ICT news

• Apple Boosts Spending To Develop Conversational AI

  06-09-2023 23:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has been expanding its computing budget for building artificial intelligence to millions of dollars a day. The Information: One of its goals is to develop features such as one that allows iPhone customers to use simple voice commands to automate tasks involving multiple steps, according to people familiar with the effort. The technology, for instance, could allow someone to tell the Siri voice assistant on their phone to create a GIF using the last five photos they've taken and text it to
  
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• UK Air-Traffic Software Misread Spots on Map To Cause Outage

  06-09-2023 22:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The UK's worst air-traffic outage in a decade was caused by an anomaly in the airspace manager's software system, which confused two geographical checkpoints separated by some 4,000 nautical miles. From a report: The UK's Civil Aviation Authority said Wednesday it will conduct an independent review of the incident, which forced hundreds of flights to be canceled or delayed last week after an error in processing an airline's flight plan. The glitch triggered a shutdown of the software system run
  
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• Windows File Explorer Gets Nostalgic Speed Boost Thanks To One Weird Bug

  06-09-2023 22:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An exploit for a bug in Windows appears to increase the performance of File Explorer in Microsoft's flagship operating system. From a report: Spotted over the weekend by Xitter user @VivyVCCS, the hack is triggered by a swift jab of the F11 key to switch File Explorer in and out of full-screen mode. According to the post, load performance is improved markedly.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Starfield's Missing Nvidia DLSS Support Added By a Mod - With DRM

  06-09-2023 21:20 via games.slashdot.org
  
  tlhIngan writes: Starfield, a Bethesda space-based RPG that was recently released, was criticized for not having Nvidia DLSS support -- instead the game was primarily written to feature AMD's FSR support. This isn't too surprising since the major consoles all use AMD processors and GPUs. However, an enterprising modder created a mod that enables players with Nvidia cards to enable DLSS. This isn't the unusual bit -- the mod makes DLSS2 (ca. 2020) available for free, while the version enabling DL
  
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• YouTube's Latest Experiment is Playing Games

  06-09-2023 20:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  YouTube is trying out games as its next experimental offering. The company is adding a new "Playables" section on the site that will include games that can be played on both the desktop website and mobile devices. From a report: Playables will only appear for "a limited number of users to start," and there was no list of game titles published at this time. 9to5Google reports that one of the games to grace the new YouTube Playables experiment includes Stack Bounce, which involves a 3D ball bounci
  
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• Roku Laying Off 10% of Employees, Will Take up to $65 Million Charge To Remove Streaming Content

  06-09-2023 20:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Roku will cut more than 300 staffers -- laying off 10% of its workforce -- as the streaming-platform company continues its battle to control costs. From a report: In addition, Roku will remove certain licensed and owned content from its platform as part of a "strategic review of its content portfolio," resulting in an impairment charge of up to $65 million in the current quarter, the company disclosed in an SEC filing Wednesday. Other cost-cutting measures Roku outlined are consolidating office
  
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• 2D To 3D AI Startup Was Actually Humans Doing the Work Manually

  06-09-2023 19:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Slash_Account_Dot writes: An artificial intelligence company, whose founder Forbes included in a 30 Under 30 list recently, promises to use machine learning to convert clients' 2D illustrations into 3D models. In reality the company, called Kaedim, uses human artists for 'quality control.' According to two sources with knowledge of the process interviewed by 404 Media, at one point, Kaedim often used human artists to make the models. One of the sources said workers at one point produced the 3D d
  
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• Pentagon Plans Vast AI Fleet To Counter China Threat

  06-09-2023 18:41 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Pentagon is considering the development of a vast network of AI-powered technology, drones and autonomous systems within the next two years to counter threats from China and other adversaries. WSJ: Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, will provide new details in a speech later Wednesday about the department's plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to develop an array of thousands of air-, land- and sea-based artificial-intelligence systems that are intended to be "small,
  
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• UK Pulls Back From Clash With Big Tech Over Private Messaging

  06-09-2023 18:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The UK government will concede it will not use controversial powers in the online safety bill to scan messaging apps for harmful content until it is "technically feasible" to do so, postponing measures that critics say threaten users' privacy. Financial Times: A planned statement to the House of Lords on Wednesday afternoon will mark an eleventh-hour bid by ministers to end a stand-off with tech companies, including WhatsApp, that have threatened to pull their services from the UK over what they
  
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• In Its First Monopoly Trial of Modern Internet Era, US Sets Sights On Google

  06-09-2023 17:21 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  schwit1 writes: The Justice Department has spent three years over two presidential administrations building the case that Google illegally abused its power over online search to throttle competition. To defend itself, Google has enlisted hundreds of employees and three powerful law firms and spent millions of dollars on legal fees and lobbyists. On Tuesday, a judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will begin considering their arguments at a trial that cuts to the heart of a lo
  
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• Experts Fear Crooks Are Cracking Keys Stolen In LastPass Breach

  06-09-2023 16:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  AmiMoJo writes: In November 2022, the password manager service LastPass disclosed a breach in which hackers stole password vaults containing both encrypted and plaintext data for more than 25 million users. Since then, a steady trickle of six-figure cryptocurrency heists targeting security-conscious people throughout the tech industry has led some security experts to conclude that crooks likely have succeeded at cracking open some of the stolen LastPass vaults.
  Taylor Monahan is founder and CEO
  
