ICT news

• Meta Announces a New CapCut Rival Called Edits

  20-01-2025 23:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta announced a new video editing app called Edits to fill the gap left by ByteDance's CapCut editor, which was temporarily removed from the App Store and Google Play Store as part of the TikTok ban. While the ban was lifted, the new app serves to capitalize on the uncertainty of TikTok's future. TechCrunch reports: Instagram head Adam Mosseri (pictured above) said on Threads that the app will launch next month on iOS, with an Android version following later. He added that the company is workin
  
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• Donald and Melania Trump Launch a Pair of Meme Coins

  20-01-2025 23:10 via slashdot.org
  
  Donald and Melania Trump have launched a pair of meme coins just before President Trump was sworn into office. The coins are already worth billions of dollars, raising "serious ethical questions and conflicts of interest," said Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. CNN reports: Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA in a social media post Sunday, sending her husband's cryptocurrency $TRUMP, announced two days earlier, plummeting. "The Official Melania Meme
  
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• The Powerful AI Tool That Cops (Or Stalkers) Can Use To Geolocate Photos In Seconds

  20-01-2025 22:33 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: A powerful AI tool can predict with high accuracy the location of photos based on features inside the image itself -- such as vegetation, architecture, and the distance between buildings -- in seconds, with the company now marketing the tool to law enforcement officers and government agencies. Called GeoSpy, made by a firm called Graylark Technologies out of Boston, the tool has also been used for months by members of the public, with many maki
  
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• AI Benchmarking Organization Criticized For Waiting To Disclose Funding from OpenAI

  20-01-2025 21:50 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: An organization developing math benchmarks for AI didn't disclose that it had received funding from OpenAI until relatively recently, drawing allegations of impropriety from some in the AI community.
  Epoch AI, a nonprofit primarily funded by Open Philanthropy, a research and grantmaking foundation, revealed on December 20 that OpenAI had supported the creation of FrontierMath. FrontierMath, a test with expert-level problems designed to measure an AI's mathema
  
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• France's 2024 Power Grid Was 95% Fossil Free as Nuclear, Renewables Jumped

  20-01-2025 21:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  France's low-carbon electricity output surged to more than 95% of annual power production for the first time in 2024, as rising nuclear and hydro generation squeezed the use of fossil fuels. From a report: Rebounding atomic production together with record output from renewables boosted France's electricity production to a five-year high of 536.5 terawatt hours, transmission network operator Reseau de Transport d'Electricite said in a statement on Monday.
  Net exports almost doubled to record of 8
  
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• Employees of Failed Startups Are at Special Risk of Stolen Personal Data Through Old Google Logins

  20-01-2025 20:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Hackers could steal sensitive personal data from former startup employees by exploiting abandoned company domains and Google login systems, security researcher Dylan Ayrey revealed at ShmooCon conference. The vulnerability particularly affects startups that relied on "Sign in with Google" features for their business software.
  Ayrey, CEO of Truffle Security, demonstrated the flaw by purchasing one failed startup's domain and accessing ChatGPT, Slack, Notion, Zoom and an HR system containing Socia
  
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• Canon's New Livestreaming App Doesn't Support Canon Cameras

  20-01-2025 19:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Canon has launched a new iOS livestreaming app that allows users to switch between three camera views -- but initially excludes support for Canon cameras. The "Live Switcher Mobile" app, compatible only with Apple devices, offers automated camera switching and streaming to platforms including YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook through RTMP protocol.
  The free version supports 720p resolution with ads and watermarks, while an $18 monthly subscription unlocks 1080p quality and additional features. Canon
  
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• China To Host World's First Human-Robot Marathon

  20-01-2025 19:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Beijing will host the world's first human-robot half-marathon in April, with dozens of humanoid robots competing alongside 12,000 human runners in the capital's Daxing district. The robots, from more than 20 companies, must be between 0.5 and 2 meters tall, bipedal, and capable of walking or running without wheels, according to local authorities. Both remote-controlled and autonomous robots can participate, with battery changes permitted during the 21km (13 miles) race.Read more of this story at
  
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• Donald Trump Is Sworn In as 47th President

  20-01-2025 18:03 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday in a ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol's Rotunda, returning to the White House after defeating Joe Biden in a historic rematch that saw an incumbent president denied a second consecutive term.
  Trump, 78, took the oath of office before a packed crowd of lawmakers, dignitaries, and supporters, with Chief Justice John Roberts administering the ceremony. Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama atte
  
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• More Teens Say They're Using ChatGPT For Schoolwork, a New Study Finds

  20-01-2025 17:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A recent poll from the Pew Research Center shows more and more teens are turning to ChatGPT for help with their homework. Three things to know: 1. According to the survey, 26% of students ages 13-17 are using the artificial intelligence bot to help them with their assignments.
  2. That's double the number from 2023, when 13% reported the same habit when completing assignments.
  3. Comfort levels with using ChatGPT for different types of assignments vary among students: 54% found that using it to r
  
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• Europol Chief Says Big Tech Has 'Responsibility' To Unlock Encrypted Messages

