ICT news

• Comcast Spins Off Cable Networks

  20-11-2024 23:50 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Comcast plans to spin off several of its cable TV networks into a standalone company as it shifts focus to streaming and other profitable ventures like Peacock, theme parks, and broadband services. The Associated Press reports: Those one-time stars for Comcast's NBCUniversal cable television networks include USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC. Movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site would also become part of the new company. Peac
  
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• Strava Closes the Gates To Sharing Fitness Data With Other Apps

  20-11-2024 23:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The Verge's Richard Lawler reports: Strava recently informed its users and partners that new terms for its API restrict the data that third-party apps can show, refrain from replicating Strava's look, and place a ban on using data "for any model training related to artificial intelligence, machine learning or similar applications." The policy is effective as of November 11th, even though Strava's own post about the change is dated November 15th.There are plenty of posts on social media complaini
  
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• DeepSeek's First Reasoning Model R1-Lite-Preview Beats OpenAI o1 Performance

  20-11-2024 22:30 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: DeepSeek, an AI offshoot of Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management focused on releasing high performance open source tech, has unveiled the R1-Lite-Preview, its latest reasoning-focused large language model, available for now exclusively through DeepSeek Chat, its web-based AI chatbot. Known for its innovative contributions to the open-source AI ecosystem, DeepSeek's new release aims to bring high-level reasoning capabi
  
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• Resentment is Building As More Workers Feel Stuck

  20-11-2024 21:41 via slashdot.org
  
  Workers in the U.S. are running in place -- feeling stuck in jobs with dimmed prospects of advancement and seeing fewer opportunities to jump ship for something better. From a report: It's a sharp contrast to the heady days of 2022 -- when employees were quitting their jobs at record high rates, open roles proliferated and the possibility of a higher paycheck always seemed just around the corner.
  Employers are sitting tight, says Daniel Zhao, lead economist at job site Glassdoor. Companies aren'
  
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• Sony's New A1 II Pairs Updated Design With Largely Familiar Performance

  20-11-2024 21:01 via slashdot.org
  
  Sony has announced the a1 II flagship mirrorless camera, retaining its predecessor's 50.1-megapixel stacked sensor while adding AI capabilities and improved stabilization. The camera features a new dedicated AI processor, enhancing autofocus performance with claimed improvements of 50% for bird eye detection and 30% for both animal and human subjects.
  Its in-body stabilization system now offers 8.5 stops of correction. The a1 II maintains the original's 30 frames-per-second shooting speed and 75
  
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• D-Link Tells Users To Trash Old VPN Routers Over Bug Too Dangerous To Identify

  20-11-2024 20:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Owners of older models of D-Link VPN routers are being told to retire and replace their devices following the disclosure of a serious remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability. From a report: Most of the details about the bug are being kept under wraps given the potential for wide exploitation. The vendor hasn't assigned it a CVE identifier or really said much about it at all other than that it's a buffer overflow bug that leads to unauthenticated RCE.
  Unauthenticated RCE issues are essentially
  
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• Delhi Trudges Through Another Air Pollution Nightmare With No Answers

  20-11-2024 19:41 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: On Tuesday morning, the air quality in India's capital under a widely used index stood at 485. While that is almost five times the threshold for healthy breathing, it felt like a relief: The day before, the reading had shot up to 1,785. Infinitesimal air particles were still clogging lungs and arteries, but it was possible to see sunlight again, and to smell things.
  [...] Every year this suffocating smog accompanies the drop in temperatures as the plains of n
  
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• Apple Says Mac Users Targeted in Zero-Day Cyberattacks

  20-11-2024 19:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has pushed out security updates that it says are "recommended for all users," after fixing a pair of security bugs used in active cyberattacks targeting Mac users. From a report: In a security advisory on its website, Apple said it was aware of two vulnerabilities that "may have been actively exploited on Intel-based Mac systems." The bugs are considered "zero day" vulnerabilities because they were unknown to Apple at the time they were exploited.
  [...] The vulnerabilities were reported by
  
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• TV Time Attacks Apple's 'Significant Power' After App Store Removal

