ICT news

• Unprecedented Number of Heat Records Broken Around World This Year

  14-08-2024 23:23 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: A record 15 national heat records have been broken since the start of this year, an influential climate historian has told the Guardian, as weather extremes grow more frequent and climate breakdown intensifies. An additional 130 monthly national temperature records have also been broken, along with tens of thousands of local highs registered at monitoring stations from the Arctic to the South Pacific, according to Maximiliano Herrera, who keeps an archive of
  
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• Sonos Lays Off 100 Employees as Its App Crisis Continues

  14-08-2024 22:42 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Sonos laid off approximately 100 employees this morning, a source familiar with the situation tells The Verge. Those affected -- I'm told the marketing division took a significant hit -- abruptly lost access to the company's internal network. Sonos is also in the process of winding down some of its customer support offices, including one in Amsterdam that will close later this year.
  Sonos confirmed the layoffs to The Verge on Wednesday afternoon, providing a
  
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• Gamer Connects 444 Consoles To Single TV, Sets World Record

  14-08-2024 22:01 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Ibrahim Al-Nasser, a gaming enthusiast from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has set a Guinness World Record for the most video game consoles connected to a single television, with 444 systems hooked up simultaneously.
  Al-Nasser's collection spans five decades of gaming history, from the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey to the 2023 PlayStation 5 Slim. It includes mainstream consoles like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch, as well as rare items such as the Super A'Can. To manage the complex setup, Al-Nasser employs ove
  
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• WHO Declares Mpox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency

  14-08-2024 21:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency. From a report: WHO convened its emergency mpox committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, had reached four previously unaffected provinces in Africa. This strain had previously been contained to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  Independent experts on the committee met virtually Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the se
  
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• Eric Schmidt Says Google Is Falling Behind on AI - And Remote Work Is Why

  14-08-2024 20:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO and executive chairman at Google, said his former company is losing the AI race and remote work is to blame. From a report: "Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning," Schmidt said at a talk at Stanford University. "The reason startups work is because the people work like hell." Schmidt made the comments earlier at a wide-ranging discussion at Stanford. His remarks about Google's remote-work policies wer
  
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• Apple To Open Payment Chip To Third Parties and Charge Fees

  14-08-2024 20:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple will begin letting third parties use the iPhone's payment chip to handle transactions, a move that allows banks and other services to compete with the Apple Pay platform. From a report: The move, announced Wednesday, follows years of pressure from regulators, including those in the European Union. Apple said it will allow developers to use the component starting in iOS 18.1, an upcoming software update for the iPhone. The payment chip relies on a technology called NFC, or near-field commun
  
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• Senators Warn Kroger's Digital Price Tags May Enable Gouging

  14-08-2024 19:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey have accused supermarket giant Kroger of potential price-gouging through its adoption of electronic shelf labels (ESLs). In a letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, the lawmakers expressed concern that ESLs could enable dynamic pricing of groceries, potentially creating artificial scarcity and inflating prices of essential goods.
  Kroger, which operates nearly 3,000 stores nationwide, began implementing ESLs in 2018 under the "Kroger Edge" program. Whil
  
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• Microsoft is Enabling BitLocker Device Encryption By Default on Windows 11

  14-08-2024 18:44 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft is making BitLocker device encryption a default feature in its next major update to Windows 11. From a report: If you clean install the 24H2 version that's rolling out in the coming months, device encryption will be enabled by default when you first sign in or set up a device with a Microsoft account or work / school account.
  Device encryption is designed to improve the security of Windows machines by automatically enabling BitLocker encryption on the Windows install drive and backing
  
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• Nintendo Completely Sat Out the Video Game Graphics Wars. It's Winning Anyway.

  14-08-2024 18:05 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Manny Fidel, reporting for Sherwood News: When you're immersed in a game like "Cyberpunk 2077," it's easy to get lost in its realism. As you run around the crowded streets of Night City, you notice the reflections of the city lights and neon signs in the puddles when it rains. Even the complexion and texture of a character's skin are enamoring. At full power, the game, created by CD Projekt Red, is a graphical marvel. It's also a symbol of a decades-long arms race between the biggest video game
  
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• To Best China, Pentagon Must Shed 'the Same Old Mindsets'

  14-08-2024 17:28 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Pentagon officials say the U.S. stands at the precipice of a new golden age of defense innovation driven by upstart contractors, advances in technology and a world brimming with threats. The Defense Department's inability to make unorthodox bets, feed a vibrant industrial base and embrace readily available technologies has rendered it under-supplied, the target of dual-use evangelists and vulnerable to more nimble adversaries.
  Deputy Defense Secretary Kathlee
  
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• Disney Says Disney+ TOS Means Man Can't Sue For Wife's Fatal Allergic Reaction

  14-08-2024 16:44 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter beamdriver writes: As is being reported in Newsday , Disney has asked a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the husband of a Carle Place physician who suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant.
  The company cited legal language agreed to years earlier when Jeffrey Piccolo, widower of Kanokporn Tangsuan, 42, of Plainview, signed up for a one-month trial of the Disney+ streaming service that requires users to arbitrate all di
  
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• Apple Finally Allows Spotify To Show Pricing Info To EU Users on iOS

  14-08-2024 16:10 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: After much back and forth earlier this year, Spotify on Wednesday says it's now received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for users in the EU. The company is not opting into Apple's new business rules under the EU's Digital Markets Act, but rather is taking advantage of new antitrust guidelines imposed by the EU specifically for music streaming apps. Apple in March was fined by European regulators nearly $2 billion for breachi
  
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• Lawsuit Attacks Florida's Lab-Grown Meat Ban As Unconstitutional

