ICT news

• Apple and Microsoft Say Flagship Services Not Popular Enough To Be 'Gatekeepers'

  04-09-2023 22:31 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple and Microsoft, the most valuable companies in the US, have argued some of their flagship services are insufficiently popular to be designated "gatekeepers" under landmark new EU legislation designed to curb the power of Big Tech. FT: Brussels' battle with Apple over its iMessage chat app and Microsoft's search engine Bing comes ahead of Wednesday's publication of the first list of services that will be regulated by the Digital Markets Act. The legislation imposes new responsibilities on th
  
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• Y Combinator Removes Indian Startup From Batch Over 'Irregularities'

  04-09-2023 22:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Storied venture firm Y Combinator has removed an Indian startup from its batch after discovering "irregularities" at the firm, several people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Medobed, an Indian startup that promises medicine delivery in 10 minutes, was initially selected in Y Combinator's S23 batch. In recent weeks, Y Combinator has severed its ties with the Indian firm and a partner at the venture firm has also suggested many prospective investors t
  
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• Canadian Prisons Restrict Technology To the 1990s

  04-09-2023 21:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  belmolis writes: Canadian prisons allow prisoners to buy devices such as personal computers and gaming consoles but severely restrict the technology, nominally on security grounds. Modern gaming consoles are forbidden on the grounds that they can connect to the internet, so the typical purchase is a Playstation 1. No version of Microsoft Windows more recent than Windows 98 is allowed. No device that can play MP3 files is allowed. The regulations forbid operating systems other than Microsoft DOS
  
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• Microsoft Billing 3 Cents a Minute To Revisit Tedious Teams Meetings via API

  04-09-2023 20:02 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has announced billing in public preview for Teams recording and transcription APIs, with pricing starting at 3 cents per minute for recordings. From a report: Getting meeting transcripts and recordings using Graph APIs is currently in public developer preview, so the billing, which started on September 1, might irk coders keen to use these features in their applications. The API for recording is billed at $0.03 per minute, and the API for transcription is $0.024 per minute.
  Microsoft c
  
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• EU Prepares To Push For 'Global Phase-Out' of Fossil Fuels at COP28, Draft Document Shows

  04-09-2023 19:06 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A proposal to phase out CO2-emitting fossil fuels at COP27 last won backing from more than 80 countries but oil and gas-rich nations opposed it. European Union countries are preparing to push for a global deal on phasing out fossil fuels at the COP28 climate summit, a draft of the EU's negotiating position has shown. From a report: Diplomats from the bloc's 27 member states are drafting their position for the summit in Dubai in November, where nearly 200 countries will try to strengthen efforts
  
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• Invasive Species Cost Humans $423 Billion Each Year and Threaten World's Diversity

  04-09-2023 18:10 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Invasive species are costing the world at least $423bn every year and have become a leading threat to the diversity of life on Earth, according to a UN assessment. From a news report: From invasive mice that eat seabird chicks in their nests to non-native grasses that helped fuel and intensify last month's deadly fires in Hawaii, at least 3,500 harmful invasive species have been recorded globally in every region, spread by human travel and trade. Their impact is destructive for humans and wildli
  
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• LSE Group Draws Up Plans for Blockchain-based Digital Assets Business

  04-09-2023 17:05 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The London Stock Exchange Group has drawn up plans for a new digital markets business, saying this will make it the first major exchange to offer extensive trading of traditional financial assets on the blockchain technology best known for powering cryptocurrency. From a report: Murray Roos, head of capital's markets at the LSE Group, told the Financial Times that the company had been examining the potential for a blockchain-powered trading venue for about a year, and had reached an "inflection
  
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• Apple Set To Embrace an iPhone Charger Change It Didn't Want

  04-09-2023 16:01 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: If Apple had its way, the iPhone would continue to use the current Lightning connector for the next few years -- until the point when the company is ready to begin phasing out ports on its smartphones altogether. But the European Union forced its hand, requiring mobile device makers to use the USB-C standard by the end of next year. So Apple is now in the awkward position of embracing the very technology it didn't want. When the company introduces the iPhone
  
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• Workers are Resisting Calls to Return to Offices

  04-09-2023 13:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  America's return-to-office has been a "lagging return," reports the Washington Post:Even with millions of workers across the country being asked to return to their cubicles, office occupancy has been relatively static for the past year. The country's top 10 metropolitan areas averaged 47.2 percent of pre-pandemic levels last week, according to data from Kastle Systems. This time last year, the average was around 44 percent....
  About 52 percent of remote-capable U.S. workers are operating under h
  
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• Why Self-Driving Cars Slowed Down in High-Tech Boston

  04-09-2023 10:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The city of Boston also allows testing of self-driving cars. But the Boston Globe reports that "There are far fewer complaints about self-driving cars because you barely see them."[F]ollowing a string of high-profile crashes and the disruption of the COVID pandemic, the state Transportation Department — now under Governor Maura Healey — has seemingly lost its enthusiasm for AVs... Only one company is permitted to test autonomous vehicles here — Boston-based Motional — and
  
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• Scientists Finally Know Why Germany's Wild Boar Are Surprisingly Radioactive

  04-09-2023 07:22 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from the Washington Post:On April 26, 1986, the infamous explosion at a Chernobyl nuclear power plant unleashed large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere, an event that contaminated wildlife across country lines. The radiation levels seen in animals as a result has decreased in recent years — with the exception of one animal: the wild boar. For years, scientists questioned why levels of a radioactive isotope known as cesium-137 have remained surp
  
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• How a Billion-Dollar Satellite Risks Upending the Space Insurance Industry

  04-09-2023 03:52 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "Viasat Inc. has more than $1 billion of orbiting satellites in trouble," reports Bloomberg, "and space insurers are girding for market-rattling claims."The company's roughly $1 billion ViaSat-3 Americas satellite, central to expanding its fixed-broadband coverage and fending off rivals including Elon Musk's Starlink, suffered an unexpected problem as it deployed its antenna in orbit in April. Should Viasat declare it a total loss, industry executives estimate the claim would reach a record-brea
  
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• After Hurricane-Caused Flooding, Some EVs Exposed To Saltwater Caught Fire

  04-09-2023 00:51 via news.slashdot.org
  
  CBS News reports:
  Floridians battered by Hurricane Idalia this week may not have expected another threat — that floodwaters could cause their cars to suddenly burst into flames. Yet that's exactly what happened when two electric vehicles caught fire after being submerged in saltwater churned up by the storm...
  "If you own a hybrid or electric vehicle that has come into contact with saltwater due to recent flooding within the last 24 hours, it is crucial to relocate the vehicle from your ga
  
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