ICT news

• Google Says It's No. 1 Search Tool Because Users Prefer It to Rivals

  12-09-2023 22:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Companies choose Alphabet's Google as the default search engine for their browsers and smartphones because it is the best one, and not because of a lack of competition, a Google lawyer said Tuesday at the start of a high-stakes antitrust trial in Washington. From a report: Consumers use Google "because it delivers value to them, not because they have to," John Schmidtlein, a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP who is representing the company, said during his opening statements on the first da
  
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• Apple Launches iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max Featuring Titanium Bodies

  12-09-2023 22:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple just announced its new high-end iPhones: the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. The Verge: They're made of titanium, they have Action Buttons, and Apple promises they're the most powerful smartphones Apple has ever made. The 15 Pro starts at $999 with 128GB of storage, and the Pro Max at $1,199 with 256GB of storage. Both will be available for preorder this Friday and on sale September 22nd. This year's Pro has a 6.1-inch screen, and the Pro Max has a 6.7-inch display -- same as the new iPhone
  
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• Zara Finds Shoplifters Outsmarted Its New Security System

  12-09-2023 21:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Inditex is racing to iron bugs out of a new anti-shoplifting system for its Zara stores, slightly delaying its rollout partly because the security tags were easy to identify and remove in initial tests, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: Chief Executive Officer Oscar Garcia Maceiras unveiled the new technology in March and pledged to roll it out for tests in all Zara stores worldwide over the summer. The system relies on tiny chips known as RFID,
  
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• Apple Announces iPhone 15 with USB-C

  12-09-2023 20:01 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has just announced the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, and the big news is a USB-C port. From a report: We've been waiting for the day that the iPhone would switch to the widely used USB-C standard instead of Apple's proprietary Lightning connector. Apple confirmed last year that it would make the change to USB-C to comply with the European Union's upcoming regulations, and the iPhone 15 is now the first iPhone to make the switch. The iPhone 15 is priced starting at $799 for a 128GB model and the i
  
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• World Bank Spent Billions of Dollars Backing Fossil Fuels in 2022, Study Finds

  12-09-2023 19:00 via slashdot.org
  
  The World Bank poured billions of dollars into fossil fuels around the world last year despite repeated promises to refocus on shifting to a low-carbon economy, research has suggested. From a report: The money went through a special form of funding known as trade finance, which is used to facilitate global transactions. Urgewald, a campaign group that tracks global fossil fuel finance, found that the World Bank supplied about $3.7bn in trade finance in 2022 that was likely to have ended up fundi
  
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• California Lawmakers Approve Nation's Most Sweeping Emissions Disclosure Rules for Big Business

  12-09-2023 18:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Major corporations from oil and gas companies to retail giants would have to disclose their direct greenhouse gas emissions as well as those that come from activities like employee business travel under legislation passed Monday by California lawmakers, the most sweeping mandate of its kind in the nation. From a report: The legislation would require thousands of public and private businesses that operate in California and make more than $1 billion annually to report their direct and indirect emi
  
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• Google Pays $10 Billion a Year To Maintain Monopoly, US Says

  12-09-2023 16:43 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Alphabet's Google pays more than $10 billion a year to maintain its position as the default search engine on web browsers and mobile devices, stifling competition, the US Justice Department said Tuesday at the start of a high-stakes antitrust trial in Washington. From a report: "This case is about the future of the internet and whether Google's search engine will ever face meaningful competition," Kenneth Dintzer, a government lawyer, said in his opening statement. "The evidence will show they d
  
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• Intel Unveils Thunderbolt 5 Standard for High-Speed Connectivity

  12-09-2023 16:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Intel has unveiled Thunderbolt 5, the latest iteration of its a standard aimed at enabling super-fast connectivity. From a report: With Thunderbolt 5, Intel promises a significant leap in connectivity speed and bandwidth, delivering enhanced performance for computer users. The unveiling of a prototype laptop and dock accompanied the announcement, providing a glimpse into the future of Thunderbolt technology.
  Thunderbolt 5 will offer an impressive 80 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bi-directional b
  
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• Nokia Phone Maker HMD is Launching Its Own Smartphone Brand

