ICT news

• Physicists Use Google's Quantum Computer to Create Holographic Wormhole Between Black Holes

  03-12-2022 23:46 via science.slashdot.org
  "In an experiment that ticks most of the mystery boxes in modern physics, a group of researchers announced Wednesday that they had simulated a pair of black holes in a quantum computer," reports the New York Times [alternate URL here. But in addition, the researchers also sent a message between their two black holes, the Times reports, "through a shortcut in space-time called a wormhole.
  "Physicists described the achievement as another small step in the effort to understand the relation between
  
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• 20 Videogame QA Testers in Albany Win Union Vote at Activision Blizzard

  03-12-2022 22:46 via it.slashdot.org
  "A group of about 20 quality assurance testers at Activision Blizzard's Albany location won their bid for a union Friday afternoon," reports the Washington Post:The workers join the Game Workers Alliance, a union at the gaming company that already includes testers from Wisconsin-based Raven Software. Amanda Laven, a Blizzard Albany quality assurance tester, said that the union vote comes just about a year after the testers first began collecting signatures for a union. "We knew we were gonna win
  
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• Becoming America's #2 Seller of Electric Vehicles, Ford Passes Kia in November

  03-12-2022 21:46 via hardware.slashdot.org
  CNBC reports:Ford Motor said Friday that it has achieved CEO Jim Farley's goal of becoming the second best-selling automaker of electric vehicles in the U.S. The Detroit automaker, citing third-party industry data, narrowly topped Hyundai/Kia to hit the goal....
  Ford said its share of the electric vehicle segment was 7.4% through November, up from 5.7% a year earlier. Ford reported sales of 53,752 all-electric vehicles in the U.S. through November. Tesla, which does not break out domestic result
  
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• What Happened After Matt Taibbi Revealed Twitter's Deliberations on Hunter Biden Tweets?

  03-12-2022 20:46 via yro.slashdot.org
  "Twitter CEO Elon Musk turned to journalist Matt Taibbi on Friday to reveal the decision-making behind the platform's suppression of a 2020 article from the New York Post regarding Hunter Biden's laptop," reports Newsweek.
  "Taibbi later deleted a tweet showing [former Twitter CEO] Jack Dorsey's email address," adds the Verge, covering reactions to Taibbi's thread — and the controversial events that the tweets described:
  At the time, it was not clear if the materials were genuine, and Twitt
  
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• Computer Program For Particle Physics At Risk of Obsolescence

  03-12-2022 20:34 via science.slashdot.org
  "Maintenance of the software that's used for the hardest physics calculations rests almost entirely with a retiree," reports Quanta magazine, saying the situation "reveals the problematic incentive structure of academia."Particle physicists use some of the longest equations in all of science. To look for signs of new elementary particles in collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, for example, they draw thousands of pictures called Feynman diagrams that depict possible collision outcomes, each o
  
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• America's TSA Begins Quietly Testing Facial Recognition Tech at 16 Airports

  03-12-2022 19:34 via news.slashdot.org
  America's Transportation Security Administration "has been quietly testing controversial facial recognition technology for passenger screening at 16 major domestic airports — from Washington to Los Angeles," reports the Washington Post.
  Their article adds that the agency "hopes to expand it across the United States as soon as next year."Kiosks with cameras are doing a job that used to be completed by humans: checking the photos on travelers' IDs to make sure they're not impostors.... You s
  
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• FTX Subsidiary Plans Restarting Withdrawals in Japan, as US Requests Review of Fraud Allegations

  03-12-2022 18:34 via news.slashdot.org
  "FTX Japan is looking to restart withdrawals," reports CoinDesk, "after a plan to return deposits was approved by its parent, the failed FTX exchange."
  "If the plan works out, the collapsed crypto exchange's users in Japan might be some of the first customers to get their money back...."In a notice posted on its website, FTX Japan said it was able to confirm with the company's bankruptcy lawyers in the U.S. that Japanese customers' funds "should not be part of FTX Japan's estate given how these
  
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• 2022's 'Earthshot Prizes' Recognize Five Innovative Responses to Climate Change

  03-12-2022 17:34 via news.slashdot.org
  "Childhood friends in Oman who figured out how to turn carbon dioxide into rock are among five winners chosen for the Prince of Wales's prestigious Earthshot Prize," reports the BBC:The annual awards were created by Prince William to fund projects that aim to save the planet. Each winner will receive £1m ($1.2m) to develop their innovation.... "I believe that the Earthshot solutions you have seen this evening prove we can overcome our planet's greatest challenges," Prince William said duri
  
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• Chinese Police are Using Cellphone Data to Track Down Protesters

  03-12-2022 16:34 via mobile.slashdot.org
  CNN reports on the aftermath of last weekend's protests against the Chinese government:A protester told CNN they received a phone call Wednesday from a police officer, who revealed they were tracked because their cellphone signal was recorded in the vicinity of the protest site.... When they denied being there, the caller asked: "Then why did your cellphone number show up there?"
  In China, all mobile phone users are required by law to register their real name and national identification number w
  