  20-01-2025 17:05 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Technology giants must do more to co-operate with law enforcement on encryption or they risk threatening European democracy, according to the head of Europol, as the agency gears up to renew pressure on companies at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. From a report:
  Catherine De Bolle told the Financial Times she will meet Big Tech groups in the Swiss mountain resort to discuss the matter, claiming that companies had a "social responsibility" to give the police access to encrypted messa
  
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• Nokia's Day-After iPhone Analysis Proved Eerily Accurate

  20-01-2025 16:27 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Nokiaaccurately predicted the iPhone would revolutionize the smartphone industry in a confidential analysis prepared the day after Apple unveiled the device in 2007, according to internal documents recently released by Nokia's Design Archive at Aalto University in Finland.
  The presentation praised the iPhone's touchscreen interface and recognized Apple's unprecedented control over carrier relationships, though it misjudged the importance of web browsing and Java support.Read more of this story a
  
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• EU Plans Ban on 'Forever Chemicals' in Consumer Products

  20-01-2025 15:45 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The European Commission intends to propose a ban on the use of PFAS, or "forever chemicals", in consumer products, with exemptions for essential industrial uses, the EU's environment chief told Reuters. From a report: PFAS, or Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, do not break down in the environment, raising concerns about the consequences of them building up in ecosystems, drinking water and the human body. They are used in thousands of items, from cosmetics and non-stick pans to airc
  
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• The Pentagon Says AI is Speeding Up Its 'Kill Chain'

  20-01-2025 15:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Leading AI developers, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, are threading a delicate needle to sell software to the United States military: make the Pentagon more efficient, without letting their AI kill people. Today, their tools are not being used as weapons, but AI is giving the Department of Defense a "significant advantage" in identifying, tracking, and assessing threats, the Pentagon's Chief Digital and AI Officer, Dr. Radha Plumb, told TechCrunch in a phone i
  
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• California Drops Its Pending Zero-Emission Truck Rules

  20-01-2025 13:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  In 2022 California's Air Resources Board issued regulations to ban new diesel truck sales by 2036, remembers the Los Angeles Times, and force the owners of diesel trucks to take them off the road by 2042. "The idea was to replace those trucks with electric and hydrogen-powered versions, which dramatically reduce emissions but are currently two to three times more expensive."
  But it would've required a federal waiver to enforce those rules — which isn't going to happen:The Biden administrat
  
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• Linux 6.13 Released

  20-01-2025 09:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  "Nothing horrible or unexpected happened last week," Linux Torvalds posted tonight on the Linux kernel mailing list, "so I've tagged and pushed out the final 6.13 release."
  Phoronix says the release has "plenty of fine features":
  Linux 6.13 comes with the introduction of the AMD 3D V-Cache Optimizer driver for benefiting multi-CCD Ryzen X3D processors. The new AMD EPYC 9005 "Turin" server processors will now default to AMD P-State rather than ACPI CPUFreq for better power efficiency....Linux 6.1
  
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• After Forced Return-to-Office, Some Amazon Workers Find Not Enough Desks, No Parking

  20-01-2025 06:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Amazon has angered its workers "after forcing them to return to the office five days a week," reports the New York Post. The problem? "Not enough desks for everyone." (As well as "packed parking lots" that are turning some workers away.)
  The Post cites interviews conducted with seven Amazon employees by Business Insider (which notes that in mid-December Amazon had already "delayed full return-to-office at dozens of locations, sometimes until as late as May, because of office-capacity issues).
  He
  
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• Aptera's Solar-Powered Electric Car Shown at CES, Finally Nears Production

  20-01-2025 03:17 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  "Engineers have showcased a prototype electric vehicle that can drive for up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per day using just solar power," reports LiveScience. The production-ready "Aptera Launch Edition" made its first appearance this month at CES 2025, and "also offers up to 400 miles (640 km) of range from a single charge via an electrical output, company representatives said in a statement."LiveScience describes the vehicle as "lighter and more energy-efficient than conventional EVs, while of
  
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• A Videogame Meets Shakespeare in 'Grand Theft Hamlet' Film

  20-01-2025 01:28 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  The Los Angeles Times calls it "a guns-blazingly funny documentary about two out-of-work British actors who spent a chunk of their COVID-19 lockdown staging Shakespeare's masterpiece on the mean streets of Grand Theft Auto V."
  Grand Theft Hamlet won SXSW's Jury Award for best documentary, and has now opened in U.S. theatres this weekend (and begun streaming on Mubi), after opening in the U.K. and Ireland. But nearly the entire film is set in Grand Theft Auto's crime-infested version of Los Angel
  
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• In AI Arms Race, America Needs Private Companies, Warns National Security Advisor

  20-01-2025 00:06 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  America's outgoing national security adviser has "wide access to the world's secrets," writes Axios, adding that the security adviser delivered a "chilling" warning that "The next few years will determine whether AI leads to catastrophe — and whether China or America prevails in the AI arms race."
  But in addition, Sullivan "said in our phone interview that unlike previous dramatic technology advancements (atomic weapons, space, the internet), AI development sits outside of government and s
  
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