ICT news

• After Luring Customers With Low Prices, Amazon Stuffs Fire TVs With Ads

  08-11-2023 23:40 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: People who buy a Fire TV from Amazon are probably looking for a cheap and simple way to get an affordable 4K smart TV. When Amazon announced its first self-branded TVs in September 2021, it touted them as being a "great value." But owners of the devices will soon be paying for some of those savings in the form of more prominently displayed advertisements. Charlotte Maines, Amazon's director of Fire TV advertising, monetization, and engagemen
  
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• Canonical Reveals More Details About Ubuntu Core Desktop

  08-11-2023 23:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Next April a new LTS Ubuntu arrives, and alongside it will be a whole new immutable desktop edition. At this year's Ubuntu conference in Riga, Latvia, Canonical revealed more details about its forthcoming immutable desktop distro. From a report: Core Desktop is not the next version of Ubuntu itself. Ordinary desktop and server Ubuntu aren't going anywhere, and the next release, numbered 24.04 and codenamed Noble Numbat as we mentioned last month, will be the default and come with all the usual e
  
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• Data Broker's 'Staggering' Sale of Sensitive Info Exposed in Unsealed FTC Filing

  08-11-2023 22:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  One of the world's largest mobile data brokers, Kochava, has lost its battle to stop the Federal Trade Commission from revealing what the FTC has alleged is a disturbing, widespread pattern of unfair use and sale of sensitive data without consent from hundreds of millions of people. ArsTechnica: US District Judge B. Lynn Winmill recently unsealed a court filing, an amended complaint that perhaps contains the most evidence yet gathered by the FTC in its long-standing mission to crack down on data
  
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• 2023 on Track To Be the Hottest Year on Record, Say Scientists

  08-11-2023 21:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The world is set to have been hotter in 2023 than in any other year on record, scientists have declared, before a landmark climate summit this month. From a report: "We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, and is currently 1.43C above the pre-industrial average," said Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. "The sense of urgency for ambitious climate action going into Cop28 has never been higher." The Copernicus scienti
  
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• Apple Says It 'Expects To Make' App Store Policy Changes Due To EU DMA

  08-11-2023 21:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has bowed to the inevitable and said it "expects to make" App Store policy changes to comply with EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). From a report: The iPhone-maker has updated the language pertaining to its risk factors in the fiscal year 2023 Form 10-K filing, with the revised text presenting a shift from the company's previous position, indicating a more definitive stance on potential modifications to the App Store policies. Apple said that future changes could also affect how the company
  
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• Microsoft Plans To Bring Its AI Copilot To 1 Billion Windows 10 Users

  08-11-2023 20:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Windows Central: Microsoft began rolling out its new AI assistant for Windows earlier this year with the Windows 11 version 23H2 release, which adds a new Microsoft Copilot button directly to the Taskbar. Microsoft has been putting its Copilot in front of every user it can, but there's still a large chunk of PC users on the older Windows 10 OS which hasn't seen any of Microsoft's recent AI additions. That may soon be changing. According to my sources, Microsoft is planning to bring the same Micr
  
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• Amazon Dedicates Team To Train Ambitious AI Model Codenamed 'Olympus'

  08-11-2023 18:34 via slashdot.org
  
  Amazon is investing millions in training an ambitious large language model (LLMs), hoping it could rival top models from OpenAI and Alphabet. From a report: The model, codenamed as "Olympus," has 2 trillion parameters, the people said, which could make it one of the largest models being trained. OpenAI's GPT-4 model, one of the best models available, is reported to have one trillion parameters. The team is spearheaded by Rohit Prasad, former head of Alexa, who now reports directly to CEO Andy Ja
  
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• How Big is Science's Fake-Paper Problem?

  08-11-2023 17:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  The scientific literature is polluted with fake manuscripts churned out by paper mills -- businesses that sell bogus work and authorships to researchers who need journal publications for their CVs. But just how large is this paper-mill problem? From a report: An unpublished analysis shared with Nature suggests that over the past two decades, more than 400,000 research articles have been published that show strong textual similarities to known studies produced by paper mills. Around 70,000 of the
  
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• Google-led App Defense Alliance Joins Linux Foundation

  08-11-2023 17:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  The App Defense Alliance (ADA), an initiative set up by Google back in 2019 to combat malicious Android apps infiltrating the Play app store, has joined the Joint Development Foundation (JDF), a Linux Foundation project focused on helping organizations working on technical specifications, standards, and related efforts. From a report: The App Defense Alliance had, in fact, already expanded beyond its original Android malware detection roots, covering areas such as malware mitigation, mobile app
  
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• Google Turns To Regulators To Make Apple Open Up iMessage

  08-11-2023 16:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  iMessage serves as "an important gateway between business users and their customers" and should be regulated as a "core" service under the EU's new Digital Markets Act (DMA), said Google and a group of major European telcos in a letter sent to the European Commission. From a report: Being designated as a "core platform service" would be significant for iMessage, as it could compel Apple to make it interoperable with other messaging services. The letter arrives as the European Commission investig
  
