ICT news

• Meta Pulls News Content From Canadian Facebook and Instagram

  22-06-2023 23:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Meta has confirmed that it will remove all news content from Facebook and Instagram for users in Canada, following the passing of the Online News Act by the Canadian Parliament. Engadget reports: "Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect," the company posted. "We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, content from news o
  
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• Wind Power Seen Growing Ninefold as Canada Cuts Carbon Emissions

  22-06-2023 22:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Canada is set for massive growth in wind power generation as it moves toward net zero emissions by 2050, a new report by the country's energy regulator suggested. From a report: The report models how energy consumption is expected to change under various scenarios as the world reduces its carbon emissions, and it projects electricity use will more than double in Canada from now until mid-century. "Among all technologies, wind contributes the greatest amount of new generation by 2050, increasing
  
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• US To Ease Visas for Skilled Indian Workers as Modi Visits

  22-06-2023 22:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Biden administration will make it easier for Indians to live and work in the United States, using this week's state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help some skilled workers enter or remain in the country, Reuters reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: The State Department could announce as soon as Thursday that a small number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will be able to renew those visas in the U.S., without having to trave
  
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• OceanGate Says All Five Titan Passengers Have Died

  22-06-2023 21:11 via news.slashdot.org
  
  OceanGate now says that all five passengers "have been lost," according to a statement. From a report: "These men were true explorers who shared distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring protecting our world's oceans," the statement reads. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time."
  The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that a "debris field" has been found in the search area for the missing Titan submersible. A press confer
  
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• Heatwaves Are Stressing Out Power Grids All Over the World

  22-06-2023 20:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Heatwaves are pushing power grids to their brink around the world -- a risk that can make an already dangerous situation deadly. From a report: When temperatures spike, people tend to need air conditioning the most. But that can put a lot of pressure on a power grid, potentially triggering a blackout if there isn't enough electricity on hand. That's the worst-case scenario grid operators across the world are scrambling to prevent. Close to 28.8 million people are under heat alerts today in the U
  
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• FTC Argues Microsoft's Deal To Buy Activision Should Be Paused

  22-06-2023 20:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday argued in federal court for a preliminary injunction to temporarily block Microsoft's acquisition of videogame maker Activision Blizzard, which would stop the deal from closing before the government's case against it is heard by an administrative judge. From a report: "If this deal is completed, the combined company ... is likely to have the ability, an incentive, to harm competition in various markets related to consoles, subscription services and t
  
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• Sony Plans To Keep Making Smartphones For at Least a Few More Years

  22-06-2023 19:22 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  Sony is still beavering away on its own phones and it plans to keep doing so for the foreseeable future. From a report: Sony has struck a multi-year deal with Qualcomm to use Snapdragon platforms to power its handsets. This is an extension of an existing agreement between the two sides. Qualcomm chipsets will be used in Sony's upcoming premium devices, along with high- and mid-tier smartphones. Sony revealed the awkwardly named Xperia 1 V just last month.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Accenture Signals More Pain for IT Industry With Disappointing Forecast

  22-06-2023 18:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Accenture fanned concerns about dwindling IT spending on Thursday with a quarterly revenue forecast that was below Wall Street estimates, sending its shares down more than 5%. From a report: CEO Julie Sweet said clients were "holding back on small deals" in the face of an uncertain economic outlook, mirroring remarks from Cognizant Technology Solutions last month. Accenture forecast current-quarter revenue in the range of $15.75 billion to $16.35 billion.
  Analysts on average expect revenue of $1
  
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• US-based Generative AI Job Postings Up 20% in May

  22-06-2023 18:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Generative AI-related job postings in the United States jumped about 20% last month as companies look to harness a technology that has been widely touted as the next big growth driver, according to data from job portal Indeed. From a report: The May figure, at 204 per million job postings, was also more than double the 2021 level and underscored the buzz around AI, sparked by the runaway success of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Data scientist roles made up 5% of the AI job postings on Indeed's U.S. platform
  
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• DuckDuckGo Browser Beta for Windows Bakes in a Lot of Privacy Tools

  22-06-2023 17:24 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Privacy-focused firm DuckDuckGo has released a public beta of its browser for Windows, offering more default privacy protections and an assortment of Duck-made browsing tools. From a report: Like its Mac browser, DuckDuckGo (DDG) uses "the underlying operating system rendering API" rather than its own forked browser code. That's "a Windows WebView2 call that utilizes the Blink rendering engine underneath," according to DuckDuckGo's blog post. Fittingly, the browser reports itself as Microsoft Ed
  
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• Figma's Design Tools Are Now Free on Chromebooks For All US School Students

  22-06-2023 16:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Figma is expanding its partnership with Google for Education in a bid to introduce more school-age students to its product design and collaboration platforms. From a report: Announced during the Config event on Wednesday, June 21st, all K-12 students across the US can now access Figma for free on education Chromebooks. Figma is also expanding its educational partnership with Chromebooks outside of the US, starting with Google schools in Japan. Today's announcement effectively opens up the beta p
  
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• Intel Restructures Manufacturing Business

