ICT news

• Report of Newly-Discovered Asteroid Turns Out to Be... a Tesla Roadster

  25-01-2025 23:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Founded in 1947, the Minor Planet Center is the official worldwide authority "for observing and reporting new asteroids, comets and other small bodies in the solar system," reports USA Today.
  Unfortunately, "What an amateur astronomer recently took to be a newly discovered asteroid turned out to be a Tesla Roadster,"
  The Minor Planet Center didn't initially consider the possibility when the organization announced the discovery on Jan. 2 of the unusual asteroid, complete with an official name: 20
  
  Read more

• Pixelfed Creator Crowdfunds More Capacity, Plus Open Source Alternatives to TikTok and WhatsApp

  25-01-2025 22:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from TechCrunch:The developer behind Pixelfed, Loops, and Sup, open source alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp, respectively, is now raising funds on Kickstarter to fuel the apps' further development. The trio is part of the growing open social web, also known as the fediverse, powered by the same ActivityPub protocol used by X alternative Mastodon... [and] challenge Meta's social media empire... "Help us put control back into the hands of the p
  
  Read more

• Heat Pumps Are Now Outselling Gas Furnaces In America

  25-01-2025 21:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  CleanTechnicareports that last year Americans "bought 37% more air source heat pumps than the next most popular heating appliance — gas furnaces."
  And Americans bought 21% more heat pumps than they did in 2023.Canary Media is quick to point out that in many homes, more than one heat pump is required, so that data should be interpreted with that in mind. Typically, a home uses only one furnace. Nevertheless, the trend for heat pumps is up. Russell Unger, the head of decarbonizing buildings
  
  Read more

• 'Copilot' Price Hike for Microsoft 365 Called 'Total Disaster' with Overwhelmingly Negative Response

  25-01-2025 20:34 via slashdot.org
  
  ZDNET's senior editor sees an "overwhelmingly negative" response to Microsoft's surprise price hike for the 84 million paying subscribers to its Microsoft 365 software suite. Attempting the first price hike in more than 12 years, "they made it a 30% price increase" — going from $10 a month to $13 a month — "and blamed it all on artificial intelligence."Bad idea. Why? Because...No one wants to pay for AI...
  If you ask Copilot in Word to write something for you, the results will be abo
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• EV Maker Canoo 'Goes Belly-Up After Moving to Texas'

  25-01-2025 19:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  2021: "Automotive Startup Canoo Debuts a Snub-Nosed Electric Pickup"2025: Canoo "Goes Belly-Up After Moving to Texas"
  "Its production volumes paled in comparison to Canoo's rate of cash burn, which was substantial, with net losses in 2023 totaling just over $300 million..." reports AutoWeek. "It was able to deliver small batches of vans to a few customers, but apparently remained distant from anything approaching volume production."
  "Back in 2020, electric vehicle maker Canoo snagged a $2.4 bill
  
  Read more

• People are Hawking TikTok-Loading Phones for Thousands on eBay, Facrebook

  25-01-2025 18:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  TikTok is still not available for download from U.S.-based app stores, reports CBS News. So "Some fast-acting entrepreneurs are selling phones with TikTok preloaded on devices for thousands of dollars online." The Associated Press notes that New York-based Nicholas Matthews "listed an iPhone 14 Plus with TikTok for $10,000. As of Friday, Matthews said his highest bid was for $4,550."
  Another example from The New York Times:
  An information technology engineer, Mr. Gustab listed his iPhone 15 Pro
  
  Read more

• People are Hawking TikTok-Loading Phones for Thousands on eBay, Facebook

  25-01-2025 18:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  TikTok is still not available for download from U.S.-based app stores, reports CBS News. So "Some fast-acting entrepreneurs are selling phones with TikTok preloaded on devices for thousands of dollars online." The Associated Press notes that New York-based Nicholas Matthews "listed an iPhone 14 Plus with TikTok for $10,000. As of Friday, Matthews said his highest bid was for $4,550."
  Another example from The New York Times:
  An information technology engineer, Mr. Gustab listed his iPhone 15 Pro
  
  Read more

• Bambu Labs' 3D Printer 'Authorization' Update Beta Sparks Concerns

  25-01-2025 17:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader jenningsthecat writes:
  3D printer manufacturer Bambu Labs has faced a storm of controversy and protest after releasing a security update which many users claim is the first step in moving towards an HP-style subscription model.
  Bambu Labs responded that there's misinformation circulating online, adding "we acknowledge that our communication might have contributed to the confusion." Bambu Labs spokesperson Nadia Yaakoubi did "damage control", answering questions from the Verge:Q:
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• America Lags on Renewable Energy. Blame Regulations and Grid Connection Issues