  14-08-2024 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Florida's ban on cultivated meat is being challenged in federal court in a lawsuit that was filed yesterday. The case is being brought by the cultivated meat firm Upside Foods and the Institute of Justice (IJ), a nonprofit public interest law firm. Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed the legislation making the sale of cultivated meat illegal in Florida on May 1, and the bill came into effect on July 1. Alabama passed a similar bill banning cultiva
  
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• Valve Confirms SteamOS Will Support the Asus ROG Ally

  14-08-2024 12:00 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  Valve designer Lawrence Yang confirmed to The Verge that the company plans to support SteamOS on the rival Asus ROG Ally gaming handheld. From the report: A few days ago, some spotted an intriguing line in Valve's latest SteamOS release notes: "Added support for extra ROG Ally keys." We didn't know Valve was supporting any ROG Ally keys at all, let alone extras! Maybe Valve was just supporting those keys in the Steam desktop client on a Windows, where it offers a Steam Deck-like Big Picture Mode
  
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• New Research Reveals AI Lacks Independent Learning, Poses No Existential Threat

  14-08-2024 09:00 via slashdot.org
  
  ZipNada writes: New research reveals that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT cannot learn independently or acquire new skills without explicit instructions, making them predictable and controllable. The study dispels fears of these models developing complex reasoning abilities, emphasizing that while LLMs can generate sophisticated language, they are unlikely to pose existential threats. However, the potential misuse of AI, such as generating fake news, still requires attention. The study
  
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• WHO To Scrap Weak PFAS Drinking Water Guidelines After Alleged Corruption

  14-08-2024 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The World Health Organization (WHO) is poised to scrap controversial drinking water guidelines proposed for two toxic PFAS "forever chemicals." The move follows allegations that the process of developing the figures was corrupted by industry-linked researchers aiming to undercut strict new US PFAS limits and weaken standards in the developing world. Many independent scientists charged that the proposed WHO drinking water guidelines for perfl
  
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• Study Finds 94% of Business Spreadsheets Have Critical Errors

  14-08-2024 04:02 via slashdot.org
  
  A recent study reveals that 94% of spreadsheets used in business decision-making contain errors, highlighting significant risks of financial and operational mistakes. Phys.org reports: Errors in spreadsheets can lead to poor decisions, resulting in financial losses, pricing mistakes, and operational problems in fields like health care and nuclear operations. "These mistakes can cause major issues in various sectors," adds Prof. Pak-Lok Poon, the lead author of the study. Spreadsheets are crucial
  
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• Texas Sues General Motors, Alleging Illegal Selling of Driver Data

  14-08-2024 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  In a press release today, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he has filed a lawsuit against General Motors, alleging the carmaker illegally collected and sold drivers' data to insurance companies without their consent or knowledge. CNN reports: In car models from 2015 and later, the Detroit-based car manufacturer allegedly used technology to "collect, record, analyze, and transmit highly detailed driving data about each time a driver used their vehicle," according to the AG's statement. Gene
  
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• Google's Pixel 9 Phones Are the First To Get Satellite SOS For Android

  14-08-2024 02:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google's Brian Rakowski announced today that the new Pixel 9 lineup will be the first Android phones to feature Satellite SOS. The Verge reports: The feature launches first in the US "regardless of your carrier plan," Rakowski said, though it won't be available in Hawaii and Alaska, per a support page. According to fine print shown during Google's livestream, the service will be included "at no additional charge for the first two years after activation of devices." A blog post by Rakowski qualif
  
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• OceanGate Submersible Victim's Family Sues For $50 Million, Partly Blames $30 Logitech Controller

  14-08-2024 02:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from ExtremeTech: The family of a French mariner who died on the imploded Titan submersible last year has sued Titan's maker, OceanGate Expeditions, for more than $50 million. The lawsuit claims OceanGate is responsible for explorers' suffering immediately preceding their deaths, as well as for failing to disclose the extent of the submersible's risks. Among those risks are Titan's cheap materials, including the $30 Logitech gaming controller used aboard the v
  
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• T-Mobile Shutting Down 2G Network Beginning Next Month

  14-08-2024 01:40 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  "T-Mobile will be shutting down their 2G network beginning next month, making older phones obsolete," writes Slashdot reader Dustin Destree. From the Mobile Report: Most phones today use 4G and 5G, and T-Mobile's 2G service somehow managed to outlive the company's 3G service, which was killed off in 2022. Nonetheless, after postponing a previous shutdown date of April 2nd, we seem to finally have a date for T-Mobile sunsetting its 2G service, and it's pretty soon. T-Mobile has added a date for w
  
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• Flipboard Users Can Now Follow Anyone In the Fediverse

  14-08-2024 01:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Starting today, users of the social magazine app Flipboard can follow any federated accounts, "meaning those that participate in the social network of interconnected servers known as the fediverse," writes TechCrunch's Sarah Perez. "This now includes Threads accounts in addition to Mastodon accounts and others." From the report: With the update, which deepens Flipboard's connection with the ActivityPub social graph, any Flipboard user can follow user profiles from any other federated service. If
  
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• Deep-Live-Cam Goes Viral, Allowing Anyone To Become a Digital Doppelganger

  14-08-2024 00:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Over the past few days, a software package called Deep-Live-Cam has been going viral on social media because it can take the face of a person extracted from a single photo and apply it to a live webcam video source while following pose, lighting, and expressions performed by the person on the webcam. While the results aren't perfect, the software shows how quickly the tech is developing -- and how the capability to deceive others remotely is
  
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• Companies Prepare To Fight Quantum Hackers

  14-08-2024 00:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  National-security authorities have warned for years that today's encryption will become vulnerable to hackers when quantum computers are widely available. Companies can now start to integrate new cryptographic algorithms into their products to protect them from future hacks. From a report: Some companies have already taken steps to replace current forms of encryption with post-quantum algorithms. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the Commerce Department, published
  
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