ICT news

• Veritas Makes a Takeover Offer for BlackBerry

  25-08-2023 23:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Private equity firm Veritas Capital has made an offer to buy Canadian software company BlackBerry, Reuters reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. From the report: BlackBerry had said in May it would conduct a review of strategic alternatives, which could includes the possible separation of one or more of its businesses. Founded in 1984, the company currently makes software for cars and cybersecurity. It became popular for its ubiquitous business smartphones, toted by executiv
  
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• Why Fewer University Students Are Studying Mandarin

  25-08-2023 22:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Ten years ago there was a growing interest in Mandarin, as China's influence and economic heft increased. Now Mandarin-learning is declining in many Western countries. In America, enrolment in university Mandarin courses fell by 21% between 2016 and 2020. An anonymous reader writes, citing an Economist story: That may be because job markets have changed. Translation tools like ChatGPT mean low-level Mandarin skills are not needed anymore. Bilingual Chinese graduates fill most roles that require
  
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• Scientific Journal Retracts Article That Claimed No Evidence of Climate Crisis

  25-08-2023 22:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  One of the world's biggest scientific publishers has retracted a journal article that claimed to have found no evidence of a climate crisis. From a report: Springer Nature said it had retracted the article, by four Italian physicists, after an internal investigation found the conclusions were "not supported by available evidence or data provided by the authors." Climate sceptic groups widely publicised the article, which appeared in the European Physical Journal Plus in January 2022 -- a journal
  
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• AMD Announces Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT

  25-08-2023 21:20 via slashdot.org
  
  AMD on Friday announced its long-awaited middle members of the Radeon RX 7000 series, the Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT. From a report: Today, the company is finally filling in that gap with the new Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT, both advertised as 1440p graphics cards and available starting at $449 and $499, respectively. Both cards will be available on September 6. And most Radeon RX 6000 and RX 7000 GPUs sold between now and September 30 will come with a free copy of Bethesda's u
  
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• Taliban Says Huawei to Install Cameras to Locate Militants

  25-08-2023 20:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Afghanistan's Taliban-led government is working with Huawei to install a wide-ranging surveillance system across the country in an effort to identify and target insurgents or terrorism activities, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the discussions. From the report: Representatives of the Shenzhen-headquartered tech company met with Interior Ministry officials on Aug. 14, the person said, and a verbal agreement was reached regarding the contract. The Interior Ministry i
  
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• Powell Warns Inflation 'Remains Too High'

  25-08-2023 20:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Jay Powell has warned that inflation "remains too high," raising the prospect of further interest rate increases in the world's largest economy should price pressures persist. Financial Times: In a highly anticipated speech on Friday, the chair of the US Federal Reserve at times struck a hawkish tone, pointing to the central bank's readiness to maintain a "restrictive" policy to bring inflation down to its 2 per cent target. "Although inflation has moved down from its peak -- a welcome developme
  
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• US Tackles Crypto Tax Mess

  25-08-2023 19:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The federal government is escalating efforts to make cryptocurrency investors comply with tax law, nearly 15 years after people started trading bitcoin. From a report: The Treasury Department proposed new rules Friday with twin goals: making it harder for crypto investors to dodge income taxes when they sell digital assets, and simplifying complicated tax messes for people who are trying to follow the law. When they are fully implemented, the rules will require crypto exchanges such as Coinbase
  
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• California Firefighters Are Training AI To Detect Wildfires

  25-08-2023 18:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Firefighters are training a robot to scan the horizon for fires. It turns out a lot of things look like smoke. From a report: For years, firefighters in California have relied on a vast network of more than 1,000 mountaintop cameras to detect wildfires. Operators have stared into computer screens around the clock looking for wisps of smoke. This summer, with wildfire season well underway, California's main firefighting agency is trying a new approach: training an artificial intelligence program
  
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• Citizen Suspends Sales of Its Latest Smartwatch

