ICT news

• Most iPhone Owners See Little To No Value In Apple Intelligence

  16-12-2024 23:20 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Mac: A new survey suggests that Apple Intelligence matters to iPhone buyers, but the majority say that the initial features add little to no value. It remains to be seen whether Genmoji and ChatGPT integration will change that view. Things are even worse for Samsung smartphones, with an even greater majority of owners saying they can't see much point in the AI features offeredA new survey by tech trade-in site SellCell found that AI is an important fa
  
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• More Than a Million Vapes a Day in UK Thrown Away, Says Research

  16-12-2024 22:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Thirteen vapes are thrown away every second in the UK -- more than a million a day -- leading to an "environmental nightmare," according to research. From a report: There has also been a rise in "big puff" vapes which are bigger and can hold up to 6,000 puffs per vape, with single use vapes averaging 600. Three million of these larger vapes are being bought every week according to the research, commissioned by Material Focus, and conducted by Opinium. 8.2 million vapes are now thrown away or rec
  
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• To Log Into WordPress, You Now Have To Agree Pineapple on Pizza Is Good

  16-12-2024 22:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  WordPress co-founder and CEO of Automattic Matt Mullenweg is trolling contributors and users of the WordPress open-source project by requiring them to check a box that says "Pineapple is delicious on pizza." From a report: The change was spotted by WordPress contributors late Sunday, and is still up as of Monday morning. Trying to log in or create a new account without checking the box returns a "please try again" error.
  Last week, as part of the ongoing legal battle between WP Engine and Automa
  
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• Google DeepMind Unveils a New Video Model To Rival Sora

  16-12-2024 21:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Google DeepMind announced a next-gen video-generating AI tool to rival OpenAI's Sora. Called Veo 2, it can generate AI video clips longer than two minutes with resolutions up to 4K (4096 x 2160). TechCrunch reports: In Google's experimental video creation tool, VideoFX, where Veo 2 is now exclusively available, videos are capped at 720p and eight seconds in length. (Sora can produce up to 1080p, 20-second-long clips.) VideoFX is behind a waitlist, but Google says it's expanding the number of use
  
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• AI Helps ID Paint Chemistry of Berlin Wall Murals

  16-12-2024 20:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 was a seminal moment in 20th century history, paving the way for German reunification. Many segments, both large and small, were preserved for posterity -- including portions covered in graffiti or murals. A team of Italian scientists used a combination of spectroscopic analysis and machine learning to study paint chips from wall fragments to learn more about the chemistry of the paints and pigmen
  
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• EU Signs $1 Billion Deal For Sovereign Satellite Constellation To Rival Starlink

  16-12-2024 20:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The European Union is forging ahead with plans for a constellation of internet satellites to rival Elon Musk-owned Starlink, after signing a $11.1 billion deal to launch nearly 300 satellites into low- and medium-Earth orbits by 2030. The bloc wants the space tech to boost its digital sovereignty by providing secure comms to governments.First announced in 2022, Iris^2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite)
  
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• BlackBerry Sells Cylance For $160M, a Fraction of the $1.4B It Paid in 2018

  16-12-2024 17:45 via slashdot.org
  
  Arctic Wolf has acquired Cylance, BlackBerry's beleaguered cybersecurity business, for $160 million -- a significant discount from the $1.4 billion BlackBerry paid to acquire the startup in 2018. From a report: Under the terms of the deal, which is expected to close in BlackBerry's fiscal Q4, BlackBerry will sell its Cylance assets to Arctic Wolf for $160 million in cash. BlackBerry will get ~$80 million at closing and the rest of the tranche a year later, along with roughly 5.5 million common s
  
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• Now ChromeOS Can Reset Itself Without Erasing Your Laptop

  16-12-2024 17:12 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Google announced it's rolling out ChromeOS M131 to non-beta users, bringing with it a handy "Safety reset" feature that lets Chromebook users reset their laptops without totally wiping them. The update also introduced a new "Flash notifications" accessibility option to help those who might not otherwise easily hear or see them.
  Like Powerwash in ChromeOS, Safety reset will wipe the slate clean if you're experiencing computer virus-like behavior such as unusua
  
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• Apple Plans Thinner, Foldable iPhones To Revive Growth

