ICT news

• The GSA Is Shutting Down Its EV Chargers

  21-02-2025 23:50 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  The General Services Administration (GSA) is shutting down its nationwide electric vehicle (EV) chargers, deeming them "not mission critical." The U.S. government agency also plans to offload newly purchased EVs, reversing initiatives from the Biden administration aimed at transitioning the federal vehicle fleet to electric. The Verge reports: The GSA currently operates several hundred EV chargers across the country, with approximately 8,000 plugs that are available for government-owned EVs as w
  
  Read more

• OpenAI Plans To Shift Compute Needs From Microsoft To SoftBank

  21-02-2025 23:10 via slashdot.org
  
  According to The Information (paywalled), OpenAI plans to shift most of its computing power from Microsoft to SoftBank-backed Stargate by 2030. TechCrunch reports: That represents a major shift away from Microsoft, OpenAI's biggest shareholder, who fulfills most of the startup's power needs today. The change won't happen overnight. OpenAI still plans to increase its spending on Microsoft-owned data centers in the next few years.During that time, OpenAI's overall costs are set to grow dramaticall
  
  Read more

• India's 'Human Calculator Kid' Shatters 6 World Records In a Single Day

  21-02-2025 22:26 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Fourteen-year-old Aaryan Shukla cruised through six mental math calculation world records in a single day, according to a Guinness World Records statement published on February 12, earning the well-deserved nickname, "human calculator kid." Specifically, it took Shukla:
  - 30.9 seconds to mentally add 100 four-digit numbers - One minute and 9.68 seconds to mentally add 200 four-digit numbers - 18.71 seconds to mentally add 50 five-digit numbers -
  
  Read more

• DeepSeek To Share Some AI Model Code

  21-02-2025 19:41 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Chinese startup DeepSeek will make its models' code publicly available, it said on Friday, doubling down on its commitment to open-source artificial intelligence. From a report: The company said in a post on social media platform X that it will open source 5 code repositories next week, describing the move as "small but sincere progress" that it will share "with full transparency."
  "These humble building blocks in our online service have been documented, deployed and battle-tested in production.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• HP Ends Forced 15-Minute Wait Times for Customer Support

  21-02-2025 18:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  HP has ended its controversial practice of imposing mandatory 15-minute wait times for customer support calls in several European countries, following internal pushback and customer complaints.
  The company confirmed the reversal and said it will "continue to prioritize timely access to live phone support."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
  Read more

• Bybit CEO Confirms Exchange Was Hacked for $1.46B, Says His Firm Can Cover The Loss

  21-02-2025 17:45 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has experienced $1.46 billion worth of "suspicious outflows," according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. From a report: The wallet in question appears to have sent 401,346 ETH ($1.1 billion) as well as several other iterations of staked ether (stETH) to a fresh wallet, which is now liquidating mETH and stETH on decentralized exchanges, etherscan shows. The wallet has sold around $200 million worth of stETH so far. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou wrote on X that a hacker "took contr
  
  Read more

• New WinRAR Version Strips Windows Metadata In Privacy Push

  21-02-2025 17:16 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  WinRAR 7.10 now lets users remove potentially sensitive metadata from downloaded files while preserving core Windows security features. The file compression tool's latest release introduces a "Zone value only" setting that strips download locations and IP addresses from Windows' Mark-of-the-Web security flags during file extraction.
  The new privacy control, enabled by default, maintains only the basic security zone identifier that triggers Windows' safety prompts for downloaded files. This chang
  
  Read more

• Apple Removes Cloud Encryption Feature From UK After Backdoor Order

  21-02-2025 16:29 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple is removing its most advanced, end-to-end encrypted security feature for cloud data in the United Kingdom [alternative source], in a stunning development after the government ordered the company to build a backdoor for accessing user data. From a report: The company said Friday that Advanced Data Protection, an optional feature that adds end-to-end encryption to a wide assortment of user data is no longer available in the UK for new users.
  This layer of security covers iCloud data storage,
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• AI Is Prompting an Evolution, Not Extinction, for Coders

  21-02-2025 15:40 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  AI coding assistants are reshaping software development, but they're unlikely to replace human programmers entirely, according to industry experts and developers. GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke projects AI could soon generate 80-90% of corporate code, transforming developers into "conductors of an AI-empowered orchestra" who guide and direct these systems.
  Current AI coding tools, including Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, are delivering 10-30% productivity gains in business environments. At KPMG, develope
  
