ICT news

• Stanford Faculty Say Anonymous Student Bias Reports Threaten Free Speech

  24-02-2023 23:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  "A group of Stanford University professors is pushing to end a system that allows students to anonymously report classmates for exhibiting discrimination or bias, saying it threatens free speech on campus (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source)," reports the Wall Street Journal. The Daily Beast reports: Last month, a screenshot of a student reading Hitler's manifesto Mein Kampf was reported in the system, according to the Stanford Daily. Faculty members leading the charge to shut the sys
  
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• 'I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice'

  24-02-2023 23:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard, written by Joseph Cox: On Wednesday, I phoned my bank's automated service line. To start, the bank asked me to say in my own words why I was calling. Rather than speak out loud, I clicked a file on my nearby laptop to play a sound clip: "check my balance," my voice said. But this wasn't actually my voice. It was a synthetic clone I had made using readily available artificial intelligence technology. "Okay," the bank replied. It then asked me
  
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• Meta Has a New Machine Learning Language Model

  24-02-2023 22:22 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The buzz in tech these last few weeks has been focused squarely on the language models developed and deployed by the likes of Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI. But Meta, Facebook's parent company, continues to do significant work in this field and is releasing a new AI language generator named LLaMA today. From a report: LLaMA isn't like ChatGPT or Bing; it's not a system that anyone can talk to. Rather, it's a research tool that Meta says it's sharing in the hope of "democratizing access in this i
  
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• Cyber Insurance Is Back From the Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks

  24-02-2023 21:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  The cyber-insurance market, battered by a rash of pandemic-era ransomware attacks, is making a comeback. Price hikes are moderating, new carriers and fresh sources of capital are emerging, and companies can better afford coverage. From a report: Cyber-insurance pricing increased 10% from a year earlier in January, a fraction of the 110% annual increase reported in the first quarter of 2022, preliminary data from insurance broker Marsh McLennan show. If those trends continue, prices could be set
  
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• Reimagined Jet Ski Brings EVs To the Beach

  24-02-2023 21:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Cars aren't the only conveyances being transformed by electricity. Along with electric motorcycles and snowmobiles, personal watercraft are floating better ways to coexist with nature and neighbors. This new breed of machines brings requisite thrills to the Great Outdoors, but without fouling the atmosphere or disturbing the peace with an internal-combustion racket. From a report: The latest comes from Florida-based Pelagion, whose founder and chief executive, engineer Jamie Schlinkmann, was ins
  
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• What's Inside the Earth's Core?

  24-02-2023 20:21 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The inner core of the Earth appears to hold an innermost secret. From a report: Geology textbooks almost inevitably include a cutaway diagram of the Earth showing four neatly delineated layers: a thin outer shell of rock that we live on known as the crust; the mantle, where rocks flow like an extremely viscous liquid, driving the movement of continents and the lifting of mountains; a liquid outer core of iron and nickel that generates the planet's magnetic field; and a solid inner core. Analyzin
  
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• Rovio Says Paid Angry Birds Had 'Negative Impact' on Free-to-Play Versions

  24-02-2023 19:41 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Back in the days before practically every mobile game was a free-to-play, ad- and microtransaction-laden sinkhole, Rovio found years of viral success selling paid downloads of Angry Birds to tens of millions of smartphone users. Today, though, the company is delisting the last "pay upfront" version of the game from mobile app stores because of what it says is a "negative impact" on the more lucrative free-to-play titles in the franchise. From a report: Years after its 2009 launch, the original A
  
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• DOJ Alleges Google Destroyed Chat Messages It Was Required To Save During Antitrust Investigation

  24-02-2023 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google "systematically destroyed" instant message chats every 24 hours, violating federal rules to preserve potentially relevant communications for litigation, the Department of Justice alleged in a filing that became public on Thursday. From a report: As a result of Google's default to preserve chats for only 24 hours unless an employee opts to turn on history for the conversation, "for nearly four years, Google systematically destroyed an entire category of written communications every 24 hour
  
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• Ericsson To Lay Off 8,500 Employees

  24-02-2023 18:21 via slashdot.org
  
  Telecom equipment maker Ericsson will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo sent to employees and seen by Reuters said. From the report: While technology companies such as Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet have laid off thousands of employees citing economic conditions, Ericsson's move would be the largest layoff to hit the telecoms industry. "The way headcount reductions will be managed will differ depending on local country practice," Chief Executive Borje Ekholm
  
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• Google Parent Alphabet Shuts Down Yet Another Robot Project

  24-02-2023 17:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Alphabet is shutting down its Everyday Robots project -- another casualty of job cuts at Google's parent company and the latest in a long list of failed hardware ventures. From a report: According to a report from Wired, Everyday Robots will no longer exist as a discrete team at the tech giant. "Everyday Robots will no longer be a separate project within Alphabet," Denise Gamboa, director of marketing and communications for Everyday Robots, told the publication. "Some of the technology and part
  
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• DOJ Preps Antitrust Suit To Block Adobe's $20 Billion Figma Deal

  24-02-2023 17:18 via slashdot.org
  
  The Justice Department is preparing an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Adobe's $20 billion acquisition of startup Figma, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: A case is expected to be filed as soon as next month, although the timing could slip, said one of the people, all of whom asked for anonymity to discuss the confidential probe. The deal needs approval from several antitrust authorities and the merger agreement allows for a possible extended re
  