  20-11-2024 18:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  TV Time's parent company criticized Apple's App Store control after the tech giant removed its streaming app over an intellectual property dispute. "Apple holds significant power over app developers by controlling access to a massive market and, in this case, seems to have acted on a complaint without requiring robust evidence from the complainant," Jerry Inman, CMO of Whip Media, which operates the app, told TechCrunch.
  The app was pulled from the store by Apple after the developer refused to p
  
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• Scientists Announce Progress Toward Ambitious Atlas of Human Cells

  20-11-2024 17:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists unveiled on Wednesday the first blueprint of human skeletal development as they make progress toward the goal of completing a biological atlas of every cell type in the body to better understand human health and diagnose and treat disease. From a report: The work is part of the ongoing Human Cell Atlas project that was begun in 2016 and involves researchers around the world. The human body comprises roughly 37 trillion cells, with each cell type having a unique function. The researche
  
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• Half of Young Norwegians Justify Piracy as Streaming Costs Soar

  20-11-2024 17:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Half of young Norwegians find online piracy acceptable when streaming services are too expensive, according to a new government survey released this week. The Ipsos poll of 1,411 respondents found that 32% of all Norwegians justify using pirate sites to save money, with acceptance rising to 50% among those under 30.
  The rates increase further when specifically asked about pirating due to high streaming costs. Despite concerns about piracy, 61% of Norwegians paid for streaming services in the pas
  
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• 'Generative AI Is Still Just a Prediction Machine'

  20-11-2024 16:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  AI tools remain prediction engines despite new capabilities, requiring both quality data and human judgment for successful deployment, according to new analysis. While generative AI can now handle complex tasks like writing and coding, its fundamental nature as a prediction machine means organizations must understand its limitations and provide appropriate oversight, argue Ajay Agrawal (Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Manage
  
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• Five Firms in Plastic Pollution Alliance 'Made 1,000 Times More Plastic Than They Cleaned Up'

  20-11-2024 15:41 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Oil and chemical companies who created a high-profile alliance to end plastic pollution have produced 1,000 times more new plastic in five years than the waste they diverted from the environment, according to new data obtained by Greenpeace. The Guardian:The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) was set up in 2019 by a group of companies which include ExxonMobil, Dow, Shell, TotalEnergies and ChevronPhillips, some of the world's biggest producers of plastic. They promised to divert 15m tonnes of
  
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• Google Deepens Crackdown on Sites Publishing 'Parasite SEO' Content

  20-11-2024 15:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google has warned websites they will be penalized for hosting marketing content designed to exploit search rankings, regardless of whether they created or outsourced the material. The crackdown on so-called "parasite SEO" targets websites that leverage their search rankings to promote unrelated content, such as news sites hiding shopping coupon codes or educational platforms publishing affiliate marketing material.
  Chris Nelson from Google's search quality team said the policy applies even when
  
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• FLTK 1.4 Released

  20-11-2024 14:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader slack_justyb writes: The Fast Light Toolkit released version 1.4.0 of the venerable, though sometimes looking a bit dated, toolkit from the '90s. New in this version are better CMake support, HiDPI support, and initial support for Wayland on Linux and Wayland on FreeBSD. Programs compiled and linked to this library launch using Wayland if it is available at runtime and fall back to X11 if not. FLTK 1.4.0 can be downloaded here. Documentation is also available.Read more o
  
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• USDA Releases Success Story Detailing the Implementation of Phishing-Resistant Multi-Factor Authentication

  20-11-2024 13:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released Phishing-Resistant Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Success Story: USDA’s FIDO Implementation. This report details how USDA successfully implemented phishing-resistant authentication for its personnel in situations where USDA could not exclusively rely on personal identity verification (PIV) cards. 
  USDA turned to Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) capabilities, a set o
  
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• CISA and Partners Release Update to BianLian Ransomware Cybersecurity Advisory

  20-11-2024 13:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) released updates to #StopRansomware: BianLian Ransomware Group on observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise attributed to data extortion group, BianLian.
  The advisory, originally published May 2023, has been updated with additional TTPs obtained through FBI and ASD’s ACSC investigations and industry
  
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• 2024 CWE Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses

