ICT news

• Groupon, Which Has Lost 99.4% of Its Value Since Its IPO, Names a New CEO

  31-03-2023 23:20 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: A dozen years ago, Groupon shot to fame popularizing the online group buying format, confidently rejecting a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google and instead going public with a $17.8 billion market cap. The company today says it has 14 million active users, but almost consistently for the last decade, its financial position has been in a slow decline -- with stagnation in its core business model, little success in efforts to diversify, declining revenues
  
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• Audible is Testing Ad-Supported Access To Select Titles For Non-Members

  31-03-2023 22:41 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Audible is testing ad-supported access to select titles for non-members, the Amazon-owned audiobook company revealed on a help page on its website. From a report: The company confirmed to TechCrunch that the test is very limited and does not apply to paid members. The move indicates that the company may be exploring the possibility of an ad-based membership option. Audible declined to comment on any specific plans. The test includes audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals. Audible says the te
  
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• Reddit Says It's Banning More People Than Ever in Big Transparency Push

  31-03-2023 22:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader writes: Reddit's transparency reports go beyond what most social media companies offer, providing copious data on content moderation and global legal requests. Now, the company has introduced a transparency center serving as a hub for safety, security and policy information. It also announced plans to release transparency reports biannually rather than just once per year and said that in 2022, it removed significantly more offensive content, including child abuse and revenge
  
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• Synopsys Intros AI-Powered EDA Suite To Accelerate Chip Design and Cut Costs

  31-03-2023 21:21 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Synopsys has introduced the industry's first full-stack AI-powered suite of electronic design automation tools that covers all stages of chip design, from architecture to design and implementation to manufacturing. From a report: The Synopsys.ai suite promises to radically reduce development time, lower costs, improve yields, and enhance performance. The set of tools is set to be extremely useful for chips set to be made on leading-edge nodes, such as 5nm, 3nm, 2nm-class, and beyond. As chips ga
  
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• Twitter Opens Much of Its Source Code To the Global Community

  31-03-2023 21:05 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Twitter blog: At Twitter 2.0, we believe that we have a responsibility, as the town square of the internet, to make our platform transparent. So today we are taking the first step in a new era of transparency and opening much of our source code to the global community.
  On GitHub, you'll find two new repositories (main repo, ml repo) containing the source code for many parts of Twitter, including our recommendations algorithm, which controls the Tweets you see on the For You timeline. We're also
  
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• Dumb Phones Are on the Rise in the US

  31-03-2023 20:40 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  Dumb phones may be falling out of fashion on a global scale, but it's a different story in the U.S. From a report: Companies like HMD Global, the maker of Nokia phones, continue to sell millions of mobile devices similar to those used in the early 2000s. This includes what's known as "feature phones" -- traditional flip or slide phones that have additional features like GPS or a hotspot. "I think you can see it with certain Gen Z populations -- they're tired of the screens," said Jose Briones, d
  
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• UK Government Gambles on Carbon Capture and Storage Tech Despite Scientists' Doubts

  31-03-2023 20:01 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The UK government will defy scientific doubts to place a massive bet on technology to capture and store carbon dioxide in undersea caverns, to enable an expansion of oil and gas in the North Sea. From a report: Grant Shapps, the energy and net zero secretary, on Thursday unveiled the "powering up Britain" strategy, with carbon capture and storage (CCS) at its heart, during a visit to a nuclear fusion development facility in Oxford. Shapps said the continued production of oil and gas in the North
  
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• Japan Restricts Chipmaking Equipment Exports as It Aligns With US China Curbs

  31-03-2023 19:25 via slashdot.org
  
  Japan said on Friday it will restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with a U.S. push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips. From a report: Japan, home to major chip equipment makers such as Nikon and Tokyo Electron, did not specify China as the target of the restrictions, saying manufacturers would need to seek export permission for all regions. "We are fulfilling our responsibility as a technological nation to contr
  
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• Google Bard is Switching To a More 'Capable' Language Model, CEO Confirms

  31-03-2023 18:43 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  People haven't exactly been impressed in the short time since Google released its "experimental conversational AI service" Bard. Coming up against OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing Chat (also powered by OpenAI's GPT-4) users have found its responses to not be as knowledgeable or detailed as its rivals. That could be set to change, however, after Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed on The New York Times podcast "Hard Fork" that Bard will soon be moving from its current LaMDA-based model to lar
  