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• Google Meet's New AI Will Be Able To Go To Meetings For You

  06-09-2023 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: At its Cloud Next conference today, Google revealed a handful of new AI-powered features coming soon to Meet. One of the biggest new AI-enabled features is the ability for Google's Duet AI to take notes in real time: click "take notes for me," and the app will capture a summary and action items as the meeting is going on. If you're late to a meeting, Google will be able to show you a mid-meeting summary so that you can catch up on what happened
  
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• CISA Releases Update to Threat Actors Exploiting Citrix CVE-2023-3519 to Implant Webshells

  06-09-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released an update to a previously published Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), Threat Actors Exploiting Citrix CVE-2023-3519 to Implant Webshells. The CSA—originally released to warn network defenders of critical infrastructure organizations about threat actors exploiting CVE-2023-3519, an unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting NetScaler (formerly Citrix) Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and NetSc
  
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• CISA Releases Capacity Enhancement Guide to Strengthen Agency Resilience to DDoS Attack

  06-09-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  CISA has released actionable guidance for Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to help them evaluate and mitigate the risk of volumetric distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against their websites and related web services. The Capacity Enhancement Guide: Volumetric DDoS Against Web Services Technical Guidance:  
  Helps agencies prioritize DDoS mitigations based on mission and reputational impact. 
  Describes DDoS mitigation services so agencies can make risk-informed
  
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• Greece Is Working With Israel On AI Technology To Quickly Detect Wildfires

  06-09-2023 12:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Greece is working with Israel on developing artificial intelligence technology that would help in early detection of dangerous wildfires, the Greek prime minister said Monday. The Associated Press reports: After talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia, Kyriakos Mitsotakis also said that Israel could be brought into the European Union fold when it comes to civil protection initiatives to better coordinate
  
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• China Bans iPhone Use for Government Officials at Work

  06-09-2023 09:29 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  China ordered officials at central government agencies not to use Apple's iPhones and other foreign-branded devices for work or bring them into the office, WSJ is reporting, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: In recent weeks, staff were given the instructions by their superiors in workplace chat groups or meetings, the people said. The directive is the latest step in Beijing's campaign to cut reliance on foreign technology and enhance cybersecurity, and comes amid a campaig
  
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• UK Government Lifts Ban On Onshore Wind Farms

  06-09-2023 09:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The British Conservative government has eased planning rules and lifted restrictions that had effectively prohibited the construction of new onshore wind farms in England. The Independent reports: Rules introduced in 2015 by then-Prime Minister David Cameron, who also led a Conservative administration, allowed a single objection to a wind turbine application to block its development. The regulations led to a dramatic decline in the number of new turbines granted planning permission. Some Conserv
  
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• Florida Man Charged Over Failed Attempt To Cross Atlantic In Giant 'Hamster Wheel'

  06-09-2023 05:30 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Daily Beast: A Florida marathoner is facing federal charges after the U.S. Coast Guard spotted him 70 nautical miles off Tybee Island, Georgia on Aug. 26, in a homemade Hydro Pod, as Hurricane Franklin bore down on the Eastern Seaboard. Reza Baluchi claimed he was headed to London in the human-powered vessel, a hamster wheel-like contraption which a newly filed criminal complaint describes as being "afloat as a result of wiring and buoys." When Coast
  
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• Gizmodo Fires Spanish Staff Amid Switch To AI Translator

  06-09-2023 03:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Last week, Gizmodo's parent company G/O Media fired the staff of its Spanish-language site Gizmodo en Espanol and began replacing them with AI translations of English-language articles. "G/O Media's decision to eschew human writers for AI is part of a recent trend of media companies experimenting with AI tools as a way to maximize content output while minimizing human labor costs," reports Ars Technica. "However, the practice remains controversial within the broader journalism community." The Ve
  
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• Apple Inks New Deal With Arm For Chip Technology That 'Extends Beyond 2040'

  06-09-2023 01:57 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  According to Arm's IPO documents, Apple has signed a new deal with the chipmaker for technology that "extends beyond 2040." Reuters reports: Arm unveiled pricing on Tuesday for what it hopes will be a $52 billion initial public offering, which would be the largest such deal in the U.S. this year. Arm owner SoftBank plans to offer 95.5 million American depository shares of the United Kingdom-based company for $47 to $51 apiece, Arm said in a filing. Arm owns the intellectual property behind the c
  
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• Facebook Is Getting Rid of the News Tab In the UK, France and Germany

  06-09-2023 01:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Starting in December, Facebook users in the U.K., France and Germany will no longer see a dedicated section for news articles. CNBC reports: Meta said Tuesday that it is plans to "deprecate" the Facebook News tab in early December for users in those European countries as "part of an ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most." The company added that it plans to spend more time and money on short-form video, as best exemplified by its TikTok-
  
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• Sony Sends Copyright Notices To TV Museum About Shows 40 To 60 Years Old

  06-09-2023 00:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Rick Klein and his team have been preserving TV adverts, forgotten tapes, and decades-old TV programming for years. Now operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Museum of Classic Chicago Television has called YouTube home since 2007. However, copyright notices sent on behalf of Sony, protecting TV shows between 40 and 60 years old, could shut down the project in 48 hours. "Our YouTube channel with 150k subscribers is in danger of being termi
  
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