ICT news

• 1Password Introduces 'Nearby Items,' Tying Passwords To Physical Locations

  06-03-2025 23:50 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  1Password has introduced a 'nearby items' feature, allowing users to tag credentials with physical locations so the relevant information automatically surfaces when users are near those locations. Engadget reports: Location information can be added to any new or existing item in a 1Password vault. The app has also been updated with a map view for setting and viewing the locations of your items. In the blog post announcing the feature, the company cited examples such as door codes for a workplace
  
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• ChatGPT On macOS Can Now Directly Edit Code

  06-03-2025 23:10 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI's ChatGPT app for macOS now directly edits code in tools like Xcode, VS Code, and JetBrains. "Users can optionally turn on an 'auto-apply' mode so ChatGPT can make edits without the need for additional clicks," adds TechCrunch. The feature is available now for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users, and will expand to Enterprise, Edu, and free users next week. Windows support is coming "soon." From the report: Direct code editing builds on OpenAI's "work with apps" ChatGPT capability, which th
  
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• Starlink Benefits As Trump Admin Rewrites Rules For $42 Billion Grant Program

  06-03-2025 22:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Trump administration is eliminating a preference for fiber Internet in a $42.45 billion broadband deployment program, a change that is expected to reduce spending on the most advanced wired networks while directing more money to Starlink and other non-fiber Internet service providers. One report suggests Starlink could obtain $10 billion to $20 billion under the new rules. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick criticized the Biden adminis
  
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• Global Sea Ice Hit Record Low in February, Scientists Say

  06-03-2025 21:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Global sea ice fell to a record low in February, scientists have said, a symptom of an atmosphere fouled by planet-heating pollutants. From a report: The combined area of ice around the north and south poles hit a new daily minimum in early February and stayed below the previous record for the rest of the month, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday. "One of the consequences of a warmer world is melting sea ice," said the C3S deputy director, Samantha Burgess. "The re
  
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• Brother Denies Bricking Printers Using Third-Party Ink

  06-03-2025 21:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Brother has rejected claims that its firmware updates intentionally disable printer functionality when third-party cartridges are installed. The controversy emerged after a YouTube video by Louis Rossman, which has garnered over 160,000 views, alleged the company had joined competitors in anti-consumer practices. The allegations stem from online reports, including a 2022 Reddit post claiming firmware update W1.56 disabled automatic color registration on a Brother MFC-3750 using non-Brother toner
  
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• UK Quietly Scrubs Encryption Advice From Government Websites

  06-03-2025 20:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.K. government appears to have quietly scrubbed encryption advice from government web pages, just weeks after demanding backdoor access to encrypted data stored on Apple's cloud storage service, iCloud. From a report: The change was spotted by security expert Alec Muffett, who wrote in a blog post on Wednesday that the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is no longer recommending that high-risk individuals use encryption to protect their sensitive information.
  The NCSC in October p
  
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• US Communications Agency To Explore Alternatives To GPS Systems

  06-03-2025 19:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The FCC says it plans to vote next month to explore alternatives to GPS after national security concerns have been raised about relying on a single system crucial to modern life. From a report: "Continuing to rely so heavily on one system leaves us exposed," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said. "We need to develop redundant technologies." There have been reports of a rise in GPS interference around the world, particularly since 2023, known as spoofing raising fears of an increased risk of accidents if p
  
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• Denmark Postal Service To Stop Delivering Letters

  06-03-2025 19:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century. From a report: The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear from the start of June. Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen sought to reassure Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received as "there is a free market for both letters and parcels."
  
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• Slashdot Asks: What's the Most Influential Video Game of All Time?

  06-03-2025 18:20 via games.slashdot.org
  
  The folks at Bafta are running a public survey to identify the most influential video game ever made. When The Guardian asked prominent gaming figures to weigh in, they received a fascinating array of responses with zero overlap. Game designer Mike Bithell picked Metal Gear Solid 2, while Blumhouse's Louise Blain chose the short-lived horror experiment PT. The Guardian's own games editor backed Ocarina of Time for establishing 3D game world standards.
  Other notable selections included Tomb Raide
  
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• Ryanair Delays Move To Paperless Boarding Passes

  06-03-2025 17:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Budget carrier Ryanair has delayed its move to 100% paperless boarding passes to the start of its winter schedule on November 3. From a report: Media reports had suggested that the change could come in May, ahead of the busy summer season. But the implementation will now begin at the start of the winter season in November, and means Ryanair passengers will no longer download and print a physical paper boarding pass. Instead they will use the digital boarding pass generated in their 'myRyanair' a
  
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• NASA is Making Sacrifices To Keep the Voyager Mission Alive

  06-03-2025 17:15 via science.slashdot.org
  
  NASA has begun shutting down science instruments aboard the twin Voyager spacecraft to extend their 47-year journey through interstellar space, officials said. Voyager 1's cosmic ray subsystem was deactivated on February 25, while Voyager 2's low-energy charged particle instrument will be shut down on March 24. Both spacecraft will then operate with just three of their original ten science instruments.
  The radioisotope power systems aboard the Voyagers lose approximately 4 watts annually, threat
  
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• US Congressional Panel Urges Americans To Ditch China-made Routers

  06-03-2025 16:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A U.S. congressional committee has urged Americans to remove Chinese-made wireless routers from their homes, including those made by TP-Link, calling them a security threat that opened the door for China to hack U.S. critical infrastructure. From a report: The House of Representatives Select Committee on China has pushed the Commerce Department to investigate China's TP-Link Technology Co, which according to research firm IDC is the top seller of WiFi routers internationally by unit volume. U.S.
  