  12-09-2023 15:10 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  HMD Global, the Finnish company best known for producing Nokia-branded smartphones, has revealed plans to launch its own line of mobile devices. From a report: On Monday, HMD Global CEO Jean-Francois Baril announced on Linkedin that the company will be expanding its portfolio with a new HMD brand that will co-exist alongside its Nokia phones and collaborations with "exciting new partners" that have yet to be disclosed. "It has been a great journey as 'HMD -- the home of Nokia phones' -- an exclu
  
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• NSA, FBI, and CISA Release Cybersecurity Information Sheet on Deepfake Threats

  12-09-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI), Contextualizing Deepfake Threats to Organizations, which provides an overview of synthetic media threats, techniques, and trends. Threats from synthetic media, such as deepfakes, have exponentially increased—presenting a growing challenge for users of modern technology and communications, incl
  
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• Microsoft Releases September 2023 Updates

  12-09-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Microsoft has released updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. A cyber threat actor can exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
  CISA encourages users and administrators to review Microsoft’s September 2023 Security Update Guide and apply the necessary updates. 
  
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• CISA Releases its Open Source Software Security Roadmap

  12-09-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, CISA released an Open Source Software Security Roadmap to lay out—in alignment with the National Cybersecurity Strategy and the CISA Cybersecurity Strategic Plan—how we will partner with federal agencies, open source software (OSS) consumers, and the OSS community, to secure OSS infrastructure. To that end, the roadmap details four key goals:
  Establish CISA’s role in supporting the security of OSS,
  Understand the prevalence of key open source dependencies,
  Reduce risks t
  
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• Apple Releases Security Updates for iOS and macOS

  12-09-2023 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Apple has released security updates to address a vulnerability in multiple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected device.CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply the necessary updates.
  iOS 15.7.9 and iPadOS 15.7.9
  macOS Monterey 12.6.9
  macOS Big Sur 11.7.10  
  
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• Adobe, Others Join White House's Voluntary Commitments on AI

  12-09-2023 13:55 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Adobe, IBM, Nvidia and five other firms have signed President Joe Biden's voluntary commitments governing artificial intelligence, which requires steps such as watermarking AI-generated content, the White House said. From a report: The original commitments, which were announced in July, were aimed at ensuring that AI's considerable power was not used for destructive purposes. Google, OpenAI and OpenAI partner Microsoft signed onto the commitments in July.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• New Benchmark Tests Speed of Running AI Models

  12-09-2023 11:35 via slashdot.org
  
  An artificial intelligence benchmark group called MLCommons unveiled the results on Monday of new tests that determine how quickly top-of-the-line hardware can run AI models. From a report: A Nvidia chip was the top performer in tests on a large language model, with a semiconductor produced by Intel a close second. The new MLPerf benchmark is based on a large language model with 6 billion parameters that summarizes CNN news articles. The benchmark simulates the "inference" portion of AI data cru
  
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• Credit Card Disputes Keep Rising at Visa as E-Commerce Booms

  12-09-2023 07:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Credit card disputes at Visa continued rising past their pandemic boom despite the proliferation of prevention software, as fraud grows alongside e-commerce and inflation. From a report: Disputes on Visa's network rose to more than 90 million in 2022, data provided by the payment company showed. More than 70 million disputes were filed in 2019, Visa said in a presentation, before rising 24% in 2020 during the pandemic and about 2% a year in 2021 and 2022.
  Despite being easy for consumers to file
  
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• WhatsApp is Working on Cross-Platform Messaging

  12-09-2023 04:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A WhatsApp for Android beta update (version 2.23.19.8) that came out today contains a new screen called Third-party chats, reports WABetaInfo. The Verge: For now, the screen is neither functional nor accessible by users, according to WABetaInfo. But its title is a strong clue that this is likely the first step to opening Meta's encrypted messages app to cross-platform compatibility. The beta comes just days after the European Commission confirmed that WhatsApp owner Meta meets the definition of
  
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• Lockheed Risks $800 Million Withheld Over New F-35 Software

  12-09-2023 00:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Lockheed Martin may see more than $800 million in payments withheld through next June until it wins approval for the software powering its most advanced version of the F-35, according to newly disclosed delivery figures. From a report: The No. 1 US defense contractor is on tap to finish production of about 52 of the upgraded TR-3 model fighter jets by Dec. 31 and approximately 12 per month after that, or 72 more by June 30, for as many as 124 jets, according to the data released Monday by Russ G
  
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