ICT news

• T2 Linux SDE 24.12 'Sky's the Limit!' Released With 37 ISOs For 25 CPU ISAs

  21-12-2024 23:02 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  Berlin-based T2 Linux developer René Rebe is also long-time Slashdot reader ReneR — and popped by with a special announcement for the holidays:The T2 Linux team has unveiled T2 Linux SDE 24.12, codenamed "Sky's the Limit!", delivering a massive update for this highly portable source-based Linux distribution... With 3,280 package updates, 206 new features, and the ability to boot on systems with as little as 512MB RAM, this release further strengthens T2 Linux's position as the ultim
  
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• Voyager 1 Signals from Interstellar Space Detected by Amateur Astronomers on 1950s Telescope

  21-12-2024 22:02 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "Voyager 1 is currently exploring interstellar space at a distance of 15.5 billion miles (24.9 billion kilometers) away from Earth," writes Gizmodo.
  And yet a team of amateur astronomers in the Netherlands was able to receive Voyager's signals on a 1950s telescope designed to detect weak, low-frequency emissions from deep space:NASA uses the [Earth-based] Deep Space Network (DSN) to communicate with its spacecraft, but the global array of giant radio antennas is optimized for higher frequency si
  
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• US Drone Sightings Provoke Reactions From New Jersey Legislature, Federal Government

  21-12-2024 20:37 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  On Thursday New Jersey lawmakers passed a resolution "calling on the federal government to conduct a 'rigorous and ongoing' investigation into the drone sightings in the state," reports the Associated Press:Meanwhile, federal and local authorities are warning against pointing lasers at suspected drones, because aircraft pilots are being hit in the eyes more often. Authorities also said they are concerned people might fire weapons at manned aircraft that they have mistaken for drones...
  White Hou
  
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• Hydroxychloroquine-Promoting COVID Study Retracted After 4 Years

  21-12-2024 19:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Nature magazine reports that "A study that stoked enthusiasm for the now-disproven idea that a cheap malaria drug can treat COVID-19 has been retracted — more than four-and-a-half years after it was published."Researchers had critiqued the controversial paper many times, raising concerns about its data quality and an unclear ethics-approval process. Its eventual withdrawal, on the grounds of concerns over ethical approval and doubts about the conduct of the research, marks the 28th retract
  
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• Microsoft Integrates a Free Version of Its 'Copilot' Coding AI Into GitHub, VS Code

  21-12-2024 18:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from TechCrunch:Microsoft-owned GitHub announced on Wednesday a free version of its popular Copilot code completion/AI pair programming tool, which will also now ship by default with Microsoft's popular VS Code editor. Until now, most developers had to pay a monthly fee, starting at $10 per month, with only verified students, teachers, and open source maintainers getting free access...There are some limitations to the free version, which is geared toward oc
  
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• California's Population Jumps Back to Near Pre-Pandemic Levels

  21-12-2024 17:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  "California's population grew this year by nearly a quarter of a million residents," reports the Los Angeles Daily News, "closing in on record-high population levels the Golden State reached before the pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday."Although "Data showed the state is growing more slowly than the country as a whole and other large states in the South..."The Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 population estimates show California's population on July 1, 2024 was 39,431,000, an increa
  
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• 'Open Source Software Funding Report' Finds 86% of Corporate Contributions are Employees' Time

  21-12-2024 16:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The Linux Foundation partnered with GitHub and Harvard's Laboratory for Innovation Science to research organization-driven investments in open source software — the how and the why — surveying over 500 organizations around the world.So what are the highlights from the published report?The median responding organization invests $520,600 (2023 USD) of annual value to OSS.
  Responding organizations annually invest $1.7 billion in open source, which can be extrapolated to estimate that ap
  
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• AI Writing Is Improving, But It Still Can't Match Human Creativity

