ICT news

• Canadian Math Prodigy Allegedly Stole $65 Million In Crypto

  15-04-2025 23:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  A Canadian math prodigy is accused of stealing over $65 million through complex exploits on decentralized finance platforms and is currently a fugitive from U.S. authorities. Despite facing criminal charges for fraud and money laundering, he has evaded capture by moving internationally, embracing the controversial "Code is Law" philosophy, and maintaining that his actions were legal under the platforms' open-source rules. The Globe and Mail reports: Andean Medjedovic was 18 years old when he mad
  
  Read more

• Apple Says All Mac Minis With Intel Are Now Vintage

  15-04-2025 22:50 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple has officially designated all Intel-based Mac minis as "vintage" or "obsolete," marking the end of an era. This means Apple no longer guarantees parts or service for these devices, as they've surpassed the 5- to 7-year support window. 9to5Mac reports: Apple periodically adds devices to its ever-growing list of vintage and obsolete products. That happened today, as spotted by MacRumors, with two noteworthy "vintage" additions: iPhone 6s and Mac mini (2018). The latter product is especially
  
  Read more

• Figma Sent a Cease-and-Desist Letter To Lovable Over the Term 'Dev Mode'

  15-04-2025 22:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Figma has sent a cease-and-desist letter to popular no-code AI startup Lovable, Figma confirmed to TechCrunch. The letter tells Lovable to stop using the term "Dev Mode" for a new product feature. Figma, which also has a feature called Dev Mode, successfully trademarked that term last year, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. What's wild is that "dev mode" is a common term used in many products that cater to software programmers
  
  Read more

• Uber Cofounder Kalanick Says AI Means Some Consultants Are in 'Big Trouble'

  15-04-2025 21:30 via slashdot.org
  
  Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick thinks AI is about to shake up consulting -- and for "traditional" professionals, not in a good way. From a report: The former Uber CEO said consultants who mostly follow instructions or do repetitive tasks are at risk of being replaced by AI. "If you're a traditional consultant and you're just doing the thing, you're executing the thing, you're probably in some big trouble," he said. He joked about what that future of consultancy might look like: "Push a button. G
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• You Should Still Learn To Code, Says GitHub CEO

  15-04-2025 20:53 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  You should still learn to code, says GitHub's CEO. And you should start as soon as possible. From a report: "I strongly believe that every kid, every child, should learn coding," Thomas Dohmke said in a recent podcast interview with EO. "We should actually teach them coding in school, in the same way that we teach them physics and geography and literacy and math and what-not." Coding, he added, is one such fundamental skill -- and the only reason it's not part of the curriculum is because it too
  
  Read more

• Google DeepMind Is Hiring a 'Post-AGI' Research Scientist

  15-04-2025 20:02 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: None of the frontier AI research labs have presented any evidence that they are on the brink of achieving artificial general intelligence, no matter how they define that goal, but Google is already planning for a "Post-AGI" world by hiring a scientist for its DeepMind AI lab to research the "profound impact" that technology will have on society.
  "Spearhead research projects exploring the influence of AGI on domains such as economics, law, health/wellbeing, AG
  
  Read more

• OpenAI is Building a Social Network

  15-04-2025 19:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: OpenAI is working on its own X-like social network, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. While the project is still in early stages, we're told there's an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT's image generation that has a social feed. CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, our sources say. It's unclear if OpenAI's plan is to release the social network as a separate app or integrate it into ChatGP
  
  Read more

• Android Phones Will Soon Reboot Themselves After Sitting Unused For 3 Days

  15-04-2025 18:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: A silent update rolling out to virtually all Android devices will make your phone more secure, and all you have to do is not touch it for a few days. The new feature implements auto-restart of a locked device, which will keep your personal data more secure. It's coming as part of a Google Play Services update, though, so there's nothing you can do to speed along the process.
  Google is preparing to release a new update to Play Services (v25.14), which brings a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Zuckerberg Had a 'Crazy Idea' in 2022 For Facebook - Purge All Users' Friends

  15-04-2025 18:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered resetting all Facebook users' friend connections to boost the platform's declining relevance, according to internal emails revealed Monday in a landmark FTC antitrust trial. In a 2022 message to executives, Zuckerberg proposed "wiping everyone's graphs and having them start again," referring to users' friend networks. Facebook head Tom Alison questioned the idea's viability, citing Instagram's reliance on friend connections. Zuckerberg later testified that the
  
  Read more

• FCC Chairman Tells Europe To Choose Between US or Chinese Communications Tech

  15-04-2025 17:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has issued a stark ultimatum to European allies, telling them to choose between US and Chinese communications technology. In an interview with Financial Times, Carr urged "allied western democracies" to "focus on the real long-term bogey: the rise of the Chinese Communist party." The warning comes as European governments question Starlink's reliability after Washington threatened to switch off its services in Ukraine.
  UK telecoms BT and Virgin Media O2 are currently tri
  
  Read more

• Publishers and Law Professors Back Authors in Meta AI Copyright Battle

  15-04-2025 16:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Publishers and law professors have filed amicus briefs supporting authors who sued Meta over its AI training practices, arguing that the company's use of "thousands of pirated books" fails to qualify as fair use under copyright law.
  The filings [PDF] in California's Northern District federal court came from copyright law professors, the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), Copyright Alliance, and Association of American Publishers. The briefs counter e
  