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• The World's Largest Aircraft Breaks Cover in Silicon Valley

  08-11-2023 15:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: As dawn breaks over Silicon Valley, the world is getting its first look at Pathfinder 1, a prototype electric airship that its maker LTA Research hopes will kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel, and accelerate the humanitarian work of its funder, Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The airship -- its snow-white steampunk profile visible from the busy 101 highway -- has taken drone technology such as fly-by-wire controls, electric motors and lidar sen
  
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• North Greenland Ice Shelves Have Lost 35% of Their Volume In Last Half-Century, Study Finds

  08-11-2023 14:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: Scientists have long thought that the glaciers in North Greenland have been stable -- a vital condition, as they contain enough ice to raise the sea level by nearly 7 feet. But a new study published on Tuesday found that ice shelves in the region have lost more than a third of their volume in the last half-century because of rising temperatures -- and if it continues, scientists say there could be "dramatic consequences" for glaciers, and the pl
  
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• Nintendo Is Making a Live-Action 'Legend of Zelda' Movie

  08-11-2023 11:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Nintendo has confirmed that it's working on a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, directed by Wes Ball and produced by Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The Verge reports: "This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films," Miyamoto said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. We might be waiting a while for the movie, however; Miyamoto said, "It will take time until its
  
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• Rockstar Plans To Announce Much Anticipated 'Grand Theft Auto VI'

  08-11-2023 08:15 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Rockstar Games, a division of Take-Two Interactive Software, plans to announce the next highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto game as early as this week, according to Bloomberg. From a report: The company plans to then publish a trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI next month to celebrate Rockstar's 25th anniversary, said the people, who asked to not be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. A spokesperson for Rockstar didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent afte
  
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• Euclid Telescope: First Images Revealed From 'Dark Universe' Mission

  08-11-2023 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  AmiMoJo shares a report from the BBC: Europe's Euclid telescope is ready to begin its quest to understand the greatest mysteries in the Universe. Exquisite imagery from the space observatory shows its capabilities to be exceptional. Over the next six years, Euclid will survey a third of the heavens to get some clues about the nature of so-called dark matter and dark energy. The 1.4 billion euro Euclid telescope went into space in July. Since then, engineers have been fine-tuning it. There were s
  
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• Scientists Are Researching a Device That Can Induce Lucid Dreams On Demand

  08-11-2023 04:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: [A] new tech startup, Prophetic, aims to bring lucid dreams to a much wider audience by developing a wearable device designed to spark the experience when desired. Prophetic is the brainchild of Eric Wollberg, its chief executive officer, and Wesley Louis Berry III, its chief technology officer. The pair co-founded the company earlier this year with the goal of combining technologies, such as ultrasound and machine learning models, "to detect
  
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• Chamberlain Shuts Off Access To MyQ's APIs, Breaking Smart Home Integrations

  08-11-2023 02:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Jennifer Pattison Tuohy reports via The Verge: The Chamberlain Group -- owners of the MyQ smart garage door controller tech -- has announced it's shut off all "unauthorized access" to its APIs. The move breaks the smart home integrations of thousands of users who relied on platforms such as Homebridge and Home Assistant to do things like shut the garage door when they lock their front door or flash a light if they leave their door open for 10 minutes, or whatever other control or automation they
  
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• Intel To Build 'Secure Enclave' Chip Facilities For Defense Applications

  08-11-2023 01:50 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  According to the Wall Street Journal, Intel may receive billions in U.S. government funding to build secret facilities that produce microchips for the military. SiliconANGLE reports: The facilities, which have not yet been disclosed, would be designated as a "secure enclave" to reduce the military's dependence on chips imported from East Asia, particularly Taiwan, which is at risk of a future invasion from China. The funding for the new facilities would come from the $52.7 billion allocated unde
  
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• Cruise Confirms Robotaxis Rely On Human Assistance Every Four To Five Miles

  08-11-2023 01:10 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Lora Kolodny reports via CNBC: Cruise CEO and founder Kyle Vogt posted comments on Hacker News on Sunday responding to allegations that his company's robotaxis aren't really self-driving, but instead require frequent help from humans working in a remote operations center. First, Vogt confirmed that the General Motors-owned company does have a remote assistance team, in response to a discussion under the header, "GM's Cruise alleged to rely on human operators to achieve 'autonomous' driving." The
  
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• Waze Will Now Warn Drivers About Crash Dangers Using Historical Data

  08-11-2023 00:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Traffic navigation app Waze is adding a new feature to its toolbox today. It's called crash history alerts, and it's meant to warn drivers about dangerous hotspots, based on a combination of historical data plus road and traffic data. Originally an independent startup, in 2013 Google purchased the Israeli company for $1.15 billion, perhaps beating Apple to the punch. [...] One feature of Waze that was unique for a long time was its ability t
  
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