  21-12-2024 14:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: With a few keystrokes, anyone can ask an artificial intelligence (AI) program such as ChatGPT to write them a term paper, a rap song, or a play. But don't expect William Shakespeare's originality. A new study finds such output remains derivative -- at least for now. [...] [O]bjectively testing this creativity has been tricky. Scientists have generally taken two tacks. One is to use another computer program to search for signs of plagiarism -- t
  
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• Startup Set To Brick $800 Kids Robot Is Trying To Open Source It First

  21-12-2024 11:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Last week, startup Embodied announced it was closing down, and its product, an $800 robot for kids ages 5 to 10, would soon be bricked. Now, in a blog post published on Friday, CEO Paolo Pirjanian shared that Embodied's technical team is working on a way to open-source the robot, ensuring it can continue operating indefinitely. Ars Technica reports: The notice says that after releasing OpenMoxie, Embodied plans to release "all necessary code and documentation" for developers and users. Pirjanian
  
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• Axiom's Private Space Station Could Arrive As Early As 2028

  21-12-2024 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Axiom Space has revised its plan for assembling its commercial space station by launching the Payload, Power, and Thermal module first, enabling it to operate as a free-flying platform as early as 2028 -- two years ahead of the original timeline. Space.com reports: NASA awarded Axiom Space a contract in 2020 to attach one or more modules to the International Space Station (ISS), which is set to retire by 2030 at the earliest. The original plan called for Axiom to detach a multi-module group from
  
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• 10 Years Later: Malaysia To Resume Hunt For Flight MH370

  21-12-2024 04:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Malaysia has agreed to resume the search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, its transport minister said on Friday, more than 10 years after it disappeared in one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.[...] MH370's last transmission was about 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur fo
  
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• Cory Doctorow's Prescient Novella About Health Insurance and Murder

  21-12-2024 03:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Five years ago, journalist and sci-fi author Cory Doctorow published a short story that explored the radicalization of individuals denied healthcare coverage. As The Guardian notes in a recent article, the story "might seem eerily similar" to the recent shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO. While it appears that the alleged shooter never read the story, Doctorow said: "I feel like the most important thing about that is that it tells you that this is not a unique insight." Doctorow continued: "that
  
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• 'Yes, I am a Human': Bot Detection Is No Longer Working

  21-12-2024 02:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The rise of AI has rendered traditional CAPTCHA tests increasingly ineffective, as bots can now "[solve] these puzzles in milliseconds using artificial intelligence (AI)," reports The Conversation. "How ironic. The tools designed to prove we're human are now obstructing us more than the machines they're supposed to be keeping at bay." The report warns that the imminent arrival of AI agents -- software programs designed to autonomously interact with websites on our behalf -- will further complica
  
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• EU Wants Apple To Open AirDrop and AirPlay To Android

  21-12-2024 01:50 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  The EU is pushing Apple to make iOS more interoperable with other platforms, requiring features like AirDrop and AirPlay to work seamlessly with Android and third-party devices, while also enabling background app functionality and cross-platform notifications. 9to5Google reports: A new document released (PDF) by the European Commission this week reveals a number of ways the EU wants Apple to change iOS and its features to be more interoperable with other platforms. There are some changes to iOS
  
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• 10,000 Amazon Workers Go On Strike Ahead of Holiday Rush

  21-12-2024 01:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from PCMag: Amazon employees are striking after the online retail giant missed a deadline to begin negotiations for a union contract. Roughly 10,000 employees have gone on strike as of Dec. 19. Workers are forming picket lines in New York City, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco, and Skokie, IL. Per a press release from the Teamsters, employees at other facilities have authorized strikes as well. Local unions are also putting up picket lines at hundre
  
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• Justice Department Unveils Charges Against Alleged LockBit Developer

  21-12-2024 00:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Russian-Israeli national, Rostislav Panev, for his alleged role as a developer in the LockBit ransomware group, accused of designing malware and maintaining infrastructure for attacks that extorted over $500 million and caused billions in global damages. CyberScoop reports: The arrest is part of a broader campaign by international law enforcement agencies to dismantle LockBit. In February, a coordinated operation led by the U.K.'s National Crime Agency
  
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