ICT news

• 'Roaring Kitty' Trader Returns, Causing GameStop Shares To Jump More Than 70%

  13-05-2024 23:20 via slashdot.org
  
  GameStop shares surged over 72% on Monday after Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty," returned to social media following a three-year hiatus. Gill gained notoriety for his role in the 2020 meme stock frenzy, where he encouraged amateur investors to buy GameStop shares, significantly driving up the stock price and challenging hedge funds. From a report: He resurfaced on X, Sunday night, with an image of a sketched man leaning forward in a chair, marking the end of a roughly three-year hiatus
  
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• First Person To Receive a Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Transplant Dies

  13-05-2024 22:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: Richard "Rick" Slayman, the first human to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, has died almost two months after the procedure. Slayman, who had end-stage kidney disease, underwent the transplant in March at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at age 62. The hospital said in a statement on Saturday that there was "no indication" that his death was the result of the transplant. The transplant surgeon had said he hoped the tr
  
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• Microsoft Places Uses AI To Find the Best Time For Your Next Office Day

  13-05-2024 22:01 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft is attempting to solve the hassle of coordinating with colleagues on when everyone will be in the office. It's a problem that emerged with the increase in hybrid and flexible work after the recent covid-19 pandemic, with workers spending less time in the office. Microsoft Places is an AI-powered app that goes into preview today and should help businesses that rely on Outlook and Microsoft Teams to better coordinate in-office time together.
  "When emp
  
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• Meta Explores AI-Assisted Earphones With Cameras

  13-05-2024 20:49 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta Platforms is exploring developing AI-powered earphones with cameras, which the company hopes could be used to identify objects and translate foreign languages, according to three current employees. Meta's work on a new AI device comes as several tech companies look to develop AI wearables, and after Meta added an AI assistant to its Ray-Ban smart glasses.
  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has seen several possible designs for the device but has not been satisfied
  
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• Microsoft is Finally Changing Word's Annoying Default Paste Behavior

  13-05-2024 20:08 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The default pasting behavior of Microsoft Word is a nightmare, and has been forever. If you want to add a text or image using the standard option, you can easily mess up the entire formatting in the text if a completely different font suddenly appears. After many years of complaints, Microsoft is finally listening to user feedback and changing the default behavior when pasting in Word.
  From now on, the source's formatting will no longer be automatically retai
  
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• OpenAI Launches New Free Model GPT-4o

  13-05-2024 19:24 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI unveiled its latest foundation model, GPT-4o, and a ChatGPT desktop app at its Spring Updates event on Monday. GPT-4o, which will be available to all free users, boasts the ability to reason across voice, text, and vision, according to OpenAI's chief technology officer Mira Murati. The model can respond in real-time, detect emotion, and adjust its voice accordingly. Developers will have access to GPT-4o through OpenAI's API at half the price and twice the speed of its predecessor, GPT-4 T
  
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• Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season

  13-05-2024 18:48 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  mspohr shares a report: The solar storm that brought the aurora borealis to large parts of the United States this weekend also broke critical GPS and precision farming functionality in tractors and agricultural equipment during a critical point of the planting season, 404 Media has learned. These outages caused many farmers to fully stop their planting operations for the moment. One chain of John Deere dealerships warned farmers that the accuracy of some of the systems used by tractors are "extr
  
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• US Kicks Off AI Safety Talks With China

  13-05-2024 18:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The United States is heading to Geneva this week to start a series of diplomatic talks with the Chinese government about artificial intelligence safety and risk standards. From a report: The U.S. and China are in tight competition to dominate the AI market, both in the private sector and within their own governments. However, the two world powers have yet to agree on what it means to safely use the technologies they're developing.
  The United States and China will meet in Switzerland on Tuesday,
  
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• Google Bringing Project Starline's 'Magic Window' Experience To Real Video Calls

  13-05-2024 17:24 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google announced on Monday that it is preparing to bring its experimental Project Starline videoconferencing technology to the market. The company is collaborating with HP to integrate the system, which creates 3D projections of participants, into existing platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. The move aims to make the technology more accessible for offices and conference rooms, potentially transforming the way people communicate and collaborate remotely.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Microsoft Set To Face EU Competition Charges Over Teams Software

  13-05-2024 16:43 via slashdot.org
  
  The European Commission is set to issue new antitrust charges [non-paywalled link] against Microsoft over concerns that the tech giant is undermining competitors to its videoconferencing app Teams, according to FT. The move comes after Microsoft offered concessions last month, including a global plan to unbundle Teams from other software such as Office, in an attempt to avoid regulatory action.
  The EU officials remain concerned that the company's efforts do not sufficiently ensure fairness in th
  
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• How Microsoft Employees Pressured the Company Over Its Oil Industry Ties

  13-05-2024 13:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The non-profit environmental site Grist reports on "an internal, employee-led effort to raise ethical concerns about Microsoft's work helping oil and gas producers boost their profits by providing them with cloud computing resources and AI software tools." There's been some disappointments — but also some successes, starting with the founding of an internal sustainability group within Microsoft that grew to nearly 10,000 employees:
  Former Microsoft employees and sources familiar with tech
  
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• Squarespace To Go Private in $6.9 Billion Deal With Permira

  13-05-2024 13:22 via slashdot.org
  
  Squarespace said on Monday it has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm Permira in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $6.9 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Squarespace stockholders will receive $44.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 29% over the company's 90-day volume weighted average trading price.
  Upon completion of the transaction, Squarespace will become a privately held company. Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena will continue to lead the busine
  
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• OpenAI's Sam Altman Wants AI in the Hands of the People - and Universal Basic Compute?

  13-05-2024 09:34 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave an hour-long interview to the "All-In" podcast (hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg).
  And when asked about this summer's launch of the next version of ChatGPT, Altman said they hoped to "be thoughtful about how we do it, like we may release it in a different way than we've released previous models...
  Altman: One of the things that we really want to do is figure out how to make more advanced technology available to free users
  
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• Will Smarter Cars Bring 'Optimized' Traffic Lights?

  13-05-2024 05:54 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  "Researchers are exploring ways to use features in modern cars, such as GPS, to make traffic safer and more efficient," reports the Associated Press.
  "Eventually, the upgrades could do away entirely with the red, yellow and green lights of today, ceding control to driverless cars."Among those reimagining traffic flows is a team at North Carolina State University led by Ali Hajbabaie, an associate engineering professor. Rather than doing away with today's traffic signals, Hajbabaie suggests addin
  
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• Australia Criticized For Ramping Up Gas Extraction Through '2050 and Beyond'

  13-05-2024 03:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader sonlas shared this report from the BBC:
  Australia has announced it will ramp up its extraction and use of gas until "2050 and beyond", despite global calls to phase out fossil fuels. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government says the move is needed to shore up domestic energy supply while supporting a transition to net zero... Australia — one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas — has also said the policy is based on "its commitment to being a
  
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• Linux Kernel 6.9 Officially Released

  13-05-2024 00:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  "6.9 is now out," Linus Torvalds posted on the Linux kernel mailing list, "and last week has looked quite stable (and the whole release has felt pretty normal)."
  Phoronix writes that Linux 6.9 "has a number of exciting features and improvements for those habitually updating to the newest version." And Slashdot reader prisoninmate shared this report from 9to5Linux:
  Highlights of Linux kernel 6.9 include Rust support on AArch64 (ARM64) architectures, support for the Intel FRED (Flexible Return and
  
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