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• A Quarter of Startups in YC's Current Cohort Have Codebases That Are Almost Entirely AI-Generated

  06-03-2025 16:08 via slashdot.org
  
  A quarter of startups in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch have 95% of their codebases generated by AI, YC managing partner Jared Friedman said. "Every one of these people is highly technical, completely capable of building their own products from scratch. A year ago, they would have built their product from scratch -- but now 95% of it is built by an AI," Friedman said.
  YC CEO Garry Tan warned that AI-generated code may face challenges at scale and developers need classical coding skills to sust
  
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• China To Publish Policy To Boost RISC-V Chip Use Nationwide

  06-03-2025 15:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  AmiMoJo writes: China plans to issue guidance to encourage the use of open-source RISC-V chips nationwide for the first time, Reuters reports, citing two sources briefed on the matter, as Beijing accelerates efforts to curb the country's dependence on Western-owned technology.
  The policy guidance on boosting the use of RISC-V chips could be released as soon as this month, although the final date could change, the sources said. It is being drafted jointly by eight government bodies, including the
  
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• Eric Schmidt Argues Against a 'Manhattan Project for AGI'

  06-03-2025 14:08 via slashdot.org
  
  In a policy paper, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, and Center for AI Safety Director Dan Hendrycks said that the U.S. should not pursue a Manhattan Project-style push to develop AI systems with "superhuman" intelligence, also known as AGI. From a report: The paper, titled "Superintelligence Strategy," asserts that an aggressive bid by the U.S. to exclusively control superintelligent AI systems could prompt fierce retaliation from China, potentially in the form of a cy
  
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• FBI Warns of Data Extortion Scam Targeting Corporate Executives

  06-03-2025 13:00 via cisa.gov
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released an alert warning of a scam involving criminal actors masquerading as the “BianLian Group.” The cyber criminals target corporate executives by sending extortion letters threatening to release victims’ sensitive information unless payment is received. 
  CISA encourages organizations to review the following FBI Public Service Announcement for more information:Mail Scam Target
  
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• India Grants Tax Officials Sweeping Digital Access Powers

  06-03-2025 10:01 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  India's income tax department will gain powers to access citizens' social media accounts, emails and other digital spaces beginning April 2026 under the new income tax bill, in a significant expansion of its search and seizure authority.
  The legislation, which has raised privacy concerns among legal experts, allows tax officers to "gain access by overriding the access code" to computer systems and "virtual digital spaces" if they suspect tax evasion.
  The bill broadly defines virtual digital spac
  
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• Goldman Sachs: Why AI Spending Is Not Boosting GDP

  06-03-2025 07:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Goldman Sachs, in a research note Thursday (the note isn't publicly posted): Annualized revenue for public companies exposed to the build-out of AI infrastructure increased by over $340 billion from 2022 through 2024Q4 (and is projected to increase by almost $580 billion by end-2025). In contrast, annualized real investment in AI-related categories in the US GDP accounts has only risen by $42 billion over the same period. This sharp divergence has prompted questions from investors about why US G
  
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• Utah Passes First US App Store Age Verification Law

  06-03-2025 04:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Utah has become the first U.S. state to pass legislation requiring app store operators to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent for minors downloading apps.
  The App Store Accountability Act adds to a wave of children's online safety bills advancing through state legislatures nationwide. Similar legislation has faced legal challenges, with many being blocked in courts. A comparable federal bill failed last year amid free expression concerns.
  The approach shifts verification responsibilit
  
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• Amazon Tests AI Dubbing on Prime Video Movies, Series

  06-03-2025 02:30 via slashdot.org
  
  Amazon has launched a pilot program testing "AI-aided dubbing" for select content on Prime Video, offering translations between English and Latin American Spanish for 12 licensed movies and series including "El Cid: La Leyenda," "Mi Mama Lora" and "Long Lost." The company describes a hybrid approach where "localization professionals collaborate with AI," suggesting automated dubbing receives professional editing for accuracy. The initiative, the company said, aims to increase content accessibili
  
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• Google is Adding More AI Overviews and a New 'AI Mode' To Search

  06-03-2025 00:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google announced Wednesday it is expanding its AI Overviews to more query types and users worldwide, including those not logged into Google accounts, while introducing a new "AI Mode" chatbot feature. AI Mode, which resembles competitors like Perplexity or ChatGPT Search, will initially be limited to Google One AI Premium subscribers who enable it through the Labs section of Search.
  The feature delivers AI-generated answers with supporting links interspersed throughout, powered by Google's searc
  
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