ICT news

• Warner Bros Discovery Slashes Gaming Business, Closing Three Studios

  25-02-2025 23:50 via games.slashdot.org
  
  According to Bloomberg (paywalled), Warner Bros. Discovery announced today that it is shutting down three gaming studios and canceling development of its planned Wonder Woman project. Engadget reports: Monolith Productions, Player First Games and WB Games San Diego will be shuttered due to a "disappointing 2024" for WB's gaming business, according to an internal memo from JB Perrette, the company's CEO and president of global streaming and games. [...]According to the internal email from Perrett
  
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• Framework Moves Into Desktops, 2-In-1 Laptops

  25-02-2025 23:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  At its "Second Gen" event today, Framework detailed three new computers: an updated Framework Laptop 13 with AMD Ryzen AI 300, a 4.5-liter Mini-ITX desktop powered by Ryzen AI Max, and a colorful, convertible Framework Laptop 12 designed with students in mind. The latter is defined by Framework as a "defining product." Tom's Hardware reports: Framework Desktop: The Framework Desktop is a 4.5L Mini-ITX machine using AMD's Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" chips with Radeon 8060S graphics. While this is a
  
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• Google, Qualcomm Will Support 8 Years of Android Updates

  25-02-2025 22:33 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Google: Starting with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm will offer device manufacturers (OEMs) the "ability to provide support for up to eight consecutive years of Android software and security updates." Qualcomm today announced a "program" in partnership with Google: "What this means is that support for platform software included in this program will be made available to OEMs for eight consecutive years, including both Android OS and kernel upgrades,
  
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• Most US Workers Avoid AI Chatbots Despite Productivity Benefits, PEW Finds

  25-02-2025 20:37 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Most American workers are not embracing AI chatbots in their jobs, with 55% rarely or never using these tools and 29% completely unfamiliar with them, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday.
  Only 16% of workers report regular use of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. Adoption is highest among younger workers (23% of those aged 18-29) and those with post-graduate degrees (26%). Among users, research (57%), editing content (52%), and drafting reports (47%) top the lis
  
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• Global Sales of Combustion Engine Cars Have Peaked

  25-02-2025 19:44 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Our World in Data: To decarbonize road transport, the world must move away from petrol and diesel cars and towards electric vehicles and other forms of low-carbon transport.
  This transition has already started. In fact, global sales of combustion engine cars are well past the peak and are now falling.
  As you can see in the chart, global sales peaked in 2018. This is calculated based on data from the International Energy Agency. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates this peak occurred one year e
  
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• ISPs Brace For State-Level Price Regulation as New York's $15 Broadband Law Sets Precedent

  25-02-2025 19:08 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A New York law mandating low-cost broadband is inspiring similar legislation across multiple states, despite industry opposition. The law requires ISPs with over 20,000 customers to offer $15 plans with 25Mbps speeds or $20 plans with 200Mbps to income-eligible residents.
  Vermont, Massachusetts, and California legislators have introduced comparable bills following New York's success. Vermont's proposal mirrors New York's pricing structure, while Massachusetts goes further by requiring 100Mbps sp
  
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• Wyden Asks For Rules About Whether You Own Your Digital Purchases

  25-02-2025 18:28 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Andrew Ferguson urging the FTC to require that companies admit when you're not really buying an ebook or video game. From a report: Wyden's letter, shared with The Verge, requests guidance to "ensure that consumers who purchase or license digital goods can make informed decisions and understand what ownership rights they are obtaining."
  Wyden wants the guidance to include how long a license lasts, what circumstances
  
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• Google Makes Gemini Code Assist Free

  25-02-2025 17:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google has launched a free version of Gemini Code Assist, offering developers substantially higher usage limits than competing services. From a report: The AI coding assistant, powered by the fine-tuned Gemini 2.0 model, allows up to 180,000 code completions monthly -- 90 times more than GitHub Copilot's free tier limit of 2,000. The release comes just one day after Anthropic introduced Claude Code, underscoring intensifying competition in AI-powered development tools.
  Gemini Code Assist integra
  
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• Call of Duty Maker Activision Admits To Using AI

  25-02-2025 17:14 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Activision has finally admitted to using AI-generated content in its games and Call of Duty players aren't the least bit surprised. [...] After years of suspicions from the CoD community, it's now been confirmed by Activision directly that AI-generated content has indeed been featured throughout the FPS franchise. Upon visiting the Black Ops 6 Steam page, fans will notice a new change. Activision has now been forced to disclose its use of Artificial Intellige
  
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• DeepSeek Accelerates AI Model Timeline as Market Reacts To Low-Cost Breakthrough

  25-02-2025 16:33 via slashdot.org
  
  Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is speeding up the release of its R2 model following the success of January's R1, which outperformed many US competitors at a fraction of the cost and triggered a $1 trillion-plus market selloff. The Hangzhou-based firm had planned a May release but now wants R2 out "as early as possible," Reuters reported Tuesday.
  The upcoming model promises improved coding capabilities and reasoning in multiple languages beyond English. DeepSeek's competitive advantage stems from it
  
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• Apple Executive Voiced Concerns Over App Store External Payment Fees

