ICT news

• Amazon Turns To Anthropic's AI For Alexa Revamp

  30-08-2024 23:25 via slashdot.org
  
  When Amazon releases its revamped AI Alexa update in October, it'll be powered by Anthropic's Claude AI models due to performance issues with its in-house AI. Reuters reports: Amazon plans to charge $5 to $10 a month for its new "Remarkable" version of Alexa as it will use powerful generative AI to answer complex queries, while still offering the "Classic" voice assistant for free, Reuters reported in June. But initial versions of the new Alexa using in-house software simply struggled for words,
  
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• $400 Million Algorithmic System Illegally Denied Thousands of Medicaid Benefits

  30-08-2024 22:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Thousands of Tennesseans were illegally denied Medicaid and other benefits due to programming and data errors in an algorithmic system the state uses to determine eligibility for low-income residents and people with disabilities, a U.S. District Court judge ruled this week. The TennCare Connect system -- built by Deloitte and other contractors for more than $400 million -- is supposed to analyze income and health information to automatically dete
  
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• Intel Weighs Options Including Foundry Split To Stem Losses

  30-08-2024 22:05 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Intel is working with investment bankers to help navigate the most difficult period in its 56-year history, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: The company is discussing various scenarios, including a split of its product-design and manufacturing businesses, as well as which factory projects might potentially be scrapped, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, Intel's longtim
  
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• Linux 6.12 To Optionally Display A QR Code During Kernel Panics

  30-08-2024 21:26 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter meisdug writes: A new feature has been submitted for inclusion in Linux 6.12, allowing the display of a QR code when a kernel panic occurs using the DRM Panic handler. This QR code can capture detailed error information that is often missed in traditional text-based panic messages, making it more user-friendly. The feature, written in Rust, is optional and can be enabled via a specific build switch. This implementation follows similar ideas from other operating systems and earlier
  
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• Intel Definitively Claims Its Laptop Chips Aren't Crashing Because of That Voltage Thing

  30-08-2024 20:47 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: It's been a burning question for months -- are Intel's laptop chips susceptible to the same permanent damage that can potentially lay 24 different flagship desktop chips low? Today, Intel has finally confirmed: its 13th and 14th Gen laptop chips do not seem to have an instability issue. And the company claims they are definitely not affected by the too-high voltage issue, which it's now calling "Vmin Shift Instability." While Intel maintains that Vmin Shift I
  
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• Pakistani Businesses Warn of Internet Disruptions Amid Fears of 'Firewall' Censorship

  30-08-2024 20:05 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Pakistani businesses say internet disruptions this month have harmed their businesses [non-paywalled link] and unsettled investors at a time when the country is counting on the information technology sector to help break a cycle of economic crises and bailouts. From a report: The warnings from executives, investors and a leading IT organisation come as internet watchdogs have reported a marked slowdown in connection speeds and service interruptions to applications such as WhatsApp, the Meta-owne
  
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• FDA Wants Safer Cancer Drugs, But Some Startups Fear Unintended Consequences

  30-08-2024 19:25 via science.slashdot.org
  
  For decades drugmakers have taken a more-is-more model when dosing cancer drugs in clinical trials. U.S. regulators want them to reconsider that approach. From a report: Companies with cancer drugs in clinical trials must strike a balance between doses high enough to thwart tumors, but low enough to avoid intolerable side effects. For years, Food and Drug Administration officials have expressed concern that cancer drug doses are often too high, leading to unnecessary side effects.
  An FDA program
  
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• Telegram Founder's Indictment Thrusts Encryption Into the Spotlight

  30-08-2024 18:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: When French prosecutors charged Pavel Durov, the chief executive of the messaging app Telegram, with a litany of criminal offenses on Wednesday, one accusation stood out to Silicon Valley companies. Telegram, French authorities said in a statement, had provided cryptology services aimed at ensuring confidentiality without a license. In other words, the topic of encryption was being thrust into the spotlight.
  The cryptology charge raised eyebrows at U.S. tech
  
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• Google is Developing AI That Can Hear If You're Sick

