ICT news

• Apple Plans To Launch a Mac Monitor That Doubles As a Smart Home Display

  03-07-2023 23:20 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will introduce an external Mac monitor that can act as a smart home display when a Mac goes to sleep or is shut down. Ars Technica reports: The feature would be available on at least one monitor in an upcoming lineup that will likely include successors to Apple's Pro Display XDR and Studio Display. The newsletter didn't go into much detail about the upcoming displays beyond the smart home feature. Like the Studio Display, a new monitor with smart home
  
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• China Restricts Export of Chipmaking Metals In Clash With US

  03-07-2023 22:40 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: China imposed restrictions on exporting two metals that are crucial to parts of the semiconductor, telecommunications and electric-vehicle industries in an escalation of the country's tit-for-tat trade war on technology with the US and Europe. Gallium and germanium, along with their chemical compounds, will be subject to export controls meant to protect Chinese national security starting Aug. 1, China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement
  
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• Stop Using Google Analytics, Warns Sweden's Privacy Watchdog

  03-07-2023 22:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Sweden's data protection watchdog has issued a couple of fines in relation to exports of European users' data via Google Analytics which it found breach the bloc's privacy rulebook owing to risks posed by U.S. government surveillance. It has also warned other companies against use of Google's tool. From a report: The fines -- just over $1.1 million for Swedish telco Tele2 and less than $30,000 for local online retailer CDON -- are notable as they are the first such fines following a raft of stra
  
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• Flying Car Prototype Gets Airworthiness Certified By FAA

  03-07-2023 21:26 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader writes: The Federal Aviation Administration has certified for testing a vehicle that a California startup describes as a flying car -- the first fully electric vehicle that can both fly and travel on roads to receive US government approval. Alef Automotive said that its vehicle/aircraft, dubbed the "Model A," is the first flying vehicle that is drivable on public roads and able to park like a normal car. It also has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It apparently wil
  
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• Google Says It'll Scrape Everything You Post Online for AI

  03-07-2023 20:51 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google updated its privacy policy over the weekend, explicitly saying the company reserves the right to scrape just about everything you post online to build its AI tools. From a report: If Google can read your words, assume they belong to the company now, and expect that they're nesting somewhere in the bowels of a chatbot. "Google uses information to improve our services and to develop new products, features and technologies that benefit our users and the public," the new Google policy says. "
  
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• The Link Rot Spreads: GIF-hosting Site Gfycat Shutting Down Sept. 1

  03-07-2023 20:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Gfycat, a place where users uploaded, created, and distributed GIFs of all sorts, is shutting down as of Sept. 1, according to a message on its homepage. From a report: Users of the Snap-owned service are asked to "Please save or delete your Gfycat content." "After September 1, 2023, all Gfycat content and data will be deleted from gfycat.com." Gfycat rose as a service during a period where, like Imgur, it was easier to use than any native tools provided by content sites like Facebook or Reddit.
  
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• Pornhub Blocks Access in Mississippi and Virginia Over Age Verification Laws

  03-07-2023 19:22 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Pornhub is now blocking people in Mississippi and Virginia from visiting its website over laws that would require the service to verify their age. From a report The company says it's blocking users to protest unfair enforcement of these new laws, claiming that sites enforcing the new rules will lose traffic to "irresponsible platforms" that "don't follow the law, that don't take user safety seriously, and that often don't even moderate content." Traffic dropped by 80 percent for Pornhub after it
  
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• Zuckerberg's Quest To Re-Enter China Faces Challenge: His Own Words

  03-07-2023 18:52 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Mark Zuckerberg in late 2021 had a question for those working on Meta Platforms' strategy for its virtual-reality headset: If Apple can sell iPhones in China, and Tesla can sell cars, why can't we sell our devices there? From a report: The question, posed on a video call, led to a push by Meta to restart its China business by selling its Quest headsets in the country, according to a person familiar with the matter, more than a decade after Facebook was blocked there. The company held discussions
  
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• Apple Forced To Make Major Cuts To Vision Pro Headset Production Plans

  03-07-2023 18:11 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has been forced to make drastic cuts to production forecasts for the mixed-reality Vision Pro headset, unveiled last month after seven years in development and hailed as its most significant product launch since the iPhone. From a report: The complexity of the headset design and difficulties in production are behind the scaling back of targets, while plans for a more affordable version of the device have had to be pushed back, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the manuf
  
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• Ambani's Jio Unveils $12 4G Phone With Digital Pay and Streaming

  03-07-2023 17:28 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Reliance's digital arm, Jio Platforms, has unveiled a new mobile handset and associated tariff plans, the latest in a series of years-long efforts from the top Indian telecom operator as it vies to convert users who remain "trapped" in the country's legacy 2G networks. From a report: Named 'Jio Bharat,' the handset from Jio Platforms is 4G-enabled and offers a suite of modern features including mobile payments capabilities with UPI, and access to Jio's own on-demand video and music streaming ser
  
