ICT news

• Apple Announces New, Faster iPad Mini Built For Apple Intelligence

  15-10-2024 23:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  In a press release this morning, Apple announced a new iPad Mini with a faster A17 Pro chip that supports Apple Intelligence. The Verge reports: The new Mini is mostly a spec bump: it runs a new A17 Pro chip, which Apple says has a 30 percent faster CPU, 25 percent faster GPU, and a Neural Engine twice as fast as the previous model. The device also supports the new Apple Pencil Pro, which is a nice touch for the Mini-toting artists out there, and comes with 128GB of storage in the base model rat
  
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• Spotify Criticized For Letting Fake Albums Appear On Real Artist Pages

  15-10-2024 22:48 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: This fall, thousands of fake albums were added to Spotify, with some appearing on real artist pages, where they're positioned to lure unsuspecting listeners into streaming by posing as new releases from favorite bands. An Ars reader flagged the issue after finding a fake album on the Spotify page of an UK psych rock band called Gong. The Gong fan knew that the band had begun touring again after a surprise new release last year, but the "late
  
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• FCC Launches Formal Inquiry Into Why Broadband Data Caps Are Terrible

  15-10-2024 22:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The Federal Communications Commission announced that it will open a renewed investigation into broadband data caps and how they impact both consumer experience and company competition. From a report: The FCC is soliciting stories from consumers about their experiences with capped broadband service. The agency also opened a formal Notice of Inquiry to collect public comment that will further inform its actions around broadband data caps. "Restricting consumers' data can cut off small businesses f
  
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• Apple Study Reveals Critical Flaws in AI's Logical Reasoning Abilities

  15-10-2024 21:21 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple's AI research team has uncovered significant weaknesses in the reasoning abilities of large language models, according to a newly published study. MacRumors: The study, published on arXiv [PDF], outlines Apple's evaluation of a range of leading language models, including those from OpenAI, Meta, and other prominent developers, to determine how well these models could handle mathematical reasoning tasks. The findings reveal that even slight changes in the phrasing of questions can cause maj
  
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• More Colleges Set To Close in 2025, Even as 'Ivy Plus' Schools Experience Application Boom

  15-10-2024 20:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Many colleges are under financial pressure, and the cracks are starting to show. From a report: At least 20 colleges closed in 2024, and more are set to shut down after the current academic year, according to the latest tally by Implan, an economic software and analysis company. Altogether, more than 40 colleges have closed since 2020, according to a separate report by Best Colleges.
  As the sticker price at some private colleges nears six figures a year, students have increasingly opted for less
  
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• Google's Chrome Browser Starts Disabling uBlock Origin

  15-10-2024 20:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: If you're a fan of uBlock Origin, don't be surprised if it stops functioning on Chrome. The Google-owned browser has started disabling the free ad blocker as part of the company's plan to phase out older "Manifest V2" extensions. On Tuesday, the developer of uBlock Origin, Raymond Hill, retweeted a screenshot from one user, showing the Chrome browser disabling the ad blocker. "These extensions are no longer supported. Chrome recommends that you remove them,"
  
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• SSD Prices Set To Fall 10% in Q4 as AI PC Demand Lags - TrendForce

  15-10-2024 19:26 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  SSD prices are set to drop up to 10% in Q4 2024, market research firm TrendForce has reported. The decline stems from increased production and weakening demand, particularly in the consumer sector. Enterprise SSD prices, however, may see a slight increase. TrendForce analysts attribute the softer demand partly to slower-than-expected adoption of AI PCs. The mobile storage market could experience even steeper price cuts, with eMMC and UFS components potentially falling 13% as smartphone makers de
  
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• National Archives Pushes Google Gemini AI on Employees

  15-10-2024 18:41 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: In June, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) gave employees a presentation and tech demo called "AI-mazing Tech-venture" in which Google's Gemini AI was presented as a tool archives employees could use to "enhance productivity." During a demo, the AI was queried with questions about the John F. Kennedy assassination, according to a copy of the presentation obtained by 404 Media using a public records request.
  In December, NARA plans t
  
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• Vietnam Plans To Convert All Its Networks To IPv6

  15-10-2024 18:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Vietnam will convert all its networks to IPv6, under a sweeping digital infrastructure strategy announced last week. From a report: The plan emerged in Decision No. 1132/QD-TTg -- signed into existence by permanent deputy prime minister Nguyen Hoa Binh -- and defines goals for 2025 and 2030. By 2025, the nation intends to connect two new submarine cables -- an important local issue.
  Earlier this year, internet speeds slowed when three of the five cables connecting the country broke. Also by 2025
  
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• Cost of Dealing With PFAS Problem Sites 'Frightening', Says Environment Agency

  15-10-2024 17:21 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The number of sites identified as potentially having been polluted with banned cancer-causing "forever chemicals" in England is on the rise, and the Environment Agency (EA) says it does not have the budget to deal with them. From a report: A former RAF airfield in Cambridgeshire and a fire service college in the Cotswolds have joined a chemicals plant in Lancashire and a fire protection equipment supplier in North Yorkshire on the agency's list of "problem sites" for per- and polyfluoroalkyl sub
  
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• India Agrees With Musk in Satellite Spectrum Allocation Row