  30-08-2024 18:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A new AI model being developed by Google could make diagnosing tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments as easy as recording a voice note. From a report: Google is training one of its foundational AI models to listen for signs of disease using sound signals, like coughing, sneezing, and sniffling. This tech, which would work using people's smartphone microphones, could revolutionize diagnoses for communities where advanced diagnostic tools are difficult to come by.
  The tech giant is collabora
  
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• Space Command Shief Says Dialogue With China Too Often a One-Way Street

  30-08-2024 17:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. Space Command chief Gen. Stephen Whiting called for greater transparency from China regarding space debris this week, citing concerns over the recent breakup of a Long March 6A rocket's upper stage. The incident, which occurred after an August 6 satellite launch, scattered over 300 pieces of debris in low-Earth orbit.
  While acknowledging some improvement in U.S.-China military dialogue, Whiting stressed on the need for proactive communication about space junk, ArsTechnica reports. "I hope t
  
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• Space Command Chief Says Dialogue With China Too Often a One-Way Street

  30-08-2024 17:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. Space Command chief Gen. Stephen Whiting called for greater transparency from China regarding space debris this week, citing concerns over the recent breakup of a Long March 6A rocket's upper stage. The incident, which occurred after an August 6 satellite launch, scattered over 300 pieces of debris in low-Earth orbit.
  While acknowledging some improvement in U.S.-China military dialogue, Whiting stressed on the need for proactive communication about space junk, ArsTechnica reports. "I hope t
  
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• Asia's Richest Man Says He Will Give Everyone 100 GB of Free Cloud Storage

  30-08-2024 16:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man and the chairman of Reliance Industries, said this week that his telecom firm will offer users 100 GB of free cloud storage. Oil-to-retail giant Reliance, which is India's most valuable firm by market cap, has upended the telecom market in India by offering free voice calls and dirt-cheap internet access.
  Jio, Reliance's telecom subsidiary, serves 490 million subscribers, more than any rival in India. Jio offers access to at least 2GB of data per day for 14 days
  
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• Meta Strikes Geothermal Energy Deal To Power US Data Centers

  30-08-2024 15:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Facebook owner Meta struck a deal to buy geothermal power from Sage Geosystems to supply its U.S. data centers, it said on Monday, as it races to build out the infrastructure to support its massive investments in energy-hungry artificial intelligence. The first phase of the 150-megawatt project should be operational by 2027 and "significantly" expand the use of geothermal power in the United States, the social media company said. The location has
  
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• AnandTech Shuts Down After 27-Year Run

  30-08-2024 14:35 via news.slashdot.org
  
  AnandTech, a pioneering technology news website, is shutting down after 27 years on August 30, 2024. Founded in 1997 by Anand Lal Shimpi, the site earned a reputation for its in-depth hardware reviews and technical analysis.
  In a final post on the site, AnandTech Editor-in-Chief Ryan Smith cited changing market dynamics for written tech journalism as the primary reason for closure. The site's 21,500 articles will remain accessible indefinitely, hosted by publisher Future PLC. AnandTech's forums
  
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• Lego Plans To Make Half the Plastic In Bricks From Renewable Materials By 2026

  30-08-2024 12:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Lego plans to make half of its bricks from renewable or recycled materials by 2026, with a goal of fully transitioning by 2032. While the company cites higher production costs and challenges with existing materials, it says it's committed to not passing these costs onto consumers. The Guardian reports: The Danish company last year ditched efforts to make bricks entirely from recycled bottles because of cost and production issues. At the moment, 22% of the material in its colourful bricks is not
  
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• Astronomers Back Review of Satellite Swarms Flying Without Environment Checks

  30-08-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Astronomy researchers are urging the FCC to reconsider exempting large constellations of low Earth satellites from environmental reviews due to growing concerns over pollution, safety risks, and the impact on stargazing. They argue that the decades-old exemption is outdated, given the massive increase in satellite launches and potential long-term effects on the ozone, climate, and environment. The Register reports: Astronomers from Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, and Un
  
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• Feds Bust Alaska Man With 10,000+ CSAM Images Despite His Many Encrypted Apps

