ICT news

• Hollywood Studios Release Offer Outlining Wage Increases, AI Protections For Writers

  23-08-2023 23:30 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Hollywood studios have presented a new proposal to writers that includes the highest wage increase in 35 years, protections against the impact of artificial intelligence, and other provisions. CBS News reports: Writers have been picketing outside major studios for over 100 days, surpassing the 2007-2008 strike. One of the major sticking points between the two sides was their stark differences in wage increases and residuals. The proposal sent to the Writers Guild of America on Aug. 11 includes a
  
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• Huawei Accused of Building Secret Microchip Factories To Beat US Sanctions

  23-08-2023 22:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Huawei is accused by a semiconductor manufacturers association of setting up secret chip-making facilities in China to evade U.S. sanctions. The Guardian reports: The Chinese tech firm moved into chip production last year and was receiving an estimated $30 billion in state funding from the government, the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association was quoted as saying by Bloomberg, adding that Huawei had acquired at least two existing plants and was building three others. If Huawei is c
  
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• WinRAR 0-Day That Uses Poisoned JPG and TXT Files Under Exploit Since April

  23-08-2023 22:11 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A newly discovered zeroday in the widely used WinRAR file-compression program has been under exploit for four months by unknown attackers who are using it to install malware when targets open booby-trapped JPGs and other innocuous inside file archives. The vulnerability, residing in the way WinRAR processes the ZIP file format, has been under active exploit since April in securities trading forums, researchers from security firm Group IB rep
  
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• G20 Poured More Than $1T Into Fossil Fuel Subsidies Despite Cop26 Pledges - Report

  23-08-2023 21:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The G20 poured record levels of public money into fossil fuels last year despite having promised to reduce some of it, a report has found. The Guardian: The amount of public money flowing into coal, oil and gas in 20 of the world's biggest economies reached a record $1.4tn in 2022, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) thinktank, even though world leaders agreed to phase out âoeinefficientâ fossil fuel subsidies at the Cop26 climate summit in Gla
  
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• The US is Getting Hit By Extreme Weather From All Sides

  23-08-2023 20:44 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The hazards are many. And they seem to come in all forms. From a report: The southwestern U.S. is reeling from record rainfall and extensive flooding from a rare tropical storm. Much of the central and southern parts of the country are in the grips of yet another oppressive heat wave. Nearly two weeks after catastrophic wildfires devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui, more fires are raging in the Pacific Northwest. And after a quiet start to this year's Atlantic hurricane season, activity in th
  
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• US Agency No Longer Knows Who is Visiting Potentially Dangerous Chemicals Plants

  23-08-2023 20:17 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: When Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, addresses the annual Chemical Security Summit in Arlington later this month, she'll be without a Big Stick she once wielded over the industry. Safeguarding the cybersecurity and physical security of 3,242 high-risk chemicals facilities across the country is one of CISA's critical responsibilities. Congress has renewed this authority, dubbed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terr
  
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• Tornado Cash Founders Charged With Laundering More Than $1 Billion

  23-08-2023 19:24 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Two founders of Tornado Cash, the widely known Russian cryptocurrency mixer, have been charged with laundering more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds. From a report: In a newly unsealed indictment, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have both been accused of sanctions violations and laundering money through Tornado Cash, including hundreds of millions of dollars for the Lazarus Group, a sanctioned North Korean state-backed hacking group. Charges in the indictment include conspiring to commit money
  
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• Teenagers Convicted of Grand Theft Auto, Nvidia Lapsus$ Hacks in the UK

  23-08-2023 18:43 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Two UK teenagers accused of being key members of the notorious hacking group Lapsus$, behind attacks on companies including Nvidia, Rockstar Games, and Uber, were convicted of their crimes by a London jury Wednesday. From a report: Arion Kurtaj, 18, and a 17-year-old male, who can't be identified, were found to have carried out a number of offenses including serious computer misuse, blackmail and fraud against BT Group's EE network and Nvidia. Kurtaj was also separately accused of hacks into Ube
  
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• Zoom CEO Says In-Person Work Essential for Innovation and Team Bonding

  23-08-2023 18:06 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told employees this month that the company was making the surprising decision to send some workers back to the office regularly because its flagship remote-work product didn't allow employees to build as much trust or be as innovative as in the office, according to a leaked meeting recording viewed by Insider. From the report: Zoom, one of the main enablers and beneficiaries of remote work, told employees living within 50 miles of a Zoom of
  
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• Crypto Has 'Amplified Financial Risks' in Emerging Markets, Central Banks Say

  23-08-2023 17:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Cryptocurrency assets have amplified rather than reduced financial risks in less developed economies, and regulators will need to treat them in the same way they oversee other assets, some of the world's most powerful central banks have warned. From a report: Novel solutions to payments challenges should not be classified as 'dangerous' simply because they are different, the Bank for International Settlements said on Tuesday. However the global central banking body added that the appeal of crypt
  
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• Sony's Portable PlayStation Portal Launches Later This Year For $200

  23-08-2023 16:48 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Sony is officially launching its portable PlayStation later this year, the PlayStation Portal remote player. The handheld device will stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi and features an eight-inch LCD screen running at 1080p resolution at 60fps. Sony says the PlayStation Portal will be available later this year priced at $199.99. From a report: "PlayStation Portal will connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi, so you'll be able to swiftly jump from playing on your PS5 to your PlayStation Portal," says Hi
  
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• A Pennsylvania Court Says State Police Can't Hide How It Monitors Social Media

  23-08-2023 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Pennsylvania's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state police can't hide from the public its policy on how it monitors social media. Advocates for civil liberties cheered the decision. The law enforcement agency had argued that fully disclosing its policy for using software to monitor online postings may compromise public safety. All four Democratic justices supported the majority decision, which said the lower Commonwealth Court
  