  Read more

• Hertz Says Customers' Personal Data, Driver's Licenses Stolen In Data Breach

  15-04-2025 15:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Car rental giant Hertz has begun notifying its customers of a data breach that included their personal information and driver's licenses. The rental company, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty brands, said in notices on its website that the breach relates to a cyberattack on one of its vendors between October 2024 and December 2024. The stolen data varies by region, but largely includes Hertz customer names, dates of birth, contact informa
  
  Read more

• China Halts Rare Earth Exports Globally

  15-04-2025 12:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares the news that China has halted all rare earth exports globally -- including to the U.S., Japan, and Germany. Fortune reports: After Trump unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, China retaliated on April 4 with its own duties as well as export controls on several rare earth minerals and magnets made from them. So far, those export controls have translated to a halt across the board, cutting off the U.S. and other countries, according to the New Y
  
  Read more

• CT Scans Projected to Result in 100,000 New Cancers in The US

  15-04-2025 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A new study projects that CT scans conducted in 2023 may result in around 103,000 future cancer cases in the U.S. due to low-dose ionizing radiation. "[I]t would put CT scans on par with other significant risk factors for cancer, like alcohol consumption, at least at a population level," reports ScienceAlert. From the report: At an individual level, the theoretical chance of developing cancer from a CT scan is thought to be very minimal, if it exists at all, and patients should not be scared of
  
  Read more

• Indian IT Faces Its Kodak Moment

  15-04-2025 07:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Generative AI offers remarkable efficiency gains while presenting a profound challenge for the global IT services industry -- a sector concentrated in India and central to its export economy.
  For decades, Indian technology firms thrived by deploying their engineering talent to serve primarily Western clients. Now they face a critical question. Will AI's productivity dividend translate into revenue growth? Or will fierce competition see these gains competed aw
  
  Read more

• Chinese Robotaxis Have Government Black Boxes, Approach US Quality

  15-04-2025 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Forbes: Robotaxi development is speeding at a fast pace in China, but we don't hear much about it in the USA, where the news focuses mostly on Waymo, with a bit about Zoox, Motional, May, trucking projects and other domestic players. China has 4 main players with robotaxi service, dominated by Baidu (the Chinese Google.) A recent session at last week's Ride AI conference in Los Angeles revealed some details about the different regulatory regime in China,
  
  Read more

• Climate Crisis Has Tripled Length of Deadly Ocean Heatwaves, Study Finds

  15-04-2025 03:50 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The climate crisis has tripled the length of ocean heatwaves, a study has found, supercharging deadly storms and destroying critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs. From a report: Half of the marine heatwaves since 2000 would not have happened without global heating, which is caused by burning fossil fuels. The heatwaves have not only become more frequent but also more intense: 1C warmer on average, but much hotter in some places, the scientists said.
  The research is the first c
  
  Read more

• Apple To Analyze User Data on Devices To Bolster AI Technology

  15-04-2025 02:50 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple will begin analyzing data on customers' devices in a bid to improve its AI platform, a move designed to safeguard user information while still helping it catch up with AI rivals. From a report: Today, Apple typically trains AI models using synthetic data -- information that's meant to mimic real-world inputs without any personal details. But that synthetic information isn't always representative of actual customer data, making it harder for its AI systems to work properly.
  The new approach
  
  Read more

• Samsung Pauses One UI 7 Rollout Worldwide

  15-04-2025 01:40 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  Samsung has paused the global rollout of its One UI 7 update after a serious bug was reported that prevented some Galaxy S24 owners from unlocking their phones. The Verge reports: While the complaints seem to have specifically come from South Korean owners of Galaxy S24 series handsets, Samsung has played it safe and paused the rollout across all models worldwide. While some users will have already downloaded the update to One UI 7, using the app CheckFirm we've confirmed that the update is no l
  
  Read more

• Risks To Children Playing Roblox 'Deeply Disturbing,' Say Researchers

  15-04-2025 01:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  A new investigation reveals that children as young as five can easily access inappropriate content and interact unsupervised with adults on Roblox, despite the platform's child-friendly image and recent safety updates. The Guardian reports: Describing itself as "the ultimate virtual universe," Roblox features millions of games and interactive environments, known collectively as "experiences." Some of the content is developed by Roblox, but much of it is user-generated. In 2024, the platform had
  
  Read more

• Intel To Sell Majority Stake In Altera For $4.46 Billion To Fund Revival Effort

  15-04-2025 00:10 via slashdot.org
  
  Intel will sell a 51% stake in its Altera programmable chip unit to private equity firm Silver Lake for $4.46 billion, aiming to cut costs, raise cash, and streamline the company's focus as it shifts toward becoming a contract chip manufacturer. CNBC reports: The deal, announced on Monday, values Altera at $8.75 billion, a sharp decline from the $17 billion Intel paid in 2015. [...] Since last year, Intel has taken steps to spin Altera out as a separate unit and said it planned to sell a portion
  
  Read more

Follow @newslocke_ict on Twitter!