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• New CryWiper Data Wiper Targets Russian Courts, Mayor's Offices

  03-12-2022 14:00 via it.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: A previously undocumented data wiper named CryWiper is masquerading as ransomware, but in reality, destroys data beyond recovery in attacks against Russian mayor's offices and courts. CryWiper was first discovered by Kaspersky this fall, where they say the malware was used in an attack against a Russian organization. [...] CryWiper is a 64-bit Windows executable named 'browserupdate.exe' written in C++, configured to abuse many WinAPI fu
  
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• Apple Now Calling AR/VR Headset Operating System 'xrOS'

  03-12-2022 11:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  Apple has decided to call the software that will run on its upcoming AR/VR headset "xrOS," an update from the original "RealityOS or "rOS" naming the company was planning on, according to Bloomberg. MacRumors reports: The name change comes as Apple begins to prepare for the launch of the headset, which is expected at some point in 2023. The headset will feature its own operating system, much like the Apple TV and the Apple Watch, and it will have a dedicated App Store. "XR" is meant to stand for
  
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• Astronomers Say a New, Huge Satellite Is As Bright As the Brightest Stars

  03-12-2022 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Last month, a Texas-based company announced that it had successfully deployed the largest-ever commercial communications satellite in low-Earth orbit. This BlueWalker 3 demonstration satellite measures nearly 65 square meters, or about one-third the size of a tennis court. Designed and developed by AST SpaceMobile, the expansive BlueWalker 3 satellite is intended to demonstrate the ability of standard mobile phones to directly connect to the
  
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• Chess' $100 Million Showdown: Carlsen Moves To Dismiss Niemann Lawsuit Over Cheating Allegations

  03-12-2022 04:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Forbes: Lawyers representing Norwegian World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and online chess platform Chess.com asked a federal judge Friday to toss a $100 million lawsuit filed by chess grandmaster Hans Niemann in October, which marked a dramatic escalation of tensions over cheating allegations levied against the 19-year-old American. The motion to dismiss argued the teenager spent years "trying to curate a reputation as the bad boy of chess" and "now wan
  
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• Prime Video Replaces Netflix As No. 1 Streaming Service In US

  03-12-2022 03:02 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Prime Video has supplanted Netflix as the No. 1 subscription streaming outlet in the U.S. in an annual ranking compiled by research firm Parks Associates. Deadline reports: The company didn't disclose its methodology for how it isolates the number of Prime Video subscribers, a metric long cloaked in secrecy due to Amazon's general reluctance to disclose statistics about its Prime business. Still, Parks has been a reputable tracker of the streaming space for more than a decade. For many years in
  
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• iPhone 14 Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man In Alaska

  03-12-2022 02:25 via mobile.slashdot.org
  Apple's iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature was put to the test in Alaska yesterday, when a man became stranded in a rural area. MacRumors reports: In the early hours of the morning on December 1, Alaska State Troopers received an alert that a man traveling by snow machine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had become stranded. The man was in a cold, remote location with no connectivity, and he activated the Emergency SOS via satellite feature on his iPhone 14 to alert authorities to his predica
  
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• Tesla Delivers Its First Electric Semi Trucks

  03-12-2022 01:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  Electrek recaps yesterday's Tesla's Semi Delivery Event in Nevada: As expected, Tesla delivered the first electric trucks to PepsiCo, a long-time reservation holder, and held a presentation to reveal more details about the production version of the Tesla Semi. There wasn't any big surprise during the presentation. Tesla basically delivered on its original promises made in 2017 when it first unveiled the prototypes of the Tesla Semi. Despite the lack of major changes, it's still a big moment sinc
  
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• Australia Says Law Making Facebook and Google Pay For News Has Worked

  03-12-2022 01:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: An Australian law giving the government power to make internet giants Facebook owner Meta and Alphabet's Google negotiate content supply deals with media outlets has largely worked, a government report said. But the law, which took effect in March 2021 after talks with the big tech firms led to a brief shutdown of Facebook news feeds in the country, may need to be extended to other online platforms, the review said.Since the News Media Bargaining
  
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• Edward Snowden Receives Russian Passport

  03-12-2022 00:20 via news.slashdot.org
  Beerismydad shares a report from the Associated Press: Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who fled prosecution after revealing highly classified surveillance programs, has received a Russian passport and taken the citizenship oath, Russian news agencies quoted his lawyer as saying Friday. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena was reported as saying that Snowden got the passport and took the oath on Thursday, about three months after Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him citizenship. T
  
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• Huawei Teases a Smartwatch With Built-In Wireless Earbuds

  03-12-2022 00:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Huawei has confirmed the existence of a smartwatch it's working on featuring a pair of built-in wireless earbuds. "Huawei's account on Chinese Twitter-like site Weibo announced the existence of the device on Wednesday and promised all would be revealed on December 2," reports The Register. "But Huawei has since postponed its Winter 2022 consumer kit launch for unexplained reasons." You can view a teaser video on YouTube. The Verge adds: As the name suggests, the Huawei Watch Buds are a pair of e
  
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