  Read more

• Software Engineering Job Openings Hit Five-Year Low

  21-02-2025 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Software engineering job listings have plummeted to a five-year low, with postings on Indeed dropping to 65% of January 2020 levels -- a steeper decline than any other tech-adjacent field. According to data from Indeed's job aggregator, software development positions are now at 3.5x fewer vacancies compared to their mid-2022 peak and 8% lower than a year ago.
  The decline appears driven by multiple factors including widespread adoption of AI coding tools -- with 75% of engineers reporting use of
  
  Read more

• AI Cracks Superbug Problem In Two Days That Took Scientists Years

  21-02-2025 11:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A new AI tool developed by Google solved a decade-long superbug mystery in just two days, reaching the same conclusion as Professor Jose R Penades' unpublished research and even offering additional, promising hypotheses. The BBC reports: The researchers have been trying to find out how some superbugs - dangerous germs that are resistant to antibiotics - get created. Their hypothesis is that the superbugs can form a tail from different viruses which allows them to spread between species. Prof Pen
  
  Read more

• California Takes Steps Toward Officially Recognizing Bigfoot

  21-02-2025 08:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  California is considering officially recognizing Bigfoot as its state cryptid through Assembly Bill 666, introduced last week by North Coast Assemblymember Chris Rogers. "Rogers' district spans Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma and Trinity counties, a region known as the epicenter of Bigfoot lore," reports SFGATE. From the report: Assemblyman Rogers' Assembly Bill 666 is still in its early stages. According to the California Legislative Information website, the bill's title has been read al
  
  Read more

• Meta Claims Torrenting Pirated Books Isn't Illegal Without Proof of Seeding

  21-02-2025 04:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Just because Meta admitted to torrenting a dataset of pirated books for AI training purposes, that doesn't necessarily mean that Meta seeded the file after downloading it, the social media company claimed in a court filing (PDF) this week. Evidence instead shows that Meta "took precautions not to 'seed' any downloaded files," Meta's filing said. Seeding refers to sharing a torrented file after the download completes, and because there's alle
  
  Read more

• Rivian Reports First Quarter of 'Positive Gross Profit'

  21-02-2025 03:11 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Rivian reported its first-ever positive gross profit of $170 million in Q4 2024, driven by cost reductions and increased regulatory credit sales, despite a $4.7 billion net loss for the year. The company said it expects to sell 46,000-51,000 vehicles this year and achieve "modest gross profit." The Verge reports: Rivian reported $170 million in positive gross profits, which includes production and sales but does not factor in other expenses, for the three-month period that ended December 31, 202
  
  Read more

• Ghost Ransomware Continues To Infect Critical Infrastructure, Feds Warn

  21-02-2025 02:25 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Mirnotoriety shares a report from The Register: The operators of Ghost ransomware continue to claim victims and score payments, but keeping the crooks at bay is possible by patching known vulnerabilities and some basic infosec actions, according to a joint advisory issued Wednesday by the FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The Feds warned orgs to beware of this spectral menace, which is known to have infected critical infrastructure and entities in every sector of a typ
  
  Read more

• YouTube Plans Lower-Priced, Ad-Free Version of Paid Video Tier

  21-02-2025 01:45 via news.slashdot.org
  
  According to Bloomberg, YouTube plans to introduce a lower-priced, ad-free version of its paid video service. From the report: The package, dubbed "premium lite," will be announced soon in the US, Australia, Germany and Thailand, according to a person familiar with the plans. The service will target viewers who primarily want to watch programs other than music videos. While YouTube may be best known for the free videos uploaded by users, the company also offers a variety of paid services. YouTub
  
  Read more

• Netflix To Invest $1 Billion In Mexico Over Next 4 Years

  21-02-2025 01:02 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The chief executive of streaming giant Netflix on Thursday announced a $1 billion investment to produce some 20 films and TV series in Mexico annually over the next four years. Speaking at President Claudia Sheinbaum's morning press conference in Mexico City, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said he looked forward to entering more partnerships with producers in the Latin American nation. Sheinbaum said the investments in the film industry should produce
  
  Read more

• Apple Is Bringing Visual Intelligence To the iPhone 15 Pro

  21-02-2025 00:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple's Google Lens-like took called Visual Intelligence is coming to the iPhone 15 Pro, according to John Gruber of Daring Fireball. It's unclear which update will offer the feature but Gruber speculates it could arrive with iOS 18.4 in April. From a report: Visual Intelligence was originally introduced with the initial iPhone 16 lineup in September, and Apple showed it off as a feature that you launched from the Camera Control button. But yesterday, Apple announced that Visual Intelligence wou
  
  Read more

Follow @newslocke_ict on Twitter!