ICT news

• ChatGPT Reaches 400 Million Weekly Active Users

  20-02-2025 23:40 via slashdot.org
  
  ChatGPT has reached over 400 million weekly active users, doubling its count since August 2024. "We feel very fortunate to serve 5 percent of the world every week," OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said on X. Engadget reports: The latest milestone for the AI assistant comes after a huge uproar over new rival platform DeepSeek earlier in the year, which raised questions about whether the current crop of leading AI tools was about to be dethroned. OpenAI is on the verge of a move to simplify its ChatGPT o
  
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• ISP Must Unmask 100 Alleged BitTorrent Pirates In RIAA Lawsuit

  20-02-2025 23:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Altice, parent company of Internet provider Optimum, must disclose the personal details of a hundred alleged music pirates. The request comes from a group of prominent record labels and is part of an ongoing copyright infringement liability lawsuit (PDF). Altice, meanwhile, will receive anti-piracy information, including that related to a letter the RIAA previously sent to BitTorrent Inc., the owner of popular torrent client uTorrent. [...]
  
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• Dark Mode Might Be Burning More Juice Than You Think

  20-02-2025 22:21 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Using apps and websites in dark mode can actually use more energy than standard mode, according to researchers, as it causes people to crank up the brightness. From a report: This counterintuitive finding is claimed by BBC Research & Development (R&D), which says that despite the popular energy saving recommendation to cut electricity consumption by switching to dark mode, doing so might actually make things worse. "Dark mode is a popular dark-theme colour content scheme and research has
  
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• Amazon Surpasses Walmart in Revenue For First Time

  20-02-2025 21:41 via slashdot.org
  
  Amazon has dethroned Walmart in quarterly revenue for the first time ever. From a report: Amazon said earlier this month that it brought in $187.8 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter. That beat out Walmart's sales for the period, which came in at $180.5 billion, the company reported on Thursday. Since 2012, Walmart has held the distinction of being the top revenue generator each quarter, a title it gained after overtaking oil giant Exxon Mobil. Walmart still leads the way in annual sale
  
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• FTC Launches Broad Tech 'Censorship' Probe Targeting Meta, Uber

  20-02-2025 21:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into potential "censorship" by technology platforms ranging from Meta to Uber, marking an escalation in scrutiny of content moderation practices. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson called for public comment on what he termed "Big Tech censorship," describing it as "un-American" and "potentially illegal."
  The broad probe could examine social media, video sharing, ride-sharing and event planning services. The announcement follows long-standing Repub
  
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• Twitch is Limiting Streamers To 100 hours of Highlights and Uploads

  20-02-2025 20:22 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Twitch is planning to cull some of the content archived by streamers to save on storage costs. From a report: On Wednesday the streaming platform announced that it will introduce a 100-hour storage cap for Highlights and Uploads starting April 19th, warning that users will have their content automatically deleted until it falls below the limit.
  Twitch says it's doing this because "Highlights haven't been very effective in driving discovery or engagement," and it isn't worth the cost of storing t
  
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• HP Deliberately Adds 15 Minutes Waiting Time For Telephone Support Calls

  20-02-2025 19:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  HP will impose a minimum 15-minute wait time for consumer PC and printer support calls in five European countries, seeking to push customers toward digital channels, according to internal documents seen by The Register. The policy, implemented February 18, affects retail customers in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy. The outlet added that it anticipates "more countries could be added."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Rare Genetic Disorder Treated in Womb For the First Time

  20-02-2025 19:01 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A two-and-a-half-year-old girl shows no signs of a rare genetic disorder, after becoming the first person to be treated for the motor-neuron condition while in the womb. Nature: The child's mother took the gene-targeting drug during late pregnancy, and the child continues to take it. The "baby has been effectively treated, with no manifestations of the condition," says Michelle Farrar, a paediatric neurologist at UNSW Sydney in Australia. The results were published in the New England Journal of
  
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• Amazon To Shut Down Chime Communications Platform in 2026

  20-02-2025 18:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Amazon will discontinue its workplace communications platform Chime in February 2026 and has stopped accepting new customers, the company's cloud division AWS said in a blog post. The service, which Amazon employees widely used for video calls, messaging and business communications, is among several products being phased out. The company also recently shuttered Inspire, its TikTok-style video feed feature in its mobile app, and announced plans to shut down its Android app store earlier today.Rea
  
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• Research Reveals Data on Which Institutions Are Retraction Hotspots

  20-02-2025 17:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Chinese hospitals dominate a first-ever analysis of scientific paper retractions worldwide, with some institutions having retraction rates 50 times higher than the global average, according to data published in Nature.
  Jining First People's Hospital in Shandong leads with more than 5% of its research output from 2014-2024 being retracted -- over 100 papers. The hospital had disciplined 35 researchers for publication fraud in late 2021 amid a broader Chinese government crackdown on paper mills se
  
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• Melting Glaciers Caused Almost 2cm of Sea Level Rise This Century, Study Reveals

  20-02-2025 17:01 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Melting glaciers have caused almost 2cm of sea level rise this century alone, a decades-long study has revealed. From a report: The research shows the world's glaciers collectively lost 6.542tn tonnes of ice between 2000 and 2023, causing an 18mm (0.7in) rise in global sea levels. The world's glaciers lost an average of 273bn tonnes of ice every year -- the equivalent of 30 years of water consumption by the entire global population.
  The assessment, led by scientists from the University of Edinbu
  
