ICT news

• Qualcomm Brings Laptop-Class CPU Cores To Phones With Snapdragon 8 Elite

  22-10-2024 23:20 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Qualcomm has a new chip for flagship phones, and the best part is that it uses an improved version of the Oryon CPU architecture that the Snapdragon X Elite chips brought to Windows PCs earlier this year. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the follow-up to last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 -- yet another change to the naming convention that Qualcomm uses for its high-end phone chips, though, as usual, the number 8 is still involved. The 8 Elite uses a "
  
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• Comic Sans Got the Last Laugh

  22-10-2024 22:41 via science.slashdot.org
  
  On July 4, 2012, CERN physicist Fabiola Gianotti announced a major quantum field theory discovery using a PowerPoint presentation in Comic Sans, sparking both mockery and debate. The font, created by Vincent Connare for Microsoft Bob in 1994, featured deliberately imperfect letters inspired by comic books. Comic Sans shipped with Windows 95 and exploded in popularity as personal computing democratized typography. A backlash emerged as the font appeared on everything from funeral notices to museu
  
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• More Than 10,500 Artists Unite in Fight Against AI Companies' 'Unjust' Use of Creative Works

  22-10-2024 22:03 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  More than 10,500 artists and creators -- including ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus, actress Julianne Moore, actors Kevin Bacon and F. Murray Abraham, as well as former Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon, author James Patterson and Radiohead's Thom Yorke -- signed a statement condemning AI companies' unauthorized use of creative works for training their models. The initiative, led by former AI executive Ed Newton-Rex, demands an end to unlicensed training data collection amid mounting legal challenges a
  
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• UK Considers New Smartphone Bans for Children

  22-10-2024 21:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The UK parliament is considering clamping down on how young people use smartphones. A bill brought forward by a Labour member of parliament proposes both banning phones in schools and raising the age at which children can consent to social media companies using their data. Wired: Calls for smartphone bans have been growing in the UK, driven by fears that the devices are driving a decline in kids' mental health and ability to focus. Smartphone Free Childhood, a prominent pressure group inspired b
  
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• Netflix Closes AAA Game Studio Before It Ever Released a Game

  22-10-2024 20:48 via games.slashdot.org
  
  The first cracks are starting to show in Netflix's push into gaming. The Verge: First reported in Game File and confirmed by Netflix, the streaming company has quietly closed of one of its studios, the first in the three years since the company began its foray into gaming.
  According to Game File, the shuttered studio was known as Blue. In 2022, Netflix announced it hired former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny to run the studio. Since then, Blue had brought on a number of game industry
  
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• EVs Are Just Going To Win

  22-10-2024 20:10 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a post: EVs are still winning. But they haven't won yet; only 4% of the global passenger car fleet, 23% of the bus fleet, and less than 1% of delivery trucks are electrified.
  But at this point I think the writing is on the wall. The phenomenon of a superior technology displacing an older, inferior technology is not uncommon, and it generally looks like the EV transition is looking now. When a new technology passes a 5% adoption rate, it almost never turns out to be inf
  
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• 'Operating in the Stone Age': NHS Staff's Daily Struggle With Outdated Tech

  22-10-2024 19:22 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Financial Times: In the paediatric centre at one of London's largest hospitals, doctors are confounded each day by a ward computer that is not connected to a printer. The computer is used for managing the daily list of patients. Doctors can only access and update the list, using one shared account. So twice a day, two doctors on the ward said one of them had to log in to this computer, update the patient list, send the list to themselves via NHS email, and then log in to another nearby compu
  
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• FTC's Rule Banning Fake Online Reviews Goes Into Effect

  22-10-2024 18:45 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect. The Federal Trade Commission issued the rule in August banning the sale or purchase of online reviews. The rule, which went into effect Monday, allows the agency to seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it. AP: "Fake reviews not only waste people's time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors," FTC Chair Lina Khan said about the rule in August. She added that the r
  
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• Anthropic's AI Model Gains Computer Control in New Upgrade

  22-10-2024 18:08 via slashdot.org
  
  Anthropic has released an upgraded version of its AI model Claude 3.5 Sonnet and announced a new model, Claude 3.5 Haiku, alongside a public beta feature enabling AI to operate computers like humans. The enhanced Sonnet model improved its coding capabilities, scoring 49% on the SWEbench Verified benchmark, surpassing OpenAI and other competitors. The Haiku model matches the performance of Anthropic's previous flagship Claude 3 Opus while maintaining lower costs and faster speeds.
  The computer us
  
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• Democrats Press For Criminal Charges Against Tax Prep Firms Over Data Sharing

  22-10-2024 17:22 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal and Representative Katie Porter are demanding the Justice Department prosecute tax preparation companies for allegedly sharing sensitive taxpayer data with Meta and Google through tracking pixels. The lawmakers' call follows a Treasury Inspector General audit confirming their earlier investigation into TaxSlayer, H&R Block, and Tax Act. The audit found multiple companies failed to properly obtain consent before sharing tax r
  
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• If You Want Your Company's Stock To Go Up, Hire Wonkier IT People

  22-10-2024 16:48 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Companies hiring specialized AI talent are seeing better stock market returns, according to new Barclays research. Analysis shows firms with higher ratios of specialized AI roles to general IT positions outperformed the market, with the top quintile returning 31.78% since October 2023, beating the S&P 500 Equal Weighted index. The findings suggest that targeted recruitment of "wonky IT people" with specific skills in natural language processing, computer vision, and specialized frameworks li
  
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• Encrypted Chat App 'Session' Leaves Australia After Visit From Police

