effectively banning them.
There’s some evidence that wheels are turning somewhere, in a way that could spell good news for consumer drone flyers. Last week, the FCC amended its Covered List to exempt drones and components already approved by the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Blue UAS list. The FCC says in its public statement, “The DoW has determined that UAS and UAS critical components included on Defense Contract Management Agency’s (DCMA’s) Blue UAS list do not currently present unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or to the safety and security of US persons.”
For the most part, this doesn’t really impact consumer drones, unless you were in the market for a $13.6k Parrot Anafi USA Gov edition thermal drone, but it’s better than silence, which has been the primary thing we’ve heard leading up to the December ban.
Tech
Zayo expands network across Iberian Peninsula | Computer Weekly
In a move described as underscoring the company’s strategic focus on pan-European connectivity amid rising data demands from artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and next-generation technologies, Zayo Europe has launched a “landmark” network in Iberia.
Operating across 13 countries and connecting 47 markets, Zayo already connects more than 600 datacentres with a “future-ready” network spanning over 2.7 million fibre kilometres and eight subsea systems. The company said its mission is to deliver the infrastructure that powers Europe’s digital economy, offering tailored connectivity solutions that enable telecom service providers, cloud platforms, datacentres, system integrators and enterprises to deliver the network performance they require from core to cloud to edge.
Following a recent expansion in the German Market, Iberia has become the next strategic link for Zayo, furthering the reach of its pan-European network. The new network will encompass the region’s leading cities including Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Bilbao and Sines.
It is being delivered in partnership with Spanish dark fibre operator Reintel, which boasts more than 54,000km of interconnected fibre infrastructure across Spain. The company provides neutral and high-quality connectivity products through a network of sites linked to both the energy and railway sectors.
Zayo Europe sees the partnership marking a major milestone as brings its 400GE enabled wavelength network to the Iberian Peninsula, as well as expanding its Tier-1 IP offering to Portugal and to more Spanish cities.
The collaboration will look to deliver low-latency, high-capacity connectivity across Iberia, connecting the key business hubs. The partners see the new route as a way to enhance network diversity, reduce deployment times and strengthen connectivity options for businesses and carriers operating in the region.
Spanning over 3,500km of fibre across Iberia, Zayo Europe’s network will look to enable “seamless” datacentre-to-datacentre connectivity, faster cloud adoption and high-performance handling of data-intensive workloads. The move is set to strengthen Zayo Europe’s global reach, linking Iberia to international networks across the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and supporting the digital transformation of businesses across multiple continents.
“This partnership marks another important step in Zayo Europe’s journey to connect the continent’s most dynamic markets. Spain and Portugal are quickly emerging as major datacentre hubs, with a strong supply of renewable energy driving new investments to power AI and other cutting-edge technologies,” said Colman Deegan, Zayo Europe CEO.
“We’re delighted to partner with Reintel, who operate the highest quality, mission-critical fibre infrastructure in the region. By extending our network through their low latency, high availability fibre routes, we’re enabling enterprises, datacentres and carriers across Iberia to access our extensive high-performance connectivity that underpins Europe’s innovation economy. With the significant DC roll-out planned in 2026, Zayo Europe is poised to set connectivity trends for the decade ahead.”
Reintel CEO Francisco J. Blanca Patón added: “Zayo Europe’s expansion into Iberia aligns perfectly with our mission to accelerate Spain’s digital transformation. Combining our extensive dark fibre footprint with Zayo Europe’s international network and unparalleled service excellence creates powerful opportunities for customers across the region. This partnership will empower datacentres and businesses across Spain and Portugal to keep pace with rising data demands and, ultimately, strengthen Europe’s digital backbone. We look forward to what can be achieved together through 2026 and beyond.”
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