ICT news

• Source Code for Adobe's PostScript Publicly Released

  10-12-2022 23:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  The story of PostScript "is a story about profound changes in human literacy," argues Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum, "as well as a story of trade secrets within source code."
  And 40 years after it's creation...
  The Computer History Museum is excited to publicly release, for the first time, the source code for the breakthrough printing technology, PostScript. We thank Adobe, Inc. for their permission and support, and John Warnock [Adobe's 82-year-old co-founder] for championing this re
  
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• Google's Dart Programming Language Soon Won't Take 'Null' For an Answer

  10-12-2022 22:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  "When the third major release of the Dart programming language debuts in mid-2023, null values will no longer be allowed where they're not expected," reports the Register:Null in this context is an assignment value indicating the absence of a value or referenced object.... Dart, an object-oriented, garbage-collected C-like language that once aspired to replace JavaScript, supported sound null safety — a way to prevent errors from accessing variables set to null — as of version 2.12.
  
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• Will USB-C Charging Standard Bring Fewer Other Proprietary Parts and Less e-Waste?

  10-12-2022 21:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Recently the EU voted to require tech companies like Apple to standardize on USB-C charging ports.A CNN opinion piece calls this "a hallelujah moment for iPhone owners everywhere."
  iPhone cords are a very big business: There are reportedly about 1.2 billion active iPhones out in the wild. And if their charging cables need to be replaced once or twice a year as many users attest, at roughly $20 a pop, well, you could just about buy a Twitter a year for that sum.... While the new edict only direct
  
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• After US Sanctions, Huawei Seeks New Revenue By Licensing Its 5G Patents to Rival

  10-12-2022 20:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  CNBC reports:Chinese technology giant Huawei said Friday it will license its 5G technology to rival handset maker Oppo as it looks to unlock a new revenue stream after its smartphone business was crushed by U.S. sanctions....
  Huawei has a massive portfolio of over 100,000 patents globally. It is one of the top patent holders in 5G technology, which is next-generation ultra-fast mobile internet seen as key to underpinning future industries such as artificial intelligence and autonomous cars.... T
  
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• What Does ChatGPT Say About Itself?

  10-12-2022 19:34 via slashdot.org
  ChatGPT "can write poems about Whataburger in the style of a medieval narrative epic," notes the Los Angeles Times. "It can come up with ideas on how to greet comedian Larry David. It can write convincing letters of resignation." But as people worry it could encroach on the arts (or our jobs), "is this really the Terminator of creative expression...?"We tested ChatGPT ourselves and did an interview with the chatbot to hear more — in its own words — about its capabilities, limitations
  
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• Inside the Frantic Texts Exchanged by Crypto Executives as FTX Collapsed

  10-12-2022 18:34 via news.slashdot.org
  The day before FTX filed for bankruptcy, founder Sam Bankman-Fried received an "alarmed" text message from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, reports the New York Times:Mr. Zhao was concerned that Mr. Bankman-Fried was orchestrating crypto trades that could send the industry into a meltdown. "Stop now, don't cause more damage," Mr. Zhao wrote in a group chat with Mr. Bankman-Fried and other crypto executives on Nov. 10. "The more damage you do now, the more jail time." FTX and its sister hedge fund, Al
  
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• Eight US Power Stations Have Been Attacked Since Mid-November

  10-12-2022 17:34 via news.slashdot.org
  A week ago two power stations in North Carolina went out — cutting power to 40,000 residents — after being struck with gunfire, the Guardian reports.But looking back to late November, they add that "A string of attacks on power facilities in Oregon and Washington has caused alarm and highlighted the vulnerabilities of the U.S. electric grid..."As first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW Public Radio, there have been at least six attacks [since mid-November], some of whic
  
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• To Pursue Climate Goals, JetBlue Switches from Carbon Offsets to Sustainable Aviation Fuels

  10-12-2022 16:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  "JetBlue is giving up carbon offsets for its domestic flights," reports the Verge, "shifting its focus instead to sustainable aviation fuels.
  "It's a step that could help the airline actually reduce its emissions rather than relying primarily on controversial carbon offsets to counteract its fossil fuel use."
  Back in 2020, JetBlue became the first U.S. airline to voluntarily offset greenhouse gas emissions from all of its domestic flights. That effort ends in 2023, the company announced this wee
  