  22-10-2024 16:02 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Session, a small but increasingly popular encrypted messaging app, is moving its operations outside of Australia after the country's federal law enforcement agency visited an employee's residence and asked them questions about the app and a particular user. 404 Media reports: Now Session will be maintained by an entity in Switzerland. The move signals the increasing pressure on maintainers of encrypted messaging apps, both when it comes to governments seeking more data on app users, as well as t
  
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• Over 6,000 WordPress Hacked To Install Plugins Pushing Infostealers

  22-10-2024 12:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  WordPress sites are being compromised through malicious plugins that display fake software updates and error messages, leading to the installation of information-stealing malware. BleepingComputer reports: Since 2023, a malicious campaign called ClearFake has been used to display fake web browser update banners on compromised websites that distribute information-stealing malware. In 2024, a new campaign called ClickFix was introduced that shares many similarities with ClearFake but instead prete
  
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• NASA Further Delays First Operational Starliner Flight

  22-10-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  NASA will rely on SpaceX's Crew Dragon for two crewed missions to the ISS in 2025 while evaluating whether Boeing's Starliner requires another test flight for certification. SpaceNews reports: In an Oct. 15 statement, NASA said it will use Crew Dragon for both the Crew-10 mission to the ISS, scheduled for no earlier than February 2025, and the Crew-11 mission scheduled for no earlier than July. Crew-10 will fly NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers along with astronaut Takuya Onishi fro
  
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• Basecamp-Maker 37Signals Says Its 'Cloud Exit' Will Save It $10 Million Over 5 Years

  22-10-2024 05:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: 37Signals is not a company that makes its policy or management decisions quietly. The productivity software company was an avowedly Mac-centric shop until Apple's move to kill home screen web apps (or Progressive Web Apps, or PWAs) led the firm and its very-public-facing co-founder, David Heinemeier Hansson, to declare a "Return to Windows," followed by a stew of Windows/Mac/Linux. The company waged a public battle with Apple over its App St
  
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• Amazon Ditches Plastic Air Pillows

  22-10-2024 04:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Amazon has reached its goal set earlier this year to completely get rid of plastic air pillows at its warehouses by the end of the year. "As of October 2024, we've removed all plastic air pillows from our delivery packaging used at our global fulfillment centers," the e-commerce giant said in an October 9th blog post. The Verge reports: It's a welcome change following years of pressure from environmental groups to stop plastic pollution flooding into oceans. The company is still working to reduc
  
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• One-Third of DHS's Border Surveillance Cameras Are Broken, Memo Says

  22-10-2024 03:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to an internal Border Patrol memo, nearly one-third of the surveillance cameras along the U.S.-Mexico border don't work. "The nationwide issue is having significant impacts on [Border Patrol] operations," reads the memo. NBC News reports: The large-scale outage affects roughly 150 of the 500 cameras perched on surveillance towers along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was due to "several technical problems," according to the memo. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to dis
  
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• TikTok Owner Sacks Intern For Sabotaging AI Project

  22-10-2024 02:50 via slashdot.org
  
  TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, fired an intern for "maliciously interfering" with the training of one of its AI models. However, the firm "rejected claims about the extent of the damage caused by the unnamed individual, saying they 'contain some exaggerations and inaccuracies,'" reports the BBC. From the report: The Chinese technology giant's Doubao ChatGPT-like generative AI model is the country's most popular AI chatbot. "The individual was an intern with the [advertising] technology team
  
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• T-Mobile, AT&T Oppose Unlocking Rule, Claim Locked Phones Are Good For Users

  22-10-2024 02:02 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader writes: T-Mobile and AT&T say US regulators should drop a plan to require unlocking of phones within 60 days of activation, claiming that locking phones to a carrier's network makes it possible to provide cheaper handsets to consumers. "If the Commission mandates a uniform unlocking policy, it is consumers -- not providers -- who stand to lose the most," T-Mobile alleged in an October 17 filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The proposed rule has support from
  
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• Disney To Name Bob Iger's Successor In Early 2026

  22-10-2024 01:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Disney has appointed former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman to replace Nike Executive Chairman Mark Parker as board chairman starting in January 2024, "as the media giant lays the groundwork to name a successor for CEO Bob Iger in early 2026," reports CNBC. Iger's contract has been extended until the end of 2026 to ensure the company finds the right fit. CNBC reports: Gorman joined Disney's board less than a year ago and was named the head of the succession planning committee in August. He will
  
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• iFixit's Meta Quest 3S Teardown Reveals a Quest 2 'Hiding Inside'

  22-10-2024 00:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  In a new teardown video published last week, iFixit reveals a Quest 2 headset "hiding inside" the cheaper yet enhanced Quest 3S. The Verge reports: The first hint of that is the headset's Fresnel lenses, which iFixit's Shahram Mokhtari writes in a blog post are "100% compatible" with those used by the Quest 2. The headset has the older headset's IPD adjustment mechanism, as well; and it shares the same single LCD panel, rather than using one panel per eye, like the Meta Quest 3.Legacy parts asid
  
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• 'Blade Runner 2049' Producer Sues Tesla, Warner Bros. Discovery

  22-10-2024 00:04 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Hollywood Reporter: A production company for Blade Runner 2049 has sued (PDF) Tesla, which allegedly fed images from the movie into an artificial intelligence image generator to create unlicensed promotional materials. Alcon Entertainment, in a lawsuit filed Monday in California federal court, accuses Elon Musk and his autonomous vehicle company of misappropriating the movie's brand to promote its robotaxi at a glitzy unveiling earlier this month. The
  
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