ICT news

• NASA's High-Resolution Air Quality Control Instrument Launches

  07-04-2023 23:20 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A NASA instrument to provide unprecedented resolution of monitoring major air pollutants -- down to four square miles -- lifted off on its way to geostationary orbit at 12:30 a.m. EDT Friday. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument will improve life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality from space. From a report: "The TEMPO mission is about more than just studying pollution -- it's about improving life on Earth for all. By monitoring th
  
  Read more

• Cop28 President: World Needs Business Mindset To Tackle Climate Crisis

  07-04-2023 22:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The world needs a "business mindset" to tackle the climate crisis, the president of the next UN climate summit has said. From a report: Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of the Cop28 summit to be hosted in the United Arab Emirates later this year, said he aimed to use the UN talks to set out how the private sector can limit greenhouse gas emissions and give businesses and governments a clear set of tasks and targets. "We need a major course correction and a massive effort to reignite prog
  
  Read more

• Microsoft Crackdown Disables Emulators Downloaded To Xbox Consoles

  07-04-2023 22:01 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Back in 2020, we reported that emulator developers were using a hole in the Xbox Store's app distribution system to get around Microsoft's longstanding ban on emulators running on Xbox consoles. This week, though, many of the emulators that were distributed through that workaround have stopped working, the apparent victims of a new crackdown by Microsoft. Xbox emulator makers and users can't say they weren't warned. In the "Gaming and Xbox" section of Microso
  
  Read more

• Google Will Shut Down Dropcam and Nest Secure in 2024

  07-04-2023 21:21 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Google is ending support for the Dropcam and the Nest Secure home security system in one year, on April 8th, 2024. From a report: They are among the few remaining Nest products that haven't been brought over to Google Home, and their demise hints that the new Google Home app might almost be here. At least, no more than a year away. Surely. Google is also winding down the last few legacy Works with Nest connections, but not 'til September 29th. Existing Dropcam cameras will keep working until Apr
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Samsung To Cut Chip Production as Profits Plunge by 96%

  07-04-2023 20:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Samsung Electronics will cut back on chip production, as it faces a sharp decline in global demand for semiconductors that has sent prices plunging. From a report: The world's biggest memory chip maker said it would make a "meaningful" cut to chip output after sales dropped sharply and it flagged a 96% drop in first-quarter profits, worse than expected. The fellow South Korean firm SK Hynix and Micron Technology of the US have also reduced production. "Samsung talking about production cuts is ev
  
  Read more

• AI Developers Stymied by Server Shortage at AWS, Microsoft, Google

  07-04-2023 20:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Startups and other companies trying to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom sparked by OpenAI are running into a problem: They can't find enough specialized computers to make their own AI software. The Information: A spike in demand for server chips that can train and run machine-learning software has caused a shortage, prompting major cloud-server providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google and Oracle to limit their availability for customers, according to interviews wi
  
  Read more

• Google Pay Bug Accidentally Sends Users Free Money

  07-04-2023 19:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Here's a good reason to use Google Pay: Google might send you a bunch of free money. From a report: Many users report that Google accidentally deposited cash in their accounts -- anywhere from $10 to $1,000. Android researcher Mishaal Rahman got hit with the bug and shared most of the relevant details on Twitter. The cash arrived via Google Pay's "reward" program. Just like a credit card, you're supposed to get a few bucks back occasionally for various promotions, but nothing like this. Numerous
  
  Read more

• Unilever Claims It's a 'Cloud-Only Enterprise'

  07-04-2023 18:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Multi-brand consumer megacorp Unilever says it has become a "cloud-only enterprise" with the help of Accenture and Microsoft. From a report: One of the largest and most complex cloud migrations in the retail goods industry, according to the company, will give Unilever "resilient, secure and optimised operations" as well as "a platform to drive innovation and growth." The Anglo-Dutch biz owns more than 400 brands, which include everything from ice cream to shampoo to toilet cleaner, and is set to
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• MSI Confirms Breach as Ransomware Gang Claims Responsibility

  07-04-2023 18:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  MSI has confirmed it suffered a data breach after a ransomware gang claimed it stole files from the PC maker. The company published a Taiwanese stock exchange filing about experiencing a âoecyber attack,â although the company is thin on details. From a report: "After detecting some information systems being attacked by hackers, MSI's IT department has initiated information security defense mechanism and recovery procedures," the PC maker said. The company also reported the incident t
  
  Read more

• Eric Schmidt Rejects AI Research Pause Over China Fears

  07-04-2023 17:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Putting a temporary pause on artificial intelligence development would only hand an advantage to competitors in China, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, after more than 1,000 researchers signed a letter warning of the consequences of moving too quickly on AI research. From a report: Speaking to the Australian Financial Review in an interview published Friday, Schmidt said there were legitimate concerns about the speed of research into AI but they should be mitigated by tech companies working
  
  Read more

• Flipper Zero Banned By Amazon for Being a 'Card Skimming Device'

  07-04-2023 16:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Amazon has banned the sale of the Flipper Zero portable multi-tool for pen-testers as it no longer allows its sale on the platform after tagging it as a card-skimming device. From a report: The Flipper Zero is a compact, portable, and programmable pen-testing tool that can help experiment with and debug various digital and hardware devices via various protocols, including RFID, radio, NFC, infrared, Bluetooth, and others. Since its launch, users have showcased Flipper Zero's capabilities demonst
  
  Read more

• Inside Google-Backed Anthropic's $5 Billion, 4-Year Plan To Take on OpenAI

  07-04-2023 16:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  AI research startup Anthropic aims to raise as much as $5 billion over the next two years to take on rival OpenAI and enter over a dozen major industries, according to company documents obtained by TechCrunch. From the report: A pitch deck for Anthropic's Series C fundraising round discloses these and other long-term goals for the company, which was founded in 2020 by former OpenAI researchers. In the deck, Anthropic says that it plans to build a "frontier model" -- tentatively called "Claude-Ne
  