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• UK To Consult On Central Bank Digital Currency In Coming Weeks

  10-12-2022 11:00 via news.slashdot.org
  The U.K. government will bring forward a consultation on the case for a central bank digital currency "in the coming weeks (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source)," Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said. Bloomberg reports: The Bank of England will also release a paper setting out technology considerations informing the potential build of a digital pound, Hunt said in a written statement to Parliament. Hunt announced the plan as part of a wider set of reforms to spur the U.K.'s fin
  
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• Hubble Detects Ghostly Glow Surrounding Our Solar System

  10-12-2022 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  Astronomers searched through 200,000 archival images from Hubble Space Telescope and made tens of thousands of measurements on these images to look for any residual background glow in the sky. Like turning out the lights in a room, they subtracted the light from stars, galaxies, planets and the zodiacal light. Surprisingly, a ghostly, feeble glow was left over. It's equivalent to the steady light of ten fireflies spread across the entire sky. Phys.Org reports: One possible explanation is that a
  
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• Swiss Data Protection Commissioner Orders Government To Publicly Release Surveillance Tech Export Licenses

  10-12-2022 04:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Techdirt: "In an enormous breakthrough for those seeking transparency and accountability to the shadowy surveillance industry, the Swiss Government has been forced to publish the list of export licenses for surveillance technologies and other equipment, including details of their cost and destination," [reports The Unwanted Witness.] "The decision by the Federal Information and Data Protection Commissioner comes on the heels of consistent pressure from Pr
  
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• Saudi Arabia's Sci-Fi Megacity Is Well Underway

  10-12-2022 03:02 via news.slashdot.org
  Mark Harris writes via MIT Technology Review: In early 2021, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia announced The Line: a "civilizational revolution" that would house up to 9 million people in a zero-carbon megacity, 170 kilometers long and half a kilometer high but just 200 meters wide. Within its mirrored, car-free walls, residents would be whisked around in underground trains and electric air taxis. Satellite images of the $500 billion project obtained exclusively by MIT Technology
  
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• DeepMind Created An AI Tool That Can Help Generate Rough Film and Stage Scripts

  10-12-2022 02:25 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Alphabet's DeepMind has built an AI tool that can help generate rough film and stage scripts Engadget's Kris Holt reports: Dramatron is a so-called "co-writing" tool that can generate character descriptions, plot points, location descriptions and dialogue. The idea is that human writers will be able to compile, edit and rewrite what Dramatron comes up with into a proper script. Think of it like ChatGPT, but with output that you can edit into a blockbuster movie script. To get started, you'll nee
  
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• Apple Sued By Stalking Victims Over Alleged AirTag Tracking

  10-12-2022 01:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  schwit1 shares a report from Popular Science: [T]wo women filed a potential class action lawsuit against Apple, alleging the company has ignored critics' and security experts' repeated warnings that the company's AirTag devices are being repeatedly used to stalk and harass people. Both individuals were targets of past abuse from ex-partners and argued in the filing that Apple's subsequent safeguard solutions remain wholly inadequate for consumers. "With a price point of just $29, it has become t
  
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• Passkey Support Rolls Out To Chrome Stable

  10-12-2022 01:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Following Google's beta rollout of the feature in October, passkeys are now hitting Chrome stable M108. "Passkey" is built on industry standards and backed by all the big platform vendors -- Google, Apple, Microsoft -- along with the FIDO Alliance. Google's latest blog says: "With the latest version of Chrome, we're enabling passkeys on Windows 11, macOS, and Android." The Google Password Manager on Android is ready to sync all your passkeys
  
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• Disney+ Launches Its Ad-Supported Tier To Compete With Netflix

  10-12-2022 00:20 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Today, Disney+ launched its ad-supported tier, "Disney+ Basic," at $7.99/month. The plan is currently only available in the U.S. and will become available in other countries sometime next year. TechCrunch reports: Netflix has its work cut out for it if it wants to compete successfully with Disney+'s new ad-supported tier. For instance, Disney+ Basic not only lets viewers stream high-quality video, including Full HD, HDR10, 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision and Expanded Aspect Ratio with IMAX Enhanced, b
  
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