  25-01-2025 16:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  "For years, renewable energy proponents have hoped to build a U.S. electric grid powered by wind, solar, geothermal and — to a lesser extent — nuclear power..." writes the Washington Post. In America's power markets "the economics of clean energy are strong," with renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuel plants in many jurisdictions.
  But the Post spoke to the "electricity modeling" director at nonpartisan clean energy think tank Energy Innovation, who offered this assessment. "The t
  
  Read more

• Researchers Say New Attack Could Take Down the European Power Grid

  25-01-2025 14:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Late last month, researchers revealed a finding that's likely to shock some people and confirm the low expectations of others: Renewable energy facilities throughout Central Europe use unencrypted radio signals to receive commands to feed or ditch power into or from the grid that serves some 450 million people throughout the continent. Fabian Braunlein and Luca Melette stumbled on their discovery largely by accident while working on what the
  
  Read more

• Hubble's Largest Panorama Ever Showcases 200 Million Stars

  25-01-2025 11:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has released the largest ever photomosaic featuring over 200 million stars -- all of which are bright than our own Sun. It consists of over 600 overlapping Hubble images and 2.5 billion pixels. "That is a huge number, yet only a fraction of the estimated one trillion stars in the Andromeda galaxy," reports TechSpot. "Many of Andromeda's less massive stars are beyond Hubble's sensitivity limit and thus, are not represented in the imaged.""NASA has multiple sizes of t
  
  Read more

• Ultra-Fast Cancer Treatments Could Replace Conventional Radiotherapy

  25-01-2025 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  CERN's particle accelerator is being used in a pioneering cancer treatment called Flash radiotherapy. This method delivers ultra-high radiation doses in less than a second, minimizes side effects while targeting tumors more effectively than conventional radiotherapy. The BBC reports: In a series of vast underground caverns on the outskirts of Geneva, Switzerland, experiments are taking place which may one day lead to new generation of radiotherapy machines. The hope is that these devices could m
  
  Read more

• US Reviewing Automatic Emergency Braking Rule

  25-01-2025 04:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A U.S. auto safety agency said on Friday it is reconsidering a landmark rule from the administration of former President Joe Biden requiring nearly all new cars and trucks by 2029 to have advanced automatic emergency braking systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would delay the effective date to March 20 to give the new Trump administration time to further review the regulation.The Alliance for Automotive Innovation,
  
  Read more

• Nvidia Starts Phasing Out Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPUs

  25-01-2025 03:10 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  As spotted by Tom's Hardware, Nvidia's CUDA 12.8 release notes signal the transition of Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPUs to the legacy driver branch. As a result, there will be no more new feature updates for these architectures; however, CUDA and gaming driver support will remain for now. From the report: It's crucial to highlight that this has nothing to do with GeForce gaming driver support. In fact, Maxwell and Pascal continue to be on the support list for the GeForce RTX series driver, unlik
  
  Read more

• British Museum Forced To Partly Close After Alleged IT Attack By Former Employee

  25-01-2025 02:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The British Museum was partly closed after a dismissed IT contractor trespassed, shutting down systems including its ticketing platform. The move disrupted operations and forced the closure of temporary exhibitions. The Guardian reports: While the museum will remain open this weekend, only a handful of ticket holders will be able to access its paid-for exhibitions, such as its Silk Roads show, because the IT system that manages bookings has been rendered unusable. The incident caused chaos in th
  
  Read more

• Microplastics Block Blood Flow in the Brain, Mouse Study Reveals

  25-01-2025 01:51 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists have observed for the first time how microplastics move through and block blood vessels in mouse brains, according to research published in Science Advances this week. Using fluorescence imaging, researchers at Peking University tracked plastic particles as they were consumed by immune cells and accumulated in brain blood vessels, causing obstructions that persisted for up to four weeks and reduced blood flow. The study found that these blockages, which behaved similarly to blood clot
  
  Read more

• UnitedHealth Data Breach Hits 190 Million Americans in Worst Healthcare Hack

  25-01-2025 01:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Nearly 190 million Americans were affected by February's cyberattack on UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare unit, almost double initial estimates, the company disclosed Friday. The breach, the largest in U.S. medical history, exposed sensitive data including Social Security numbers, medical records, and financial information.
  UnitedHealth said it has not detected misuse of the stolen data or found medical databases among compromised files. Change Healthcare, a major U.S. healthcare claims processor
  
  Read more

• Crypto Czar David Sacks Says NFTs and Memecoins Are Collectibles, Not Securities

  25-01-2025 00:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Non-fungible tokens and memecoins are neither securities nor commodities, according to White House crypto czar David Sacks. Instead, he defines them as "collectibles." From a report: "It's like a baseball card or a stamp," Sacks said in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, referencing Trump's explosively popular memecoin. "People buy it because they want to commemorate something."
  The famous venture capitalist's comments touched on a long-running debate about the crypto industry in genera
  
  Read more

Follow @newslocke_ict on Twitter!