  25-08-2023 18:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Citizen is temporarily suspending sales of its second-gen CZ Smart watch due to a "technical issue." From a report: The Wear OS watch, which launched in May, had a feature based on tech from IBM's Watson and NASA to track a person's alertness. It appears the decision stems from negative experiences from reviewers. Michael Fisher -- better known as MrMobile on YouTube -- noted that Citizen said it would suspend sales after he had reached out to the company about the watch's many issues. That was
  
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• NSA Orders Employees To Spy on the World 'With Dignity and Respect'

  25-08-2023 17:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The National Security Agency, the shadowy hub for the United States' electronic and cyber spying, has instructed its employees that foreign targets of its intelligence gathering "should be treated with dignity and respect," according to a new policy directive. The Intercept: The directive, released this summer as internal guidance, is for the NSA's vaunted signals intelligence, or SIGINT, division, which is responsible for covert surveillance and data collection worldwide. "In recognition that S
  
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• College Board Shares Student SAT Scores, GPA with Facebook and TikTok

  25-08-2023 16:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  College Board sends student SAT scores and GPA to Facebook and TikTok, according to tests by tech news outlet Gizmodo. Even when searching for colleges, personal academic details are shared with social media companies. From the report: Gizmodo observed the College Board's website sharing data with Facebook and TikTok when a user fills in information about their GPA and SAT scores. When this reporter used the College Board's search filtering tools to find colleges that might accept a student with
  
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• Reddit Launches Moderator Rewards Program Amid Sitewide Discontent

  25-08-2023 16:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Amid growing discontent among Reddit's moderators, the company has launched a "Mod Helper Program" to reward moderators who offer helpful advice to other moderators. TechCrunch reports: The Mod Helper Program is a tiered system that awards helpful moderators with trophies and flairs. Reddit users accrue karma by receiving upvotes and awards, and lose karma if they receive downvotes. The program rewards moderators who receive upvotes on comments in r/ModSupport. Comment karma earned in r/ModSuppo
  
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• Chromebooks Get New Way To Run Windows Apps With Cameyo's Virtual App Delivery

  25-08-2023 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Google: Google has worked with Cameyo to give enterprise Chromebooks another way to run Windows applications using ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery. Cameyo is an enterprise company that offers a "Virtual App Delivery" (VAD) platform that can stream Windows, Linux, internal web, and SaaS applications to other devices. This offering is now getting tight integration with ChromeOS. These Windows apps appear like other icons in a Chromebook's launcher and tas
  
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• CISA’s VDP Platform 2022 Annual Report Showcases Success

  25-08-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released its inaugural Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP) Platform 2022 Annual Report, highlighting the service’s progress supporting vulnerability awareness and remediation across the Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB). This report showcases how agencies have used the VDP Platform—launched in July 2021—to safeguard the FCEB and support risk reduction. The VDP platform gives federal agenc
  
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• Scientists Strengthen Concrete By 30 Percent With Used Coffee Grounds

  25-08-2023 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  According to a team of researchers from RMIT University in Australia, coffee grounds can be used as a silica substitute in the concrete production process to yield a significantly stronger chemical bond than sand alone. Engadget reports: "The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental challenge as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change," lead author of the study, Dr Rajeev Roychand of RMIT's School of Engineering,
  
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• Tropical Rainforests Could Get Too Hot For Photosynthesis, Scientists Warn

  25-08-2023 09:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Using data collected from the International Space Station (ISS), scientists found that a small yet growing percentage of tree leaves in tropical forests are approaching the maximum temperature threshold for leaves to photosynthesize," reports Live Science. If this trend continues, it could spell disaster for Earth's climate systems and biodiversity. The findings have been published in the journal Nature. From the report: The average critical temperature beyond which photosynthetic machinery in t
  
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• DHS Has Spent Millions On an AI Surveillance Tool That Scans For 'Sentiment and Emotion'