  30-08-2024 05:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  A recent indictment (PDF) of an Alaska man stands out due to the sophisticated use of multiple encrypted communication tools, privacy-focused apps, and dark web technology. "I've never seen anyone who, when arrested, had three Samsung Galaxy phones filled with 'tens of thousands of videos and images' depicting CSAM, all of it hidden behind a secrecy-focused, password-protected app called 'Calculator Photo Vault,'" writes Ars Technica's Nate Anderson. "Nor have I seen anyone arrested for CSAM hav
  
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• ChatGPT Passes 200 Million Weekly Active Users

  30-08-2024 04:10 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI said that ChatGPT now has more than 200 million weekly active users -- twice as many as last year. Axios reports: OpenAI also said that 92% of Fortune 500 companies are using its products and that usage of its automated API has doubled since the release of GPT-4o mini in July. "People are using our tools now as a part of their daily lives, making a real difference in areas like healthcare and education -- whether it's helping with routine tasks, solving hard problems, or unlocking creativ
  
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• California Passes Bill Requiring Easier Data Sharing Opt Outs

  30-08-2024 03:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Most of the attention today has been focused on California's controversial "kill switch" AI safety bill, which passed the California State Assembly by a 45-11 vote. However, California legislators passed another tech bill this week which requires internet browsers and mobile operating systems to offer a simple tool for consumers to easily opt out of data sharing and selling for targeted advertising. Slashdot reader awwshit shares a report from The Record: The state's Senate passed the landmark l
  
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• Meta Reportedly Plans Ultralight Headset With Tethered Puck For 2027

  30-08-2024 02:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to The Information (paywalled), Meta plans to ship an extremely light mixed reality headset in 2027, codenamed Puffin. It follows a report that the company canceled a high-end headset planned for the same year, which previous reports speculated as being a Quest Pro 2. UploadVR reports: Puffin reportedly resembles "a bulky pair of glasses" and weighs less than 110 grams, yet is an opaque VR-style headset with pancake lenses and passthrough cameras. Its remarkably light weight is apparen
  
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• Spotify Points Finger at Apple Over an Unwelcome Change To Volume Control Tech

  30-08-2024 02:10 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Spotify claims Apple may be again in violation of European regulation, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires interoperability from big technology companies dubbed "gatekeepers." From a report: This time, the issue isn't about in-app purchases, links or pricing information, but rather how Apple has discontinued the technology that allows Spotify users to control the volume on their connected devices.
  When streaming to connected devices via Spotify Connect on iOS, users were previously abl
  
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• Can a YouTube Video Really Fix Your Wet Phone?

  30-08-2024 01:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Every day for the last four years, dozens of people have shown up in the comments of one particular YouTube, declaring their love and appreciation for the content. The content: two minutes and six seconds of deep, low buzzing, the kind that makes your phone vibrate on the table, underscoring a vaguely trippy animation of swirled stained glass. It's not a good video. But it's not meant to be. The video is called "Sound To Remove Water From Phone Speaker ( GUAR
  
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• EmuDeck Enters the Mini PC Market With Linux-Powered 'EmuDeck Machines'

  30-08-2024 00:50 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from overkill.wtf: The team behind popular emulation tool EmuDeck is today announcing something rather special: they've spent the first half of 2024 working on their very first hardware product, called the EmuDeck Machine, and it's due to arrive before the year is out. This EmuDeck Machine is an upcoming, crowdfunded, retro emulation mini PC running Bazzite, a Linux-based system similar to SteamOS. [...] This new EmuDeck Machine comes in two variants, the EM1
  
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• Who Wins From Nature's Genetic Bounty?

  30-08-2024 00:10 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists are harvesting genetic data from microorganisms in a North Yorkshire quarry, fueling a global debate over ownership and profit-sharing of natural genetic resources. Researchers from London-based startup Basecamp Research are collecting samples and digitizing genetic codes for sale to AI companies. This practice of trading digital sequencing information (DSI) has become central to biotechnology research and development. The issue will be a focal point at October's COP16 biodiversity su
  
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