ICT news

• Cuba Plunged Into an Island Wide Blackout As Power Grid Fails

  18-10-2024 23:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Cuba's power grid failed on Friday, leaving 10 million people without electricity. NPR reports: One of the country's largest power plants, the Antonio Guiteras power plant in the western province of Matanzas, failed shortly before midday on Friday. The failure prompted a total breakdown of Cuba's electrical system. The power outage comes after days of rolling blackouts. Cuba's prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, blamed the problem on deteriorating infrastructure and fuel shortages exacerbated b
  
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• Cheap AI 'Video Scraping' Can Now Extract Data From Any Screen Recording

  18-10-2024 22:55 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Recently, AI researcher Simon Willison wanted to add up his charges from using a cloud service, but the payment values and dates he needed were scattered among a dozen separate emails. Inputting them manually would have been tedious, so he turned to a technique he calls "video scraping," which involves feeding a screen recording video into an AI model, similar to ChatGPT, for data extraction purposes. What he discovered seems simple on its s
  
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• OpenAI's Lead Over Other AI Companies Has Largely Vanished, 'State of AI' Report Finds

  18-10-2024 20:42 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Every year for the past seven, Nathan Benaich, the founder and solo general partner at the early-stage AI investment firm Air Street Capital, has produced a magisterial "State of AI" report. Benaich and his collaborators marshal an impressive array of data to provide a great snapshot of the technology's evolving capabilities, the landscape of companies developing it, a survey of how AI is being deployed, and a critical examination of the challenges still faci
  
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• Some Americans Are Still Using Kaspersky's Antivirus Despite US Government Ban

  18-10-2024 20:06 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: At the end of September, Kaspersky forcibly uninstalled and replaced itself with a new antivirus called UltraAV on the computers of around a million Americans, many of whom were surprised and aghast that they were not asked to give their consent for the change. The move was the end result of the U.S. government ban on all sales of Kaspersky software in the country and -- at least in theory -- marked the end of Kaspersky in America.
  But not everyone in the U.S
  
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• FIDO Alliance Working on Making Passkeys Portable Across Platforms

  18-10-2024 19:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  The FIDO Alliance is developing new specifications to enable secure transfer of passkeys between different password managers and platforms. Announced this week, the initiative is the result of collaboration among members of the FIDO Alliance's Credential Provider Special Interest Group, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, and others. From a report: Passkeys are an industry standard developed by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium, and were integrat
  
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• GPS Jamming Is Screwing With Norwegian Planes

  18-10-2024 18:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: From the ground, northeastern Norway might look like fjord country, peppered with neat red houses and dissected by snowmobile tours through the winter. But for pilots flying above, the region has become a danger zone for GPS jamming. The jamming in the region of Finnmark is so constant, Norwegian authorities decided last month they would no longer log when and where it happens -- accepting these disturbance signals as the new normal.
  Nicolai Gerrard, senior e
  
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• The Government is Getting Fed Up With Ransomware Payments Fueling Endless Cycle of Cyberattacks

  18-10-2024 18:18 via news.slashdot.org
  
  With ransomware attacks surging and 2024 on track to be one of the worst years on record, U.S. officials are seeking ways to counter the threat, in some cases, urging a new approach to ransom payments. From a report: Ann Neuberger, U.S. deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, wrote in a recent Financial Times opinion piece, that insurance policies -- especially those covering ransomware payment reimbursements -- are fueling the very same criminal ecosystems they see
  
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• A Startup Once Valued at $22 Billion is Now Worth Nothing

  18-10-2024 17:24 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Byju Raveendran, the founder of the embattled edtech group Byju's, acknowledged on Thursday afternoon that he made mistakes, mistimed the market, overestimated growth potential and that his startup, once valued at $22 billion, is now effectively worth "zero."
  Speaking to a group of journalists, Raveendran said the company's aggressive acquisition of more than two dozen startups to expand into new markets proved fatal when financing dried up in 2022. Byju's wa
  
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• WP Engine Asks Court To Stop Matt Mullenweg From Blocking Access To WordPress Resources

  18-10-2024 16:48 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  WP Engine has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg, seeking to halt their public campaign and regain access to WordPress resources. The hosting platform claims it's suffering "immediate irreparable harm," including a 14% spike in cancellation requests following Mullenweg's criticism.
  WP Engine alleges the dispute has created anxiety among developers and increased security risks for the WordPress community. The legal action comes after Automatt
  
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• India Plans Laptop Import Curbs To Boost Local Manufacturing

  18-10-2024 16:03 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  India is expected to limit imports of laptops, tablets and personal computers after January, Reuters reported Friday citing government sources, a move to push companies such as Apple to increase domestic manufacturing. From the report: This plan, if implemented, could disrupt an industry worth $8 billion to $10 billion and reshape the dynamics of the IT hardware market in India, which is heavily reliant on imports. A similar plan to restrict imports was withdrawn last year following backlash fro
  
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• Salesforce CEO Benioff Says Microsoft's Copilot Doesn't Work, Doesn't Offer 'Any Level of Accuracy' And Customers Are 'Left Cleaning Up the Mess'