  25-08-2023 05:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter Slash_Account_Dot shares a report from 404 Media, a new independent media company founded by technology journalists Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, and Joseph Cox: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the Department of Homeland Security, has bought millions of dollars worth of software from a company that uses artificial intelligence to detect "sentiment and emotion" in online posts, according to a cache of documents obtained by 404 Media. CBP told 404 Media
  
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• Firefox Users May Import Chrome Extensions Now

  25-08-2023 03:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Mozilla has implemented the WebExtensions system in its browser, allowing Firefox users to import select extensions from other browsers like Chrome. gHacks reports: The feature, which is in testing at the moment, can be enabled by all users of the latest stable version of Firefox.1. Load about:config in the browser's address bar.
  2. Confirm that you will be careful to continue.
  3. Search for browser.migrate.chrome.extensions.enabled.
  4. Set the feature to True, which enables it.
  5. Restart Firef
  
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• Apple's Vision Pro Labs Are Drawing Audible Gasps From Developers, Says Company

  25-08-2023 02:45 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  According to a recent Apple press release, some developers are reacting with an "audible gasp" when first using the company's upcoming Vision Pro headset. ZDNet reports: Michael Simmons, who's led the team behind popular productivity apps Fantastical and Cardhop described his experience as "like seeing Fantastical for the first time. It felt like I was part of the app." By the time his test session was over, the big takeaway was that "Experiencing spatial computing not only validated the designs
  
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• Tesla Wins Permit Approval For Diner and Drive-In Movie Supercharger In LA

  25-08-2023 02:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Teslarati: Tesla has won permit approval for its Diner and Drive-In Movie Supercharger in Los Angeles, according to documents seen by Teslarati from the LA Department of Building and Safety. Tesla has been teasing the possibility for several years of a drive-in movie theater and diner Supercharger site that would host 32 stalls, two screens to show famous movie clips, and a restaurant with rooftop seating. Initially, it was planned to be built on a series
  
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• Germany Plans To Double AI Funding In Race With China, US

  25-08-2023 01:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Germany plans to almost double its public funding for artificial intelligence research to nearly a billion euros over the next two years, as it attempts to close a skills gap with sector leaders China and the United States. Reuters reports: The target, announced by research minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger on Wednesday, is modest compared with the $3.3 billion that the U.S. government spent on AI research in 2022 according to a Stanford University report. The AI push comes as Germany attempts to
  
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• Magnus Carlsen Becomes Chess World Cup Champion

  25-08-2023 01:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Five-time world champion, Magnus Carlsen, has defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in a tiebreak to become Chess World Cup champion. Chess.com reports: The five-time world champion won his first World Cup crown by defeating GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu 1.5-0.5 in the rapid tiebreaks of the 2023 FIDE World Cup for a match victory of 2.5-1.5. In the third-place playoffs, GM Fabiano Caruana convincingly defeated GM Nijat Abasov in both rapid tiebreaks for a 3-1 victory and third place. It was a heart
  
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• Better.com's Stock Begins Trading Publicly Down More Than 93%

  25-08-2023 00:40 via slashdot.org
  
  Better.com, the digital mortgage lender in the news earlier this year when its CEO fired roughly 900 workers via Zoom, picked a bad time to go public. "Shares of the Softbank-backed company plunged 93% as it began trading as BETR on the Nasdaq Thursday, falling more than $16 per share to $1.19 by mid-day," reports Fast Company. It went public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aurora Acquisition Corp. Before its merger with BETR, Aurora had a 52-week high of $62.91. Fro
  
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• Epic's New Program Lets Developers Keep Their Revenue In Exchange For Exclusivity

  25-08-2023 00:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Epic Games will let developers keep 100 percent of their net revenues from the Epic Games Store for six months if they choose to make their games or apps exclusives for that time through its new First Run program, the company announced on Wednesday. Typically, Epic lets developers keep 88 percent of their revenues, with the company taking a 12 percent cut. For developers who launch a product through First Run, the split will return to 88 / 12 o
  
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