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• India Becomes the First Country To Land Spacecraft on Moon's South Pole

  23-08-2023 14:38 via science.slashdot.org
  
  India has become the first country to land a spacecraft on the moon's south pole. It launched Chandrayaan-3 in mid-July, with the spacecraft entering the moon's orbit on Aug. 5. Earlier this week, Russia crashed its Luna-25 rocket in the same lunar region. From a report: It's notoriously difficult to land a rover on the moon. Russia's Luna-25 crashed while making an attempt just this week, while Japanese company ispace failed to land an unmanned lander in April.â 1 Since the moon has no at
  
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• The Nation's Largest School District Is Making Virtual School a Permanent Option

  23-08-2023 12:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  New York City, home to more than a million students in its school system, is the biggest school district in the U.S. -- and now allows any student to enroll virtually in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Time reports: Dubbed Virtual Innovators Academy, there are 17 teachers for about 200 students enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year for sophomore and freshman years. Each year, another grade level will be added, and the school's funding comes from the city and state, just like other public
  
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• Hookworms Successfully Prevent Type 2 Diabetes In Human Trial

  23-08-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A two-year human trial conducted by James Cook University (JCU) has concluded, demonstrating positive results using low-dose human hookworm therapy to treat chronic conditions, particularly in relation to type 2 diabetes. New Atlas reports: [O]f the 24 participants who received worms, when offered a dewormer at the end of the second year of the trial, with the option to stay in the study for another 12 months, only one person chose to kill off their gut buddies -- and it was only because they ha
  
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• Bacteria That 'Eat' Methane Could Slow Global Heating, Study Finds

  23-08-2023 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Methane is a potent greenhouse gas emitted from energy (natural gas and petroleum systems), industry, agriculture, land use and waste management activities. Now a group of researchers from California University Long Beach are proposing a method of removing methane by using a group of bacteria known as methanotrophs to naturally convert methane to carbon dioxide and biomass. All the bacteria in this group "'eat' methane, removing it from air
  
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• 'Zero-Degree Line' Rises To Record Height As Heatwave Continues In Europe

  23-08-2023 04:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Switzerland's MeteoSuisse reported another measure of record summer heat Monday when its weather balloon climbed to a record-high 17,400 feet before reaching what it calls the zero-degree line. UPI reports: The zero-degree line, which is the altitude at which the temperature falls below freezing, is considered a key meteorological marker, particularly in mountainous regions, has been climbing and set a record in 2022. "The Payerne, [Switzerland] radiosounding this night from August 20 to 21, 202
  
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• Microsoft May Bring AI Capabilities To Apps Like Paint and Photos On Windows 11

  23-08-2023 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to Windows Central, Microsoft might be bringing AI capabilities to a handful of Windows 11 apps, including Photos, Snipping Tool, and Paint. "Some of this functionality will require dedicated hardware, such as an NPU (neural processing unit) or VPU (vision processing unit,) while others may not," notes the report. From the report: For the Photos app, Microsoft is working on an AI functionality that would allow the app to identify objects or people in photos and enable the ability to cu
  
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• Bitcoin Developers Push Back Against Craig Wright's Claim to Billions of Dollars in Bitcoin

  23-08-2023 02:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader UnknowingFool writes: In 2021, Craig Wright sued 12 bitcoin developers who refused help him recover 111,000 bitcoins he claimed were lost in a hack. His company, Tulip Trading, wanted the developers to put in a backdoor mechanism in bitcoin that would override the ownership of the coins, arguing it was the developers "fiduciary duty" to assist him. The developers allege (PDF) that Tulip and Wright never owned the coins and the evidence of ownership provided is "fabricat
  
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• Trudeau Denounces Meta's News Block As Fires Force Evacuations

  23-08-2023 02:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC.ca: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted social media giant Meta on Monday over its decision to block local news as wildfires continue to force thousands of Canadians from their homes. "Right now in an emergency situation, where up-to-date local information is more important than ever, Facebook is putting corporate profits ahead of people's safety, ahead of quality local journalism. This is not the time for that," he said during a stop at the Island
  
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• IBM Says Its Generative AI Tool Can Convert Old COBOL Code To Java

  23-08-2023 01:20 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  IBM is introducing the watsonx Code Assistant for Z, a tool that uses generative AI to translate COBOL code to Java. This tool is set to be available in Q4 2023 and aims to speed up the translation of COBOL to Java on IBM's Z mainframes. The Register reports: According to IBM, there are billions of lines of COBOL code out there as potential candidates for modernization (a report last year estimated the total figure at 775-850 billion lines). For this reason, the generative AI features in watsonx
  
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• The Feds Asked TikTok For Lots of Domestic Spying Features

  23-08-2023 00:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  A draft agreement between TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to avoid a ban would have given U.S. agencies unprecedented access to TikTok's facilities and servers. "Many of the concessions the government asked of TikTok look eerily similar to the surveillance tactics critics have accused Chinese officials of abusing," reports Gizmodo. "To allay fears the short-form video app could be used as a Chinese surveillance tool, the federal government nearly trans
  
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• Meta's 'Massively Multilingual' AI Model Translates Up To 100 Languages, Speech or Text

  23-08-2023 00:00 via meta.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Tuesday, Meta announced SeamlessM4T, a multimodal AI model for speech and text translations. As a neural network that can process both text and audio, it can perform text-to-speech, speech-to-text, speech-to-speech, and text-to-text translations for "up to 100 languages," according to Meta. Its goal is to help people who speak different languages communicate with each other more effectively. Continuing Meta's relatively open approach to A
  
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