ICT news

• Spyware Maker LetMeSpy Shuts Down After Hacker Deletes Server Data

  07-08-2023 23:20 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Poland-based spyware LetMeSpy is no longer operational and said it will shut down after a June data breach wiped out its servers, including its huge trove of data stolen from thousands of victims' phones. In a notice on its website in both English and Polish, LetMeSpy confirmed the "permanent shutdown" of the spyware service and that it would cease operations by the end of August. The notice said LetMeSpy is blocking users from logging in or s
  
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• Paramount Agrees To Sell Simon and Schuster To KKR

  07-08-2023 22:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Paramount said on Monday it had reached a deal to sell Simon and Schuster, one of the biggest and most prestigious publishing houses in the United States, to the private-equity firm KKR, in a major changing of the guard in the books business. From a report: The deal, for $1.62 billion, will put control of the cultural touchstone behind authors like Stephen King and Bob Woodward in the hands of a financial buyer with an expanding presence in the publishing industry. While private equity investors
  
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• TV and Film Extras Are Afraid AI Will Copy Their Faces and Bodies To Take Jobs

  07-08-2023 22:02 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Production companies are scanning the faces and bodies of actors and actresses, who fear their likeness will be used to create fake AI doubles for TV shows and films in the future. Some workers spoke to NPR last week about being subjected to the scans, and feeling like they couldn't say no. Alexandria Rubalcaba, who was working as a background actor, described being called into a trailer and asked to stand in front of cameras.
  "Have your hands out. Have your
  
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• Google Search Can Now Critique Your Grammar

  07-08-2023 21:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The next time you want a quick gut check on whether a sentence is grammatically accurate, Google Search might have the answer. From a report: 9to5Google has spotted a "grammar check" feature that will offer suggestions on whether a given phrase is grammatically accurate. For example, type "the quick brown fox jump over the lazy dog" into the search engine and Google will highlight that you probably meant "jumps" instead of "jump."
  Although most people probably don't care about the grammar of the
  
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• The Era of Ultracheap Stuff Is Under Threat

  07-08-2023 20:51 via slashdot.org
  
  Factories across Asia are struggling to attract young workers, which is bad news for Western consumers accustomed to inexpensive goods. From a report: The workplace features floor-to-ceiling windows and a cafe serving matcha tea, as well as free yoga and dance classes. Every month, workers gather at team-building sessions to drink beer, drive go-karts and go bowling. This isn't Google. It's a garment factory in Vietnam. Asia, the world's factory floor and the source of much of the stuff American
  
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• UK Offshore Wind at 'Tipping Point' as Funding Crisis Threatens Industry

  07-08-2023 20:16 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Britain faces being left with no hope of meeting its crucial climate crisis goals and losing its status as a world leader in offshore wind energy without an urgent overhaul of government support, ministers are being warned. From a report: The sudden halting of one of the country's biggest offshore windfarm projects last month could signal a "tipping point" in the construction of new sites unless ministers intervene, a number of senior energy industry figures told the Observer.
  They warn that a s
  
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• FCC Prepares $75 Monthly Broadband Subsidies For 'High-Cost' Areas

  07-08-2023 19:24 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The Federal Communications Commission is paving the way for $75 monthly subsidies to make broadband service more affordable for low-income households in certain "high-cost" areas. From a report: The $75 subsidy will be part of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) that generally offers $30 monthly discounts to people with low incomes. The ACP was created by Congress in late 2021 and implemented by the FCC to replace a previous pandemic-related subsidy program. The ACP already provides $75 mo
  
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• Gigabyte's New RTX 4060 GPU Fits Three Fans on a Low-Profile Design

  07-08-2023 18:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Gigabyte has launched a new low-profile GeForce RTX 4060 OC graphics card that's designed to fit into mini PC builds. Unlike many of the other GPUs meant for compact PCs, this one comes with three fans instead of just two or one. From a report: That three-fan setup might make it a bit difficult to fit into some small form factor cases, as the card measures 182mm long. But it makes up for that with its thin 40mm height and 69mm width.
  Despite its slender design, the chip comes outfitted with two
  
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• Zoom Contradicts Its Own Policy About Training AI on Your Data

  07-08-2023 18:05 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Zoom updated its Terms of Service in March, spelling out that the company reserves the right to train AI on user data with no mention of a way to opt out. On Monday, the company said in a blog post that there's no need to worry about that. Zoom execs swear the company won't actually train its AI on your video calls even though the Terms of Service still say it can.
  The company's legal documents call your video, audio, and chat transcripts "Customer Content."
  