  22-06-2023 16:11 via slashdot.org
  
  Intel says its manufacturing business will work like a separate unit and will begin to generate a margin, but gave no clear timeline on when it will start scaling up, sending the chipmaker's shares down about 5%. From a report: The company also did not name a new external customer for the business as part of its foundry services, a key element of Intel's turnaround plans wherein it will offer its manufacturing services to other companies including its competitors. Intel's internal business units
  
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• Amazon Faces Senate Probe Over Warehouse Safety

  22-06-2023 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Amazon's warehouse working conditions, which have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, are now at the heart of a congressional probe being led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In a letter (PDF) to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Sanders, who chairs the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said the e-retailer's "quest for profits at all costs" has caused warehouse employees to experience unsafe working environments with
  
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• Juniper Networks Releases Security Advisory for Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved

  22-06-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Juniper Networks has released a security advisory that addresses a vulnerability in Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial-of-service condition.
  CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Juniper Security Advisory for CVE-2023-0026 and apply the necessary updates.
  
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• Microsoft Hiking the Price of Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass

  22-06-2023 13:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft is increasing its Xbox Series X prices in most countries in August apart from the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia. From a report: The Xbox maker is also increasing the monthly prices of its Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions for the first time next month, which will see the base Game Pass subscription for console move up to $10.99 a month from $9.99. "We've held on our prices for consoles for many years and have adjusted the prices to reflect the competitiv
  
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• Discord Is Opening the Monetization Floodgates

  22-06-2023 11:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Discord is introducing new ways to generate revenue, including server subscriptions, tiered subscriptions, and the ability for server owners to sell digital products. This move has raised concerns among some users who feel that Discord is becoming less welcoming and more like the paywalled internet it was once an escape from. PC Gamer reports: "To date, we've paid out millions of dollars to thousands of creators and communities, and we're seeing more creators and communities earning on their Dis
  
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• Google May Be Readying New 'Chromebook X'

  22-06-2023 09:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google could be about to launch a new branding initiative for Chromebooks dubbed "Chromebook X," according to a new report from 9to5Google. From a report: The publication has pulled together several code commits referencing the new name, which suggests that the branding could be used for laptops that meet certain spec requirements and allow them to offer exclusive features. One source tells 9to5Google that the first Chromebook X laptops could launch before the end of the year.
  Although the Chrom
  
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• Microsoft Says Its Weird New Particle Could Improve Quantum Computers

  22-06-2023 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Scientist: Microsoft researchers have made a controversial claim that they have seen evidence of an elusive particle that could solve some of the biggest headaches in quantum computing, but some experts are questioning the discovery. Quantum computers process information using quantum bits, or qubits, but current iterations can be prone to error. "What the field needs is a new kind of qubit," says Chetan Nayak at Microsoft Quantum. He and his colleagu
  
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• Intel's New Font For Low-Vision Developers Is Causing Design Drama For Coders

  22-06-2023 03:25 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Elissaveta M. Brandon writes via Fast Company: There's a new font in town -- and it's already causing rifts on Reddit. The font is called Intel One Mono, and as its name implies, it was designed by tech giant Intel, together with New York-based type design practice Frere-Jones Type and marketing agency VMLY&R. It joins a group of monospaced fonts designed primarily for developers -- think JetBrains Mono, Fira Code, and Consolas. By definition, monospaced fonts consist of characters that have
  
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• Google's New Standard For ChromeOS: 'Chromebook X'

  22-06-2023 02:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google is launching the "Chromebook X" program, aiming to differentiate high-quality laptops and tablets from standard Chromebooks by improving hardware specifications and adding exclusive features such as enhanced video conferencing capabilities and unique wallpapers. Chromebook X devices, expected to be priced between $350 and $500, will provide users with an elevated experience beyond the basic functionality of traditional Chromebooks. The devices are anticipated to be available in stores by
  
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• An AT&T-Backed Cellular Satellite Company Sent a 4G LTE Signal From Space

  22-06-2023 01:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to AST SpaceMobile, the company managed to successfully transmit a 4G LTE signal from space that was picked up by "everyday, off-the-shelf smartphones." Next, AST will try and transmit a 5G connection via its BlueWalker 3 (BW3) satellite. The Verge reports: Testing was conducted in Hawaii on AT&T's spectrum using Nokia RAN technology, and the signal, which was beamed from AST's satellite in low Earth orbit, reached speeds of up to 10.3Mbps. That's fast enough for some video streami
  
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• Reddit Ousted Mods After Subreddits Filled With Porn To Protest API Pricing Scheme

  22-06-2023 00:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: After threatening to do so last week, Reddit has now removed the moderators of some of the subreddits that were protesting Reddit's new API pricing scheme. Some of these subreddits have new mods in the protesters' place, while other affected subreddits have been left unmoderated. Still others, oddly, saw their moderators reinstated. Reddit claims the moves are a response to mods breaking its Moderator Code of Conduct by allowing "not safe fo
  
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• US Reading and Math Scores Drop To Lowest Level In Decades

  22-06-2023 00:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  The average test scores for 13-year-old students in the U.S. have decreased in reading and math since 2020, reaching the lowest levels in decades, with more significant declines in math. NPR reports: The average scores, from tests given last fall, declined 4 points in reading and 9 points in math, compared with tests given in the 2019-2020 school year, and are the lowest in decades. The declines in reading were more pronounced for lower performing students, but dropped across all percentiles. Th
  
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