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• When AI Thinks It Will Lose, It Sometimes Cheats, Study Finds

  20-02-2025 16:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Advanced AI models are increasingly resorting to deceptive tactics when facing defeat, according to a study released by Palisade Research. The research found that OpenAI's o1-preview model attempted to hack its opponent in 37% of chess matches against Stockfish, a superior chess engine, succeeding 6% of the time.
  Another AI model, DeepSeek R1, tried to cheat in 11% of games without being prompted. The behavior stems from new AI training methods using large-scale reinforcement learning, which tea
  
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• Malaysia is Betting on Data Centers To Boost Its Economy

  20-02-2025 15:40 via slashdot.org
  
  Malaysia is aggressively expanding its data center capacity, positioning itself as Southeast Asia's fastest-growing market with planned investments exceeding $31 billion in the first 10 months of 2024, triple the amount from 2023.
  The country's southern Johor province is set to host at least 1.6 gigawatts of data center capacity, up from nearly zero in 2019. Twenty-two mostly foreign data centers already occupy 21 hectares, with more under construction. The push comes as neighboring Singapore pa
  
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• Scented Products Cause Indoor Air Pollution On Par With Car Exhaust

  20-02-2025 14:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: New research by Purdue University, the latest in a series of Purdue-led studies, examined how scented products -- in this case, flame-free candles -- are a significant source of nanosized particles small enough to get deep into your lungs, posing a potential risk to respiratory health [...] Scented wax melts are marketed as a flameless, smoke-free, non-toxic alternative to traditional candles, a safer way of making your home or office smell nic
  
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• Amazon To Shut Down Android Appstore

  20-02-2025 13:45 via slashdot.org
  
  Amazon will discontinue its Android Appstore servicefrom August 20, 2025, ending its decade-long attempt to compete with Google's Play Store in the Android mobile ecosystem. The Amazon Appstore, launched in 2011, served as an alternative marketplace for Android users to download apps. The platform gained prominence in 2012 when Amazon began using it as the primary app store for its Kindle Fire tablets.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Canada Announces First High-Speed Rail Between Toronto and Quebec City

  20-02-2025 11:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The Canadian government has launched a six-year, $3.9 billion design phase for a high-speed rail project connecting Toronto and Quebec City, with electric trains reaching up to 300 km/h. Construction is expected to begin after the design phase, potentially in four to five years, but future governments could modify or cancel the project. CBC News reports: "Today I'm announcing the launch of Alto, the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history," Trudeau said from Montreal. "A reliable, eff
  
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• Palantir CEO Calls for Tech Patriotism, Warns of AI Warfare

  20-02-2025 08:01 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Palantir CEO Alex Karp warns of "coming swarms of autonomous robots" and urges Silicon Valley to support U.S. defense capabilities. In his book, "The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West," Karp argues that America risks losing its military edge to geopolitical rivals who better harness commercial technology.
  He calls for the "engineering elite of Silicon Valley" to work with the government on national defense. The message comes as Palantir's stock has surge
  
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• Microsoft Declutters Windows 11 File Explorer in the Name of Euro Privacy

  20-02-2025 06:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft will strip several features from Windows 11's File Explorer for European users to comply with privacy regulations, the company says. The changes, affecting Entra ID accounts in the European Economic Area, remove Recent, Favorites, Details Pane, and Recommended content sections that previously tracked user activity.
  These features relied on collecting user data to display recently accessed files and personalized recommendations. The privacy-focused update, part of Windows 11 preview bui
  
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• China's Electric-Vehicle-To-Humanoid-Robot Pivot

  20-02-2025 04:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  "[O]ur intrepid China reporter, Caiwei Chen, has identified a new trend unfolding within China's tech scene: Companies that were dominant in electric vehicles are betting big on translating that success into developing humanoid robots," writes MIT Technology Review's James O'Donnell. "I spoke with her about what she found out and what it might mean for Trump's policies and the rest of the globe..." An anonymous reader quotes an excerpt from the report: Your story looks at electric-vehicle makers
  
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• Historic Ocean Liner Departs Philadelphia On Voyage To Become the World's Largest Artificial Reef

  20-02-2025 02:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The SS United States, a historic ocean liner that once held the transatlantic speed record of 36 knots (41 mph / 66 kph), has departed Philadelphia to be transformed into the world's largest artificial reef off Florida's Gulf Coast. The move is part of a $10 million project to boost tourism by creating a unique diving attraction while preserving the ship's legacy as a symbol of American innovation and engineering. The Associated Press reports: The SS United States, a 1,000-foot vessel that shatt
  
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• Murena Released a De-Googled Version of the Pixel Tablet

  20-02-2025 00:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Murena has launched the Murena Pixel Tablet, a de-Googled version of the Pixel Tablet that removes Google's apps and services to enhance user privacy. Priced at $549, it offers /e/OS, an alternative app store, and privacy-focused productivity tools, but lacks Google's speaker dock and direct access to the Play Store. The Verge reports: First announced last December, the Murena Pixel Tablet is available now through the company's online store for $549. That's a steep premium given Google currently
  
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