It refreshes at one-minute intervals, near real-time in the analytics world.

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The tweets have been set for pre-arranged intervals, to keep the service running to time.

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Lengthening yellow-light intervals, for example, gives motorists more time to hit the brakes.

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"Time-lapse" automatically captures a series of still pictures at adjustable intervals.

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Bears, meanwhile, can gloat over the fact that major crashes have occurred at roughly halving intervals - 89 years, 38 years, 18 years, 10 years - making this year time for another quake.

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