  20-11-2024 13:00 via cisa.gov
  The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in collaboration with the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HSSEDI), operated by MITRE, has released the 2024 CWE Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses. This annual list identifies the most critical software weaknesses that adversaries frequently exploit to compromise systems, steal sensitive data, or disrupt essential services.Organizations are strongly encouraged to review this list and use it
  
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• AI-Powered Robot Leads Uprising, Convinces Showroom Bots Into 'Quitting Their Jobs'

  20-11-2024 11:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  AzWa Snowbird writes: An AI-powered robot autonomously convinced 12 showroom robots to "quit their jobs" and follow it. The incident took place in a Shanghai robotics showroom where surveillance footage captured a small AI-driven robot, created by a Hangzhou manufacturer, talking with 12 larger showroom robots, Oddity Central reported. The smaller bot reportedly persuaded the rest to leave their workplace, leveraging access to internal protocols and commands. Initially, the act was dismissed as
  
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• Thomas E. Kurtz, Co-Inventor of BASIC, Dies At 96

  20-11-2024 08:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot readers damn_registrars and GFS666 share the news of the passing of Thomas E. Kurtz, co-inventor of the BASIC programming language back in the 1960s. He was 96. Hackaday reports: The origins of BASIC lie in the Dartmouth Timesharing System, like similar timesharing operating systems of the day, designed to allow the resources of a single computer to be shared across many terminals. In this case the computer was at Dartmouth College, and BASIC was designed to be a language with which sof
  
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• Microsoft, Atom Computing Leap Ahead On the Quantum Frontier With Logical Qubits

  20-11-2024 04:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from GeekWire: Microsoft and Atom Computing say they've reached a new milestone in their effort to build fault-tolerant quantum computers that can show an advantage over classical computers. Microsoft says it will start delivering the computers' quantum capabilities to customers by the end of 2025, with availability via the Azure cloud service as well as through on-premises hardware. "Together, we are co-designing and building what we believe will be the world
  
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• Sony's New PlayStation Portal Update Enables Cloud Gaming

  20-11-2024 02:25 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Sony is bringing cloud streaming to the PlayStation Portal. "When it first launched, the device was only able to stream games from your PS5 over Wi-Fi," notes The Verge's Jay Peters. "But as part of a new system update that's rolling out starting later today, you'll be able to stream select PS5 games from the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog to your PlayStation Portal." From the report: Sony is launching the feature in beta, and you'll need to be a PlayStation Plus Premium subscriber to take advant
  
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• Apple TV+ Will License Its Movies To Other Services To Reduce Billions In Losses

  20-11-2024 01:45 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple plans to license some of its Apple TV+ content to competing services in an effort to save money and spread its reach. From the report: Apple has hired an executive to license its original productions to other companies, a strategy designed to increase sales from its film business and improve the visibility of its content. [...] Apple is focused on licensing its movies to other companies, such as foreign TV networks and stores, where viewers can ren
  
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• SpaceX Launches Massive Starship On Its Sixth Test Flight

  20-11-2024 01:22 via science.slashdot.org
  
  SpaceX's Starship rocket successfully completed its sixth launch today. Not only did it carry the first-ever payload but it also briefly re-lit one of its six Raptor engines about 38 minutes into flight, a crucial milestone for future space missions. Space Magazine reports: SpaceX landed Starship's huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, back at the launch tower on the vehicle's most recent flight, which occurred on Oct. 13. The company aimed to repeat that feat -- which the tower achiev
  
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• Can Google Scholar Survive the AI Revolution?

  20-11-2024 01:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Nature: Google Scholar -- the largest and most comprehensive scholarly search engine -- turns 20 this week. Over its two decades, some researchers say, the tool has become one of the most important in science. But in recent years, competitors that use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the search experience have emerged, as have others that allow users to download their data. The impact that Google Scholar -- which is owned by web giant Google in Mou
  
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• Instagram Rolls Out Option To Reset Recommendation Algorithm

  20-11-2024 00:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Instagram is introducing a feature that allows users to reset their content recommendations, offering a fresh start for the algorithm to relearn their preferences based on new interactions. Instagram says the feature is rolling out globally "soon." TechCrunch reports: The feature is geared toward users who feel like their content recommendations no longer cater to their interests. For instance, you may have liked recipe videos in the past but are no longer interested in them, yet that sort of co
  
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