ICT news

• ISPs Say Their 'Excellent Customer Service' Is Why Users Don't Switch Providers

  26-11-2024 23:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Ars Technica's Jon Brodkin reports: Lobby groups for Internet service providers claim that ISPs' customer service is so good already that the government shouldn't consider any new regulations to mandate improvements. They also claim ISPs face so much competition that market forces require providers to treat their customers well or lose them to competitors. Cable lobby group NCTA-The Internet & Television Association told the Federal Communications Commission in a filing (PDF) that "providing
  
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• Microsoft Denies Using Word and Excel Data To Train AI Models

  26-11-2024 22:45 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has denied claims that it automatically enables data collection from Word and Excel documents to train its AI models. The controversy emerged after cybersecurity expert nixCraft reported that Microsoft's Connected Experiences feature was collecting user data by default. While Microsoft's services agreement grants the company rights to use customer content, officials stated via Twitter that document data is not used for AI training.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Intel's CHIPS Act Funding Cut By Over $600 Million

  26-11-2024 22:01 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Biden administration is reducing Intel's CHIPS Act award by over $600 million, citing a $3 billion military contract the chipmaker was also awarded. Engadget reports: Initially set to receive $8.5 billion from the domestic silicon production bill, the company will get up to $7.85 billion instead. On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Intel has extended some plant openings beyond 2030 government deadlines. Intel posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss last month after announcing 15,000
  
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• Forbes 30 Under 30 Founder Who Sold AI Chatbot To Schools Charged With Fraud

  26-11-2024 21:25 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: The founder of an artificial intelligence start-up focused on education was arrested and charged with defrauding her investors, lying about the company's profits and falsely claiming that some of the largest school districts in the country, including New York City's, were her customers. The founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, started the company, AllHere Education, in 2016, with the goal of using artificial intelligence to increase student
  
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• Anthropic Says Claude AI Can Match Your Unique Writing Style

  26-11-2024 20:45 via slashdot.org
  
  Anthropic is adding a new feature to its Claude AI assistant that will give users more control over how the chatbot responds to different writing tasks. From a report: The new custom styles are available to all Claude AI users, enabling anyone to train it to match their own communication style or select from preset options to quickly adjust the tone and level of detail it provides.
  This update aims to personalize the chatbot's replies and make them feel more natural or appropriate for specific a
  
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• US Senators Propose Law To Require Bare Minimum Security Standards

  26-11-2024 20:05 via it.slashdot.org
  
  American hospitals and healthcare organizations would be required to adopt multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other minimum cybersecurity standards under new legislation proposed by a bipartisan group of US senators. From a report: The Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act of 2024 [PDF], introduced on Friday by US Senators Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), would, among other things, require better coordinat
  
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• Interpol Clamps Down on Cybercrime and Arrests Over 1,000 Suspects in Africa

  26-11-2024 19:31 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Interpol arrested 1,006 suspects in Africa during a massive two-month operation, clamping down on cybercrime that left tens of thousands of victims, including some who were trafficked, and produced millions in financial damages, the global police organization said Tuesday. From a report: Operation Serengeti, a joint operation with Afripol, the African Union's police agency, ran from Sept. 2 to Oct. 31 in 19 African countries and targeted criminals behind ransomware, business email compromise, di
  
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• Google To Test Maps Removal in EU Hotel Search Amid Antitrust Pressure

  26-11-2024 18:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google announced additional modifications to its European search results on Tuesday, following complaints from smaller competitors about traffic losses and amid potential EU antitrust charges under new tech regulations. The changes come as Google attempts to comply with the Digital Markets Act, which prohibits tech giants from favoring their own services and after hotels, airlines, and small retailers reported a 30% decline in direct booking clicks following recent platform adjustments.
  Google's
  
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• USPTO Petitioned To Cancel Oracle's JavaScript Trademark

  26-11-2024 17:41 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Software company Deno Land has filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Oracle's JavaScript trademark, citing trademark abandonment and fraud. The November 22 filing claims Oracle has not sold JavaScript products or services since acquiring the trademark through its 2009 Sun Microsystems purchase. The petition alleges Oracle committed fraud during its 2019 trademark renewal by submitting Node.js website screenshots without authorization.
  The legal action follows a Sep
  
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• Video Game Console Makers Confront Performance Ceiling

  26-11-2024 17:02 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The human eye can't really tell the difference between 4K and 8K resolution. Video game console manufacturers, who have built their businesses selling increasingly powerful machines every few years, are grappling with a future where performance improvements are becoming less dramatic.
  Sony Group launched its PlayStation 5 Pro console in mid-November. The $700 upgraded version of Sony's 2020 gaming machine uses AI to improve games' frame rate while maintaining
  
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• AI Helps Indian Ecommerce Firm Cut Customer Call Costs By 75%

  26-11-2024 16:21 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Softbank-backed online shopping site Meesho has rolled out what it claims is the first GenAI-powered voice bot among Indian e-commerce firms for customer support, paring down some expenses by 75%. Meesho has more than 160 million customers in India, with 80% of them in smaller cities, towns and villages.
  [...] The Bengaluru-based e-commerce startup said Tuesday its AI bot currently handles 60,000 customer calls daily in English and Hindi. The startup, which a
  