  16-12-2024 16:31 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple is preparing a series of major design and format changes to its lineup of iPhones and potentially other products, according to WSJ, a bid to revive growth after years of offering largely incremental upgrades. From the report: Starting next year, Apple plans to introduce an iPhone that will be thinner than the approximately 8-millimeter profile of current models, said people familiar with the company's plans. The model is intended to be cheaper than Pro models, with a simplified camera syst
  
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• SoftBank Chief And Trump To Unveil $100 Billion US Investment Plan

  16-12-2024 15:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son will announce a $100 billion investment in the U.S. over the next four years during a Monday visit to President-elect Donald Trump's residence Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC's Sara Eisen.
  The billionaire investor and founder of the Japanese tech-investing firm will also promise in the joint announcement with Trump to create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and related inf
  
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• Are Adults Forgetting How To Read?

  16-12-2024 15:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  One in five adults in developed nations demonstrate primary school-level literacy and numeracy skills, according to an OECD study of 160,000 people across 31 countries released December 10. The decennial Survey of Adult Skills reveals declining literacy rates over the past decade despite rising secondary education completion.
  Finland topped rankings across all tested areas -- numeracy, literacy, and problem-solving -- while Japan, Norway and the Netherlands performed above average. The United St
  
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• Bill Gates Recommends Four Books That 'Make Sense of the World'

  16-12-2024 13:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  This month Bill Gates recommended four books about making sense of the world, including The Coming Wave, by Mustafa Suleyman. Gates calls it "the book I recommend more than any other on AI — to heads of state, business leaders, and anyone else who asks — because it offers something rare: a clear-eyed view of both the extraordinary opportunities and genuine risks ahead."After helping build DeepMind from a small startup into one of the most important AI companies of the past decade, [S
  
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• CISA Requests Public Comment for Draft National Cyber Incident Response Plan Update

  16-12-2024 13:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, CISA—through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative and in coordination with the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD)—released the National Cyber Incident Response Plan Update Public Comment Draft. The draft requests public comment on the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP)—public comment period begins today and concludes on January 15, 2025. Since initial publication in 2016, CISA conducted broad and extensive engagement and information exchanges w
  
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• Study Finds Most Fulfilling Jobs: Self-Employment, Government Work, Managing, and Social Service

  16-12-2024 09:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  "Envy the lumberjacks, for they perform the happiest, most meaningful work on earth," the Washington Post wrote almost two years ago, after analyzing more than 13,000 journals from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' time-use survey. (For the first time the surveys asked how workers felt during the day.) And outdoor forestry jobs "look awesome by that metric, dangerous as they often are in the long run," the Post wrote in a recent follow-up. [Alternate URL.]
  But is that really the right metric?
  
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• Microsoft Announces Phi-4 AI Model Optimized for Accuracy and Complex Reasoning

  16-12-2024 06:34 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from Computerworld:Microsoft has announced Phi-4 — a new AI model with 14 billion parameters — designed for complex reasoning tasks, including mathematics. Phi-4 excels in areas such as STEM question-answering and advanced problem-solving, surpassing similar models in performance. Phi-4, part of the Phi small language models (SLMs), is currently available on Azure AI Foundry under the Microsoft Research License Agreement and will launch on Huggi
  
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• Does Space Need Environmentalists?

  16-12-2024 03:41 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Does space need environmentalists, asks the headline from a new article in Noema magazine. "As astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson notes, the first trillionaire will be made in space.
  "But amid such promising developments are worries among some scientists and environmentalists who fear humans will repeat the errors that resource extraction has wrought on Earth..."If we have mining in space, do we need a preemptive anti-mining campaign to protect our solar system from rampant exploitation before i
  
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• San Francisco Unicorn 'Scale AI' Accused of Wage Theft

  16-12-2024 00:29 via slashdot.org
  
  They provide training data to top AI companies including OpenAI and Meta, according to its web site. Founded in 2016, San Francisco-based Scale AI now has over 900 employees, eventually growing beyond "unicorn" status with over $1.35 billion in ivnestments. In May the company's valuation was over $14 billion, with investors including Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Cisco, Intel, and AMD (as well as earlier investments from Y Combinator and $100 million from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund). SFGate calls them
  
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