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• Good Quality Sleep Can Add Years To People's Lives, Study Suggests

  24-02-2023 16:20 via science.slashdot.org
  
  It is no mystery that a good night's sleep and a lie-in can improve your day. But researchers are suggesting that, far from just being enjoyable, quality sleep may even add years to people's lives. From a report: Men who regularly sleep well could live almost five years longer than those who do not, while women could benefit by two years, research suggests. And they could also enjoy better health during their lives. Researchers found that young people who had better sleep habits were less likely
  
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• Starbucks Offers a Dash of Olive Oil With Its Coffee in Italy

  24-02-2023 15:42 via news.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter sit1963nz writes: Starbucks has launched a new drink that mixes coffee with olive oil, offering it initially in Italy as an alternative to the more standard espresso or cappuccino. The so-called "Oleato" beverages are made with arabica coffee "infused with a spoonful of Partanna cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil," Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, said in a statement. The price is between 4.5 euros and 6.5 euros ($4.80-$6.90) depending on the size of the cup.
  [...] Co
  
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• Signal Would 'Walk' From UK if Online Safety Bill Undermined Encryption

  24-02-2023 15:08 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Bruce66423 writes: The encrypted-messaging app Signal has said it would stop providing services in the UK if a new law undermined encryption. If forced to weaken the privacy of its messaging system under the Online Safety Bill, the organisation "would absolutely, 100% walk" Signal president Meredith Whittaker told the BBC. The government said its proposal was not "a ban on end-to-end encryption". The bill, introduced by Boris Johnson, is currently going through Parliament. Critics say companies
  
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• Valve Bans 40,000 Accounts After Laying a Trap For Cheaters In Dota 2

  24-02-2023 14:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Over 40,000 Dota 2 accounts have been permanently banned in the last few weeks after they were caught red-handed using third-party software to cheat the game. In a blog post published on Tuesday, Valve revealed that it had recently patched a known issue used by third-party software to cheat in Dota while simultaneously setting a honeypot trap to catch players using the exploit. According to Valve, the cheating software gave its users an unfair
  
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• Tesla Announces New Engineering HQ In California

  24-02-2023 11:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader Phact shares a report from The Hill: Elon Musk announced during a joint press conference with California Gov. Gavin Newsom that Tesla would be returning its global engineering headquarters to California, two years after a dramatic exit that saw the electric car company leave the Golden State for a facility in Austin, Texas. Tesla will open up shop in the former home of Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, Musk said. The facility will serve as the company's engineering headquarters while
  
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• Russia Launches Replacement Spacecraft For Astronauts Stranded By Coolant Leak

  24-02-2023 08:02 via slashdot.org
  
  Russia launched a Soyuz spacecraft that will replace a capsule that sprang a coolant leak in December, leaving two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut without a ride home. CNN reports: Liftoff of the capsule, called the Soyuz MS-23, took place out of Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan on Thursday at 7:24 p.m. ET, which is 5:24 a.m. Friday local time. The uncrewed spacecraft will spend about two days in orbit, maneuvering toward the International Space Station It's expected to d
  
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• Google Is Protesting a Canadian Law By Blocking News In Search Results

  24-02-2023 04:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC: Google is blocking some Canadian users from viewing news content in what the company says is a test run of a potential response to the Liberal government's online news bill. Also known as Bill C-18, the Online News Act would require digital giants such as Google and Meta, which owns Facebook, to negotiate deals that would compensate Canadian media companies for republishing their content on their platforms. The company said Wednesday that it is tempo
  
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• Why the Disc Format Has Yet To Die For Some TV Series

  24-02-2023 02:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Kaare Eriksen writes via Variety: As the Digital Entertainment Group, the trade association for home entertainment, tells it, business is better than ever: The U.S. consumer spend on home entertainment grew 11.4% year over year in 2022, totaling nearly $37 billion. Of course, success depends on how you define "home entertainment": Essentially none of that growth came courtesy of anything other than streaming, let alone DVD sales of any kind. When you remove SVOD from the equation, the truth is t
  
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• FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Hit With Four New Criminal Charges

  24-02-2023 01:50 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was hit Thursday with four new criminal charges, including ones related to commodities fraud and making unlawful political contributions, in a superseding indictment filed in New York federal court. A source familiar with the new counts said that SBF, as he is popularly known, could face an additional 40 years in prison if convicted in the case, where he is accused of "multiple schemes to defraud." CNBC reports: The charging document lays out how Bankman-Fried al
  
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• Crypto Mining Operation Found In School Crawl Space

  24-02-2023 01:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  A former employee of a Massachusetts town is facing charges of allegedly setting up a secret cryptocurrency mining operation in a remote crawl space at a school, police said. The Associated Press reports: Nadeam Nahas, 39, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on charges of fraudulent use of electricity and vandalizing a school, but he did not show up and a judge issued a default warrant after rejecting a defense motion to reschedule, a spokesperson for the Norfolk district attorney's office sa
  
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• World's Last Dedicated Meccano Factory To Close In France

  24-02-2023 00:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: It is the children's toy, invented in Britain, that inspired a passion for engineering, science and technology in generations of youngsters -- and their parents. Meccano building sets filled with reusable perforated metal -- and later plastic -- strips, plates, nuts, bolts, winches, wires, wheels and even motors have been used to construct models and mechanical devices for more than 120 years.Now the last dedicated Meccano factory in the wor
  
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