  Read more

• US Treasury Warns DeFi Is Used by North Korea, Scammers To Launder Dirty Money

  07-04-2023 14:05 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Decentralized finance (DeFi) services that aren't compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules pose "the most significant current illicit finance risk" in that corner of the crypto sector, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's first analysis of hazards from the technology. From a report: In an expected risk assessment, published Thursday, the Treasury Department said thieves, scammers, ransomware cyber criminals and actors for the Democratic People's Republic o
  
  Read more

• Driverless Bus Service To Start In Scotland In 'World First'

  07-04-2023 12:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Full-size, self-driving bus services will begin in Scotland next month in what is believed to be a world first. The BBC reports: Stagecoach said the route over the Forth Road Bridge would launch on May 15. The 14-mile route will run between Ferrytoll park and ride in Fife and Edinburgh Park train and tram interchange. Five single-decker autonomous buses will have the capacity for about 10,000 passenger journeys per week.The vehicles have sensors enabling them to travel on pre-selected roads at u
  
  Read more

• China Invites Venezuela To Join Moon Base Project

  07-04-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  China has invited Venezuela to join its lunar research station project as the country works to gain partners for the endeavor. SpaceNews reports: Venezuela would be the first country to join China and Russia in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which is planned to be constructed in the early 2030s using super heavy-lift launch vehicles. The launches will follow smaller, precursor missions later this decade. Marglad Bencomo, executive director of the Bolivarian Agency for Space Act
  
  Read more

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rose At 'Alarming' Rate Last Year, US Data Shows

  07-04-2023 05:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Record temperatures, devastating floods and superstorms are causing death and destruction across the planet but humans are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fueling the climate emergency, new US data shows. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide -- the greenhouse gases emitted by human activity that are the most significant contributors to global heating -- continued to increase rapidly during 2022, accor
  
  Read more

• New Ultrasound Attack Can Secretly Hijack Phones and Smart Speakers

  07-04-2023 04:02 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Academics in the US have developed an attack dubbed NUIT, for Near-Ultrasound Inaudible Trojan, that exploits vulnerabilities in smart device microphones and voice assistants to silently and remotely access smart phones and home devices. The Register reports: The research team -- Guenevere Chen, an associate professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, her doctoral student Qi Xia, and Shouhuai Xu, a professor at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs -- found Apple's Siri, Google's
  
  Read more

• Mario Is Moving Away From Mobile Games

  07-04-2023 03:25 via games.slashdot.org
  
  In an exclusive interview with Variety, legendary video game designer, Nintendo fellow and self-proclaimed "Mario's mom", Shigeru Miyamoto, said: "Mobile apps will not be the primary path of future Mario games." From the report: After two moderately successful but dwindling iOS games, plus another that shuttered after two years, Nintendo is pulling Mario away from the mobile market. Released in 2016, Super Mario Run grossed $60 million in its first year, while 2019's Mario Kart Tour has generate
  
  Read more

• Best Buy Launches Recycle-By-Mail Program

  07-04-2023 02:45 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  For $30, you can ship Best Buy a prepaid box filled with up to 15 pounds of unwanted electronics. CNET reports: Starting this month, two sizes of prepaid boxes are available on the Best Buy website: a 9-by-5-by-3-inch container that can carry up to 6 pounds for $23, and a larger, 18-by-14-by-4-inch box that can carry up to 15 pounds for $30. Once you've filled it up with approved electronics, you can take the box to a UPS location or arrange for a pickup.The recycling-by-mail program is the late
  
  Read more

• Sony Worries Microsoft Will Only Give It a 'Degraded' Call of Duty

  07-04-2023 02:02 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Late last month, UK regulators said they no longer believed a proposed Microsoft-owned Activision would bar Call of Duty games from PlayStation platforms, a reversal of earlier preliminary findings. Even if you grant that premise, though, Sony says that it's still worried Microsoft could give PlayStation owners a "degraded" version of new Call of Duty games in an effort to make the Xbox versions look better.In a newly published response (PDF
  
  Read more

• Apple's First India Store Is Finally Here

  07-04-2023 01:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has been teasing plans for an India retail store since 2016. Seven years later, it's finally here. Quartz reports: The company finally released a picture of the barricade of its first ever Indian retail store in Mumbai, the country's financial hub, on Apr. 5. The store will be located in Jio World Drive -- the mall owned by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani -- in the upscale commercial hub called Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). So far, Apple has only sold goods and offered services in India vi
  
  Read more

• Binance Has Australian Financial Services License Canceled By ASIC

  07-04-2023 00:40 via slashdot.org
  
  Australia's financial regulator has cancelled the local financial services licence of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. The Guardian reports: Earlier this year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) found Binance had incorrectly classified hundreds of retail customers as wholesale investors. The Asic chair, Joe Longo, said the distinction was important because retail customers have access to more consumer protections under Australian law, including the r
  
  Read more

• Synthetic Embryos Have Been Implanted Into Monkey Wombs

  07-04-2023 00:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: Embryos made from stem cells -- instead of a sperm and egg -- have been created from monkey cells for the first time. When researchers put these "synthetic embryos" into the uteruses of adult monkeys, some showed the initial signs of pregnancy. It's the furthest scientists have ever been able to take lab-grown embryos in primates -- and the work hints that it may one day be possible to generate fetuses this way. The team behind the
  
  Read more

Follow @newslocke_ict on Twitter!