  18-10-2024 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Salesforce founder and chief executive Marc Benioff has doubled down on his criticism of Microsoft's Copilot, the AI-powered tool that can write Word documents, create PowerPoint presentations, analyze Excel spreadsheets and even reply to emails through Outlook. In a post on X, he writes: When you look at how Copilot has been delivered to customers, it's disappointing. It just doesn't work, and it doesn't deliver any level of accuracy. Gartner says it's spilling data everywhere, and customers ar
  
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• Stripe In Talks To Acquire Bridge For $1 Billion

  18-10-2024 12:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Stripe is in talks to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge for a whopping $1 billion, according to Forbes (paypalled). The talks are reportedly in advanced stages, although nothing has been finalized. Bridge, co-founded by Coinbase alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, has built an API that helps companies accept stablecoins. The pair raised $58 million from investors like Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital, according to PitchBook. If the deal with St
  
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• Sam Altman's Worldcoin Rebrands As 'World,' Unveils Next Generation Orb

  18-10-2024 09:00 via slashdot.org
  
  The blockchain-based identity verification company founded by Sam Altman is now called "World." It also unveiled a new version of the "Orb" biometric devices the company uses to scan users' eyes. CoinTelegraph reports: World, as it's now known, also revealed a slew of other updates including a new version of its Orb biometric scanning devices, new options for identity verification and partnership integrations with popular apps including FaceTime, WhatsApp, and Zoom. [...] The new Orb, powered by
  
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• Amazon Indicates Employees Can Quit If They Don't Like Its Return-to-Office Mandate

  18-10-2024 07:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  AWS CEO Matt Garman has harsh words for remote workers: return to the office or quit. TechCrunch: The Amazon executive recently told employees who don't like the new five-day in-person work policy that, "there are other companies around," presumably companies they can work for remotely, Reuters reported on Thursday. Amazon's top boss, Andy Jassy, told employees last month that there will be a full return-to-office starting in 2025, an increase from three days for roughly the last year.Read more
  
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• Trump Says Tim Cook Called Him To Complain About the EU

  18-10-2024 05:30 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Donald Trump said Apple CEO Tim Cook called him to discuss the billions of dollars that Apple has been fined in the European Union. Trump made the statement during his appearance on the PBD Podcast -- and said that he won't let the EU "take advantage" of US companies like Apple if reelected. "Two hours ago, three hours ago, he [Cook] called me," Trump said. "He said the European Union has just fined us $15 billion... Then on top of that, they g
  
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• Adobe's Upcoming Features Include AI Sound Generation and Image Remixing

  18-10-2024 02:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  During its MAX event yesterday, Adobe teased some experimental photo and video editing tools for PhotoShop and Premiere Pro. There are a total of nine features, which include being able to rotate vector images, produce sound effects from text descriptions, and generate images in various shapes and sizes. Engadget reports: [W]e'll start with Project Perfect Blend for PS, which improves natural blending and makes shadow casting more realistic, creating more lifelike images. Project Clean Machine r
  
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• Google's NotebookLM Now Lets You Customize Its AI Podcasts

  18-10-2024 02:10 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google's NotebookLM app has been updated to let you generate custom podcasts from almost any source material. The AI software is also dropping the "experimental" tag. Wired reports: To make an AI podcast using NotebookLM, open up the Google Labs website and start a New Notebook. Then, add any source documents you would like to be used for the audio output. These can be anything from files on your computer to YouTube links. Next, when you click on the Notebook guide, you'll now see the option to
  
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• Fake Google Meet Conference Errors Push Infostealing Malware

  18-10-2024 01:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: A new ClickFix campaign is luring users to fraudulent Google Meet conference pages showing fake connectivity errors that deliver info-stealing malware for Windows and macOS operating systems. ClickFix is a social-engineering tactic that emerged in May, first reported by cybersecurity company Proofpoint, from a threat actor (TA571) that used messages impersonating errors for Google Chrome, Microsoft Word, and OneDrive. The errors prompted
  
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• Google Shifts Gemini App Team To DeepMind

  18-10-2024 01:12 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  In a memo from CEO Sundar Pichai, Google said it is moving the team behind the Gemini app to its AI research lab DeepMind. The shift "will improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of our new models in the Gemini app," said Pichai. Reuters reports: Gemini is Google's most advanced AI technology, developed by DeepMind. The Gemini app is the direct consumer interface to the latest Gemini models. The Gemini app team, led by Sissie Hsiao, will join Google DeepMind under the leadership of its CE
  
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• Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic

  18-10-2024 00:50 via slashdot.org
  
  404 Media journalist and Slashdot contributor samleecole shares a report: After an exodus of employees at Automattic who disagreed with CEO Matt Mullenweg's recently divisive legal battle with WP Engine, he's upped the ante with another buyout offer -- and a threat that employees speaking to the press should "exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance." Earlier this month, Mullenweg posed an "Alignment Offer" to all of his employees: Stand with him through a messy legal drama that's
  
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• Hacker Arrested For the Fake SEC Tweet That Caused a Bitcoin Price Spike

  18-10-2024 00:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The FBI has arrested an Alabama man who is accused of hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission's X account in January. From a report: The indictment alleges that 25-year-old Eric Council Jr. worked with co-conspirators to take control of the account and post a fake message from SEC Chair Gary Gensler about Bitcoin ETFs that caused the price of Bitcoin to jump by more than $1,000 momentarily.
  To carry out this scheme, Council is accused of creating a fake ID using the information belonging
  
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