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• Brazil Rules Apple Must Lift Restrictions On In-App Payments

  26-11-2024 15:41 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade said this week that Apple must lift restrictions on payment methods for in-app purchases, among other things, as the watchdog moved to proceed with an investigation into a complaint filed by Latin America e-commerce giant MercadoLibre. From a report: MercadoLibre's complaint, filed in 2022 in Brazil and Mexico, accused Apple of imposing a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases, including banning apps from distributing t
  
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• Stanford Research Reveals 9.5% of Software Engineers 'Do Virtually Nothing'

  26-11-2024 15:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  A Stanford study of over 50,000 software engineers across hundreds of companies has found that approximately 9.5% of engineers perform minimal work while drawing full salaries, potentially costing tech companies billions annually.
  The research showed the issue is most prevalent in remote work settings, where 14% of engineers were classified as "ghost engineers" compared to 6% of office-based staff. The study evaluated productivity through analysis of private Git repositories and simulated expert
  
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• Blue Yonder Ransomware Attack Disrupts Grocery Store Supply Chain

  26-11-2024 14:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Blue Yonder, a Panasonic subsidiary specializing in AI-driven supply chain solutions, experienced a recent ransomware attack that impacted many of its customers. "Among its 3,000 customers are high-profile organizations like DHL, Renault, Bayer, Morrisons, Nestle, 3M, Tesco, Starbucks, Ace Hardware, Procter & Gamble, Sainsbury, and 7-Eleven," reports BleepingComputer. From the report: On Friday, the company warned that it was experiencing disruptions to its managed services hosting environme
  
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• US To Reportedly Sanction 200 More Chinese Chip Firms

  26-11-2024 11:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. is preparing to impose new sanctions targeting 200 Chinese chipmakers and potentially restricting the export of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). The move is intended to further hinder China's semiconductor and AI advancements. Tom's Hardware reports: The update sheds light on the Biden administration's recent efforts to impose stricter regulations on chip manufacturers in China. The latest swarm of sanctions reportedly targets roughly 200 Chinese firms. US companies are prohibited from expo
  
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• Earth's 'Mini Moon' May Have Been a Chunk of Our Actual Moon

  26-11-2024 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An asteroid named 2024 PT5, recently exhibiting "mini moon" behavior around Earth, may have been a boulder that was blasted off the moon by an impacting, crater-forming asteroid," reports the Associated Press. The 33-foot space rock is expected to pass safely near Earth in January, when it will be closely observed. From the report: While not technically a moon -- NASA stresses it was never captured by Earth's gravity and fully in orbit -- it's "an interesting object" worthy of study. The astroph
  
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• Pokemon Fan Learns To Code In Order To Archive TCG

  26-11-2024 04:30 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TheGamer: With thousands of cards available in Pokemon's "Pokemon Trading Card Game," it can be hard to remember what is what. After all, since first debuting in the mid 1990s to coincide with the games of the same name, the popular collectible has been going strong ever since, with new releases constantly filling store shelves. That said, one avid Pokemon fan took it upon themselves to archive the card game's unique artwork. After hundreds of hours of wo
  
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• Microsoft Shuttering Dedicated Licensing Education, Certification Site

  26-11-2024 02:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft is retiring its "Get Licensing Ready" website, a resource for software licensing education. Going forward, content licensing will be located at microsoft.com/licensing. The Register also notes Microsoft's plans to enhance learning with AI tools, though specifics for licensing applications remain unclear. From the report: Software licensing is notoriously labyrinthine, so resources like the site Microsoft will close -- Get Licensing Ready -- can be very handy. Today, the site offers ove
  
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• Senator Introduces Bill To Compel More Transparency From AI Developers

  26-11-2024 02:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  A new bill introduced by Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt) aims to make it easier for human creators to find out if their work was used without permission to train artificial intelligence. NBC News reports: The Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act would enable copyright holders to subpoena training records of generative AI models, if the holder can declare a "good faith belief" that their work was used to train the model. The developers would only need to reveal
  
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• Google's iOS App Now Injects Links On Third-Party Websites That Go Back To Search

  26-11-2024 01:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  9to5Google's Ben Schoon reports: Google has introduced a new feature on iOS that injects links on third-party websites that take users back to Google Search. Recently, Google announced new "Page Annotations" within the Google app on iOS. This feature, as Google explains, "extracts interesting entities from the webpage and highlights them in line." Effectively, it creates links on a website that you've opened through Google's browser that the website's owner did not put there. The links, when cli
  
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• Supreme Court Wants US Input On Whether ISPs Should Be Liable For Users' Piracy

  26-11-2024 00:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Supreme Court signaled it may take up a case that could determine whether Internet service providers must terminate users who are accused of copyright infringement. In an order (PDF) issued today, the court invited the Department of Justice's solicitor general to file a brief "expressing the views of the United States."In Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications, the major record labels argue that cable provider Cox should be held
  
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