ICT news

• Why Human Societies Still Use Arms, Feet, and Other Body Parts To Measure Things

  04-07-2023 23:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Body-based measurements may have persisted because they are convenient and offer ergonomic advantages over standardized units. From a report: Although standardized units are often upheld as superior to informal corporeal measures, people in many societies have continued to use their bodies this way well after standardization has taken root, notes Roope Kaaronen, a cognitive scientist who studies cultural evolution at the University of Helsinki. To explore how widespread such practices have been
  
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• Judge Blocks US Officials From Tech Contacts in First Amendment Case

  04-07-2023 22:03 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A federal judge on Tuesday blocked key Biden administration agencies and officials from meeting and communicating with social media companies about "protected speech," in an extraordinary preliminary injunction in an ongoing case that could have profound effects on the First Amendment. From a report: The injunction came in response to a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who allege that government officials went too far in their efforts to encourage social
  
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• Firefox 115 Released

  04-07-2023 20:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  williamyf writes: Today, Mozilla released Firefox 115. Changes most visible to users include: * Hardware video decoding is now enabled for Intel GPUs on Linux..
  * Migrating from another browser? Now you can bring over payment methods you've saved in Chrome-based browsers to Firefox.
  * The Tab Manager dropdown now features close buttons, so you can close tabs more quickly.
  * The Firefox for Android address bar's new search button allows you to easily switch between search engines and search your
  
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• ChatGPT Pauses Bing Integration To Stop People From Bypassing Paywalls

  04-07-2023 19:40 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Last week, OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, gained a new feature dubbed Browse with Bing. The feature shipped exclusively to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Microsoft promised to bring Bing integration to the platform to enhance its search experience during its annual developer conference for developers, Build 2023. Before this inclusion, ChatGPT depended on OpenAI's GPT-4 model, which limited its capabilities. This is because the chatbot could only access information up
  
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• Microsoft Seems To Think We're Getting a PS5 Slim This Year

  04-07-2023 17:16 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft thinks we're getting a PS5 Slim model later this year that might be priced at $399.99. From a report: The software giant is currently waiting a ruling in the FTC v. Microsoft hearing and as part of the case Microsoft has filed documents which reveal it thinks a PS5 Slim is on the way "later this year." Here's exactly what Microsoft says: "PlayStation likewise sells a less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99, and is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same
  
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• US Looks To Restrict China's Access To Cloud Computing To Protect Advanced Technology

  04-07-2023 16:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Biden administration is preparing to restrict Chinese companies' access to U.S. cloud-computing services, WSJ reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation, in a move that could further strain relations between the world's economic superpowers. From the report: The new rule, if adopted, would likely require U.S. cloud-service providers such as Amazon.com and Microsoft to seek U.S. government permission before they provide cloud-computing services that use advanced artificial-in
  
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• 336,000 Servers Remain Unpatched Against Critical Fortigate Vulnerability

  04-07-2023 15:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Researchers say that nearly 336,000 devices exposed to the Internet remain vulnerable to a critical vulnerability in firewalls sold by Fortinet because admins have yet to install patches the company released three weeks ago. CVE-2023-27997 is a remote code execution in Fortigate VPNs, which are included in the company's firewalls. The vulnerability, which stems from a heap overflow bug, has a severity rating of 9.8 out of 10. Fortinet releas
  
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• Blue Origin Is Planning To Open New Launch Sites Outside the US

  04-07-2023 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  According to the Financial Times, Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin has announced plans to expand its operations to "Europe and beyond." Engadget reports: Part of this growth hinges on finding a site for an international launch facility -- the company has already put down roots in Texas, Washington, Florida and Alabama -- but the new location hasn't been chosen yet. It's also actively looking for fresh acquisitions and partnerships outside of the US in areas such as manufacturing and software.Though
  
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• Quasar 'Clocks' Show the Universe Was Five Times Slower Soon After the Big Bang

  04-07-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists have achieved a breakthrough by observing the early universe in extreme slow motion, confirming Einstein's theory of an expanding universe. The research is published in Nature Astronomy. Phys.Org reports: Einstein's general theory of relativity means that we should observe the distant -- and hence ancient -- universe running much slower than the present day. However, peering back that far in time has proven elusive. Scientists have now cracked that mystery by using quasars as "clocks.
  
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• AMAs Are the Latest Casualty In Reddit's API War

  04-07-2023 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Ask Me Anything (AMA) has been a Reddit staple that helped popularize the social media platform. It delivered some unique, personal, and, at times, fiery interviews between public figures and people who submitted questions. The Q&A format became so popular that many people host so-called AMAs these days, but the main subreddit has been r/IAmA, where the likes of then-US President Barack Obama and Bill Gates have sat in the virtual hot se
  
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• EU and Japan Look To Partner On AI and Chips

  04-07-2023 03:25 via slashdot.org
  
  The European Union (EU) is seeking closer cooperation with Japan in areas such as artificial intelligence to reduce reliance on China. CNBC reports: EU Commissioner Thierry Breton is meeting with the Japanese government on Monday, and artificial intelligence will be "very high" on his agenda, he said in a video posted on Twitter on Sunday. "I will engage with [the] Japanese government ... on how we can organize our digital space, including AI based on our shared value," Breton said.Breton also s
  
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• Apple To Ask US Supreme Court To Undo App Store Order In Epic Games Case

  04-07-2023 02:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Apple said it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a judge's order in the antitrust case filed by Epic Games, the creator of "Fortnite." The order, issued by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, largely upheld a previous ruling that prohibits Apple from restricting developers from including links to alternative payment options in their apps, potentially reducing Apple's sales commissions. Reuters reports: Apple said in a court filing (PDF) it will ask the justices to take up its appeal of
  
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• AMD CPU Use Among Linux Gamers Approaching 70% Marketshare

  04-07-2023 02:02 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  The June Steam Survey results show that AMD CPUs have gained significant popularity among Linux gamers, with a market share of 67% -- a remarkable 7% increase from the previous month. Phoronix reports: In part that's due to the Steam Deck being powered by an AMD SoC but it's been a trend building for some time of AMD's increasing Ryzen CPU popularity among Linux users to their open-source driver work and continuing to build more good will with the community.In comparison, last June the AMD CPU L
  
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• Valve Responds To Claims It Has Banned AI-Generated Games From Steam

  04-07-2023 01:20 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Valve has issued a rare statement after claims it was rejecting games with AI-generated assets from its Steam games store. The notoriously close-lipped developer of the Half-Life series and de facto gatekeeper of PC gaming distribution said its policy was evolving and not a stand against AI. Steam has a review and approval process much like any app platform, and its rules on content aren't always clear until developers test them with edge case
  
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• Kentucky Mandates Tesla's Charging Plug For State-Backed Charging Stations

  04-07-2023 00:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Kentucky is requiring that electric vehicle charging companies include Tesla's plug if they want to be part of a state program to electrify highways using federal dollars, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. From the report: Kentucky's plan went into effect on Friday, making it the first state to mandate Tesla's charging technology, although Texas and Washington states previously shared such plans with Reuters. In addition to federal requirements for the rival Combined Charging System (C
  
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• Far Cry Source Code Leaks Online

  04-07-2023 00:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Source code for the original Far Cry, released back in 2004, has popped up online. From a report: Entitled "Far Cry 1.34 Complete", the game's code was uploaded to the internet archive site Archive.org at the end of June, as highlighted by well-known modder Vinicius Medeiros It's unclear if the code includes any subsequent patches -- although the .34 part of the 1.34 title certainly suggests so -- and some commenters who've presumably downloaded and run the code believe the code is "not complete
  
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