  25-02-2025 15:45 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple Fellow Phil Schiller testified in court Monday that he initially objected to the company's plan to charge a 27% commission on purchases made outside the App Store, court documents showed. Schiller, who oversees the App Store, warned the fee would create an "antagonistic relationship" with developers and transform Apple into "some kind of a collection agency" that might need to audit developers for nonpayment.
  "I had great concerns about the collections of funds from developers," Schiller s
  
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• Chegg To Initiate Business Review Amid AI-Shift in Education Tech

  25-02-2025 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Online-education company Chegg said it is conducting a business review and exploring alternatives such as selling the company or taking it private as it continues to lose subscribers to artificial-intelligence-enabled rivals. From a report: Chegg and other virtual-learning companies have ceded ground to generative-AI companies such as ChatGPT, which provides free alternatives to the homework help that Chegg charges $19.95 for to its subscribers. Although Chegg built its own AI products, the comp
  
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• Chegg Sues Google For Hurting Traffic With AI

  25-02-2025 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Chegg has filed suit in federal district court against Google, claiming that AI summaries of search results have hurt the online education company's traffic and revenue. From a report: The legal move come nearly two years after former CEO Dan Rosensweig said students engaging with OpenAI's ChatGPT assistant were cutting into Chegg's new customer growth. Chegg is worth less than $200 million, and in after-hours trading Monday, the stock was trading just above $1 per share. Chegg has engaged Goldm
  
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• 1,000 Artists Release 'Silent' Album To Protest UK Copyright Sell-Out To AI

  25-02-2025 11:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The U.K. government is pushing forward with plans to attract more AI companies to the region through changes to copyright law that would allow developers to train AI models on artists' content on the internet -- without permission or payment -- unless creators proactively "opt out." Not everyone is marching to the same beat, though. On Monday, a group of 1,000 musicians released a "silent album," protesting the planned changes. The album -- ti
  
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• All 50 States Have Now Introduced Right to Repair Legislation

  25-02-2025 08:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  All 50 U.S. states have now introduced some form of right to repair legislation, marking a significant milestone that "shows the power of the grassroots political movement," reports 404 Media. From the report: Thursday, Wisconsin became the final state in the country to introduce a right to repair bill. So far, right to repair laws have been passed in Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Oregon. Another 20 states are formally considering right to repair bills during this
  
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• VPN Providers Consider Exiting France Over 'Dangerous' Blocking Demands

  25-02-2025 04:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: In France, rightsholders have taken legal action to compel large VPN providers to support their pirate site blocking program. The aim is to reinforce existing blocking measures, but VPN providers see this as a dangerous move, leading to potential security issues and overblocking. As a result, some are considering leaving France altogether if push comes to shove. [...] Earlier this month, sports rightsholders Canal+ and LFP requested blocking
  
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• Microsoft Trims More CPUs From Windows 11 Compatibility List

  25-02-2025 02:40 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has updated its CPU compatibility list for Windows 11 24H2, excluding pre-11th-generation Intel processors for OEMs building new PCs. The Register reports: Windows 11 24H2 has been available to customers for months, yet Microsoft felt compelled in its February update to confirm that builders, specifically, must use Intel's 11th-generation or later silicon when building brand new PCs to run its most recent OS iteration. "These processors meet the design principles around security, relia
  
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• Google's AI Previews Erode the Internet, Edtech Company Says In Lawsuit

  25-02-2025 02:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Chegg has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of using AI-generated overviews to undermine publishers by reducing site traffic and eroding financial incentives for original content. Chegg claims this practice violates antitrust laws and threatens the integrity of the online information ecosystem. Reuters reports: This will eventually lead to a "hollowed-out information ecosystem of little use and unworthy of trust," the company said. The Santa Clara, California-based company
  
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• Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes' Fraud Convictions Upheld

  25-02-2025 01:20 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "Elizabeth Holmes' fraud conviction has been upheld by a federal appellate panel," writes Slashdot reader ClickOnThis. MSNBC reports: A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed the convictions, sentences and nine-figure restitution ordered against both Holmes and Theranos president, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani. [...] Theranos was supposedly going to revolutionize medical laboratory testing with the ability to run fast, accurate and affordable tests with just a dro
  
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• Dutch Software Firm Bird To Leave Europe Due To Onerous Regulations

  25-02-2025 00:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Cloud communications software firm Bird, one of the Netherlands' most prominent tech startups, plans to move most of its operations out of Europe, its CEO said, citing restrictive regulations and difficulties hiring skilled technology workers. "We are mostly leaving Europe as it lacks the environment we need to innovate in an AI-first era of technology," CEO Robert Vis told Reuters on Monday. "We foresee that regulations in Europe will block true
  
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• Perplexity Teases AI Web Browser Called Comet

  25-02-2025 00:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  AI-powered search engine Perplexity is developing its own web browser named Comet. "Just like Perplexity reinvented search, we're also reinventing the browser," a Perplexity spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Stay tuned for updates." From the report: In a post on X on Monday, the company launched a sign-up list for the browser, which isn't yet available. It's unclear when it might be -- or what the browser will look like, even. But we do have a name: Comet. [...] Perplexity may be betting that it ca
  
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