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• Iraq Blocks Telegram App Over National Security Concerns

  07-08-2023 17:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Iraq's telecoms ministry said it has blocked the Telegram messaging app over national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users' personal data, which it said the app had mishandled. From a report: The app is widely used in Iraq for messaging but also as a source of news and for sharing content. Some channels contain large amounts of personal data including the names, addresses and family ties of Iraqis. The ministry said in a statement it had asked the app to close down "
  
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• Troubled Toshiba Announces Buyout Offer Led By Japan Businesses

  07-08-2023 16:41 via slashdot.org
  
  Toshiba announced a 2 trillion yen ($14 billion) tender offer on Monday in a move that would take it private, as the scandal-tarnished Japanese electronics and energy giant seeks to turn itself around. From a report: The tender offer led by a buyout fund of major Japanese banks and companies called Japan Industrial Partners starts Tuesday and is priced at 4,620 yen ($32) a share. Chairperson Akihiro Watanabe asked shareholders to back the proposal, saying it is the only option for Toshiba to ret
  
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• PayPal Launches Stablecoin on Ethereum, Citing 'Shift Toward Digital Currencies'

  07-08-2023 16:01 via slashdot.org
  
  Silicon Valley-based payments firm PayPal announced it is launching a U.S. dollar stablecoin in conjunction with Paxos. From a report: The new digital token will be pegged to the dollar and "gradually" made available to PayPal's customers in the U.S., PayPal said in a press release. Paxos will issue the coin labeled PayPal USD, or PYUSD. Issued on the Ethereum blockchain, PYUSD will be "fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and similar cash equivalents," the company also sa
  
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• Should a Variable's Type Come After Its Name?

  07-08-2023 13:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Canonical engineering manager Ben Hoyt believes that a variable's name is more important than its type, so "the name should be more prominent and come first in declarations."In many popular programming languages, including C, C++, Java, and C#, when you define a field or variable, you write the type before the name. For example (in C++):// Struct definition
  struct person {
  std::string name;
  std::string email;
  int age;
  };
  In other languages, including Go, Rust, TypeScript, and Python (with type h
  
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• US Air Force Builds $5B Climate-Resilient 'Base of the Future' with Robot Dogs and AI Security

  07-08-2023 09:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  After a hurricane hit Florida, 484 buildings just at the Tyndall Air Force base were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Five years later, it's part of a $5 billion, nine-year rebuilding effort the Washington Post describes as rare "blank slate." The plan is "not merely to rebuild it, but to construct what the U.S. military calls 'the installation of the future,' which will be able to withstand rising seas, stronger storms and other threats..."The rebuild at Tyndall, which is expected to continu
  
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• Superconductor Breakthrough Claims Traced to a Basement Lab in Seoul

  07-08-2023 05:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  In a neighborhood in Seoul there's an ordinary red-brick, four-story building, reports Bloomberg — but there's something unique about the building's basement office. It's somehow the registered address of the Centre "whose extraordinary claims about a breakthrough in superconductor technology have shocked the scientific community and captivated the world."Bloomberg also reports that:
  - "No one responded when a Bloomberg News reporter knocked on the center's locked doors or reached out via
  
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• Strongest Sign Yet Australia Heads Toward a Totally Cashless Society?

  07-08-2023 03:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Australian news service 9News reports on the "strongest sign yet" that Australia is headed toward a "totally cashless society... the number of notes in circulation officially declining for the first time since dollars and cents were introduced in 1966."According to data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), more than a billion dollars worth of physical cash disappeared from circulation in the last financial year, a shift that's likely to make life more difficult for the elderly and for t
  
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• US Scientists Repeat Fusion Power Breakthrough For a Second Time

  07-08-2023 01:14 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  The Financial Times reports:U.S. government scientists have achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the second time, a result that is set to fuel optimism that progress is being made towards the dream of limitless, zero-carbon power... "In an experiment conducted on July 30, we repeated ignition at NIF," the laboratory said. "As is our standard practice, we plan on reporting those results at upcoming scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed publications..."
  Although many scientists
  
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• Do Developers Tend To Scrap Or Ship Their First Drafts?

  07-08-2023 00:14 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: The necessity of multiple drafts may be an idea that's drilled into children's minds by teachers and parents, but in 2023 there's still a need to remind software engineers to Throw Away Your First Draft of Your Code. "The next time you start on a major project," advises Nicole Tietz-Sokolskaya, "I want you to write code for a couple of days and then delete it all. Just throw it away. I'm serious. And you should probably have some of your best engineers do
  
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