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• Europe's Venerable Ariane 5 Rocket Faces a Bittersweet Ending on Tuesday

  03-07-2023 16:49 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The Ariane 5 rocket has had a long run, with nearly three decades of service launching satellites and spacecraft. Over that time, the iconic rocket, with a liquid hydrogen-fueled core stage and solid rocket boosters, has come to symbolize Europe's guaranteed access to space. But now, the road is coming to an end for the Ariane 5. As soon as Tuesday evening, the final Ariane 5 rocket will lift off from Kourou, French Guiana, carrying a French military communic
  
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• Robot Takes Podium as Orchestra Conductor in South Korea

  03-07-2023 16:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An android robot, EveR 6, took the conductor's podium in Seoul on Friday evening to lead a performance by South Korea's national orchestra, marking the first such attempt in the country. From a report: The two-armed robot, designed by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, made its debut at the National Theater of Korea, leading musicians in the country's national orchestra. The robot, with a humanoid face, first bowed to the audience and started waving its arms to control the tempo of th
  
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• Defying Red Hat, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux Vow to Continue RHEL-Compatible Updates

  03-07-2023 13:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  Reactions continue to Red Hat's announcement that they'd start limiting access to Red Hat Enterprise Linux sources, reports Ars Technica:
  Rocky Linux, launched by CentOS co-founder Greg Kurtzer as a replacement RHEL-compatible distro, announced Thursday that it believes Red Hat's moves "violate the spirit and purpose of open source." Using a few different methods (Universal Base Image containers, pay-per-use public cloud instances), Rocky Linux intends to maintain what it considers legitimate ac
  
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• What's the Mission of the US Space Force?

  03-07-2023 10:31 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A new article in the Washington Post reports that even internally, "Space Force officials are still debating its priorities, analysts say: Is it to support warfighters on the ground? Or should it focus primarily on protecting assets in space? Or both?"
  In April, the Washington Post reported that space would likely be a key part of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, and one possible Space Force counter-measure would "ensure that the United States avoids 'operational surprise,' by keeping track of othe
  
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• The Rise and Fall of Microsoft's Skype

  03-07-2023 07:06 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  CNBC has created a 15-minute video titled "The Rise and Fall of Skype," telling the story of how Skype was developed in just nine months in 2003 by a six-person group of childhood friends in Estonia. "We were smart engineers," says Skype's former chief technical architect Ahti Heinla. "We learned on the go. None of us had any telecoms background." But at the end of the interview, he concedes "I myself use Skype right now fairly little. I still have it installed on my phone, but my primary commun
  
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• Red Hat Changes Mind, Postpones Red Hat 7's EOL Until 2028

  03-07-2023 03:39 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  End-of-life for Red Hat 7 was originally scheduled to happen in one year. But then Thursday Red Hat announced four
  more years of "extended support" for RHEL 7:As we near the end of the standard 10-year life cycle of RHEL 7, some IT organizations are finding that they cannot complete their planned migrations before June 30, 2024. To support IT teams while they catch up on their migration schedules, Red Hat is announcing a one-time, 4 year ELS maintenance period for RHEL 7 ELS. While Red Hat is pr
  
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• After RHEL 7's EOL, Red Hat Will Offer a 4-Year 'Extended Life Cycle Support' Add-On

  03-07-2023 03:39 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  End-of-life for Red Hat 7 is scheduled to happen in one year. Thursday Red Hat announced an add-on option for four
  more years of "extended support" for RHEL 7:As we near the end of the standard 10-year life cycle of RHEL 7, some IT organizations are finding that they cannot complete their planned migrations before June 30, 2024. To support IT teams while they catch up on their migration schedules, Red Hat is announcing a one-time, 4 year ELS maintenance period for RHEL 7 ELS. While Red Hat is pr
  
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• The First Fully AI-Generated Drug Enters Clinical Trials in Human Patients

  03-07-2023 01:25 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "The first drug fully generated by artificial intelligence entered clinical trials with human patients this week," reports CNBC:Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based biotech startup with more than $400 million in funding, created the drug, INS018_055, as a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs. The condition, which has increased in prevalence in recent decades, currently affects about 100,000 people in the U.S. and can lead to death withi
  
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• Prankster Resurrects Microsoft's 'Clippy' as a ChatGPT-Powered AI Assistant for Windows

  03-07-2023 00:25 via slashdot.org
  
  "A developer brought Clippy back from the dead, giving it new AI powers," writes BGR.
  "This unofficial version of Clippy will bring ChatGPT to your computer in the form of Microsoft's infamous Office assistant."You can take advantage of FireCube's unofficial Clippy app. It's available as a free download from the Microsoft Store. The app adds a Clippy icon to your desktop. The unofficial Clippy works both on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Tap on the Clippy icon, and you'll get access to the free Chat
  
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