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• NYPD is Refusing To Comply With NYC's New Surveillance Tech Laws

  31-03-2023 18:15 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: In a new report published Thursday, the New York Office of the Inspector General for the New York Police Department (OIG-NYPD) said the New York Police Department
  violated the 2020 ââPublic Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, which required the NYPD to publicly disclose surveillance technology. The POST Act was signed into law by then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and required the NYPD to disclose information about its current an
  
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• China Hits Micron With Review of Chips, Citing Security Risks

  31-03-2023 17:25 via slashdot.org
  
  China has opened a cybersecurity review of imports from America's largest memory chipmaker, Micron Technology, opening a new front in the escalating battle between the two countries over dominance in the semiconductor market. From a report: The Chinese government is conducting the review to ensure the security of its information infrastructure supply chain, prevent network security risks and maintain national security, it said in a statement Friday. The move stands to further escalate trade tens
  
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• India Hunts For Spyware That Rivals Controversial Pegasus System

  31-03-2023 16:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  India is hunting for new spyware with a lower profile than the controversial Pegasus system blacklisted by the US government, with rival surveillance software makers preparing bids on lucrative deals being offered by Narendra Modi's government. Financial Times: Defence and intelligence officials from the South Asian country have decided to acquire spyware from less exposed competitors to the NSO Group, the Israeli makers of Pegasus, according to people familiar with the move, seeking to spend up
  
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• Banks Warier of Serving Crypto Clients After Blowups, Scrutiny

  31-03-2023 16:00 via slashdot.org
  
  US banks, already hesitant to work with crypto customers, are now even warier of providing services to the industry after a string of regional-lender collapses and amid heightened scrutiny by regulators. From a report: The closure of crypto-friendly Silvergate Capital and seizure of Signature Bank has left crypto firms struggling to find new banks for depository and payment services. While there's no blanket ban on serving crypto clients, financial firms are imposing lengthy application procedur
  
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• Tax Preparation Industry Alarmed Over Plan For IRS Free Tax-Filing System

  31-03-2023 15:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: The Biden administration's $80 billion overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service is facing a new line of attack, this time from lobbyists representing tax preparers who fear that the agency's growing power will cripple their businesses and infringe upon taxpayer privacy. The fight is over a potential plan for the I.R.S. to create its own tax-filing system that would allow taxpayers to submit their returns directly to the federal governm
  
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• Samba Releases Security Updates for Multiple Versions of Samba

  31-03-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  The Samba Team has released security updates addressing vulnerabilities in multiple versions of Samba. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following announcements and apply the necessary updates:
  CVE-2023-0225
  CVE-2023-0922
  CVE-2023-0614  
  
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• Mozilla Releases Security Update for Thunderbird 102.9.1

  31-03-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Mozilla has released a security update to address vulnerabilities in Thunderbird 102.9.1. An attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
  CISA encourages users and administrators to review Mozilla’s Thunderbird 102.9.1 security advisory for more information and apply the necessary updates.
   
  
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• OpenAI's ChatGPT Blocked In Italy

  31-03-2023 13:08 via slashdot.org
  
  Italy's privacy watchdog said Friday it had blocked ChatGPT, saying the artificial intelligence app did not respect user data and could not verify users' age. The decision "with immediate effect" will result in "the temporary limitation of the processing of Italian user data vis-a-vis OpenAI," said the Italian Data Protection Authority.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Ultramassive Black Hole Discovered To Be 33 Billion Times More Massive Than the Sun

  31-03-2023 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Researchers have discovered one of the most massive black holes ever discovered, clocking in at around 32.7 billion times the mass of the sun. It's located in a galaxy at the center of a massive cluster named Abell 1201, some 2.7 billion light-years away. ScienceAlert reports: The new figure exceeds previous estimates by at least 7 billion solar masses, demonstrating the power of curved light for measuring masses with precision. One way we can find these black holes is looking for an effect call
  
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• Virgin Orbit Fails To Secure Funding, Will Cease Operations