  15-10-2024 16:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  India announced on Tuesday it would allocate spectrum for satellite services through administrative means rather than auction, a decision that aligns with recent comments by Elon Musk and rebuffs lobbying efforts by the country's largest telecom operators. From a report: Jyotiraditya Scindia, India's Communications Minister, stated on Tuesday evening: "Spectrum for satcomm is shared spectrum, and cannot be auctioned. The administrative allocation of satellite spectrum is practised worldwide."
  Th
  
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• Why OpenAI Is at War With an Obscure Idea Man

  15-10-2024 16:00 via slashdot.org
  
  In a David vs. Goliath legal battle, AI powerhouse OpenAI is squaring off against a little-known entrepreneur who claims he conceived the company's name and mission months before its star-studded launch. Guy Ravine, a self-taught programmer with a history of near-misses in tech, registered the domain open.ai in March 2015. He envisioned a collaborative platform to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity. By year's end, Ravine had pitched his "Open AI" concept to
  
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• Murder Trial Begins For US Tech Consultant Accused In Death of Cash App Founder

  15-10-2024 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC News: The murder trial of a tech consultant in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee begins Monday, a year and a half after the widely admired entrepreneur was found staggering on a deserted downtown San Francisco street seeking help. Lee's death at age 43 stunned the tech community, and fellow executives and engineers penned tributes to his generosity and brilliance. Lee was chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin when he
  
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• Guidance: Framing Software Component Transparency: Establishing a Common Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

  15-10-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, CISA published the Framing Software Component Transparency, created by the Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) Tooling & Implementation Working Group, one of the five SBOM community-driven workstreams facilitated by CISA. CISA’s community-driven working groups publish documents and reports to advance and refine SBOM and ultimately promote adoption. This resource serves as the detailed foundation of SBOM, defining SBOM concepts and related terms and offering an updated ba
  
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• Human Sense of Smell Is Faster Than Previously Thought, New Study Suggests

  15-10-2024 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A new study reveals that the human sense of smell is far more sensitive than previously thought, capable of distinguishing odors and their sequences within just 60 milliseconds. CNN reports: In a single sniff, the human sense of smell can distinguish odors within a fraction of a second, working at a level of sensitivity that is "on par" with how our brains perceive color, "refuting the widely held belief that olfaction is our slow sense," a new study finds. Humans also can discern between variou
  
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• Ward Christensen, BBS Inventor and Architect of Our Online Age, Dies At Age 78

  15-10-2024 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Friday, Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), died at age 78 in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Christensen, along with Randy Suess, created the first BBS in Chicago in 1978, leading to an important cultural era of digital community-building that presaged much of our online world today. Friends and associates remember Christensen as humble and unassuming, a quiet innovator who never sought the spotlight for
  
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• New Passkey Specifications Will Let Users Import and Export Them

  15-10-2024 03:10 via it.slashdot.org
  
  9to5Mac's Filipe Esposito reports: Passkeys were introduced two years ago, and they replace traditional passwords with more secure authentication using a security key or biometrics. To make the technology even better, the FIDO Alliance published on Monday new specifications for passkeys, which ensure a way to let users import and export them. Currently, there's no secure way to move passkeys between different password managers. For example, if you've stored a specific passkey in Apple's Password
  
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• Casio Made a Furry Robot Designed To Cuddle and Calm You Down

  15-10-2024 02:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Casio has opened preorders for Moflin, a cuddly robotic pet that "looks like a cross between a hamster and Star Trek's Tribbles," reports The Verge. The robot is priced at around $400 and is expected to ship on November 7th. From the report: Unlike Sony's robot dog Aibo that can follow you around, Moflin is designed to be held and cuddled, and over time, Casio says it will learn who you are and attempt to develop a simulated bond expressed through unique sounds and movements. Originally develope
  
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• Trees and Land Absorbed Almost No CO2 Last Year

  15-10-2024 02:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Earth's natural carbon sinks -- oceans, forests, and soils -- are increasingly struggling to absorb human carbon emissions as global temperatures rise, raising concerns that achieving net-zero targets may become impossible. "In 2023, the hottest year ever recorded, preliminary findings by an international team of researchers show the amount of carbon absorbed by land has temporarily collapsed," reports The Guardian. "The final result was that forest, plants and soil -- as a net category -- a
  
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• Google Inks Deal With Nuclear Company As Data Center Power Demand Surges

  15-10-2024 01:50 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Google announced it will purchase power from Kairos Power's small modular reactors (SMRs) to support its clean energy goals and data center demands. The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. CNBC reports: There are only three SMRs that are operating in the world, and none in the U.S. The hope is that SMRs are a more cost-effective way to scale up nuclear power. In the past, large, commercial-scale nuclear reactor projects have run over budget and behind schedule, and many hop
  
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• 25% of Adults Suspect Undiagnosed ADHD

  15-10-2024 01:10 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Neuroscience News: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder -- also known as ADHD -- is typically thought of as a childhood condition. But more adults are realizing that their struggles with attention, focus and restlessness could in fact be undiagnosed ADHD, thanks in large part to trending social media videos racking up millions of views. A new national survey of 1,000 American adults commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and C
  
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• Apple Could Release $2,000 'Apple Vision' Headset Next Year

  15-10-2024 00:30 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple is working on a more affordable $2,000 "Apple Vision" spatial computing headset that could be launched as early as next year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. MacRumors reports: The new headset would be a lower-end counterpart to the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, which was released in February. Apple reportedly expects this more affordable model to sell at least twice as many units as the Vision Pro, though "that's not saying much," adds Gurman. Apple will struggle to hit 500,000 Vision Pr
  
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