  31-03-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Virgin Orbit is ceasing operations "for the foreseeable future" after failing to secure a funding lifeline, CEO Dan Hart told employees during an all-hands meeting Thursday afternoon. The company will lay off nearly all of its workforce. CNBC reports: "Unfortunately, we've not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company," Hart said, according to audio of the 5 p.m. ET meeting obtained by CNBC. "We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely pain
  
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• Stressed Plants Emit Sounds That Can Be Detected More Than a Meter Away

  31-03-2023 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: What does a stressed plant sound like? A bit like bubble-wrap being popped. Researchers in Israel report in the journal Cell on March 30 that tomato and tobacco plants that are stressed -- from dehydration or having their stems severed -- emit sounds that are comparable in volume to normal human conversation. The frequency of these noises is too high for our ears to detect, but they can probably be heard by insects, other mammals, and possibly o
  
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• 'Vulkan Files' Leak Reveals Putin's Global and Domestic Cyberwarfare Tactics

  31-03-2023 04:02 via it.slashdot.org
  
  "The Gaurdian reports on a document leak from Russian cyber 'security' company Vulkan," writes Slashdot reader Falconhell. From the report: Inside the six-storey building, a new generation is helping Russian military operations. Its weapons are more advanced than those of Peter the Great's era: not pikes and halberds, but hacking and disinformation tools. The software engineers behind these systems are employees of NTC Vulkan. On the surface, it looks like a run-of-the-mill cybersecurity consult
  
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• Meta Wants EU Users To Apply For Permission To Opt Out of Data Collection

  31-03-2023 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta announced that starting next Wednesday, some Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union will for the first time be able to opt out of sharing first-party data used to serve highly personalized ads, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move marks a big change from Meta's current business model, where every video and piece of content clicked on its platforms provides a data point for its online advertisers. Ars Technica reports: People "familiar with the matter" told the Journal that
  
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• China Shuts Down Major Manga Piracy Site Following Complaint From Japan

  31-03-2023 02:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Anti-piracy group CODA is reporting the shutdown of B9Good, a pirate manga site that targeted Japan but was operated from China. In response to a criminal complaint filed by CODA on behalf of six Japanese companies, which were backed by 21 others during the investigation, Chinese authorities arrested four people and seized one house worth $580,000. TorrentFreak reports: Manga piracy site B9Good initially appeared in 2008 and established itself under B9DM branding. SimilarWeb stats show that the
  
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• Google Assistant Division Is Reorganizing To Focus On Bard

  31-03-2023 02:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Google is reshuffling the reporting structure of its virtual assistant unit -- called Assistant -- to focus more on Bard, the company's new artificial intelligence chat technology. In a memo to employees on Wednesday, titled "Changes to Assistant and Bard teams," Sissie Hsiao, vice president and lead of Google Assistant's business unit, announced changes to the organization that show the unit heavily prioritizing Bard. "As the Bard teams continue th
  
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• Roku To Cut 200 Jobs, or 6% of Its Workforce, In Second Round of Layoffs

  31-03-2023 01:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Roku will lay off 6% of its workforce, or 200 employees, in its second round of job cuts, the U.S. streaming device maker said. Reuters reports: In a bid to lower expenses, the company also decided to exit and sub-lease office facilities that it did not currently occupy. Roku had in November cut 200 jobs in the United States, where companies, led by technology giants such as Meta Platforms and Amazon.com Inc, are bracing for a potential economic downturn amid rising borrowing costs around the wo
  
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• Missouri Reps Vote To Completely Defund State's Public Libraries

  31-03-2023 00:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Late Tuesday night, the Missouri House of Representatives voted for a state operating budget with a $0 line for public libraries. While the budget still needs to work its way through the Senate and the governor's office, state funding for public libraries is very much on the chopping block in Missouri. This comes after Republican House Budget Chairman Cody Smith proposed a $4.5 million cut to public libraries' state aid last week in the initi
  
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• Lenovo Gives Up on Its Dream of Android Gaming Phones

  31-03-2023 00:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader writes: Android manufacturers occasionally try to push this idea of a "gaming smartphone" -- usually, these companies try to extend the "PC gamer" design motif to smartphones, with RGB LEDs and aggressive marketing. Since Android games are mostly casual pay-to-win tap fests, though, we often have to ask, does anyone want a gaming smartphone? If you're Lenovo, the answer is apparently "no," as Android Authority reports Lenovo is killing the "Legion" gaming phone business.Read
  
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