ICT news

• Android 16 Is Here

  10-06-2025 23:43 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a blog post from Google: Today, we're bringing you Android 16, rolling out first to supported Pixel devices with more phone brands to come later this year. This is the earliest Android has launched a major release in the last few years, which ensures you get the latest updates as soon as possible on your devices. Android 16 lays the foundation for our new Material 3 Expressive design, with features that make Android more accessible and easy to use.Read more of this sto
  
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• Bluesky's Decline Stems From Never Hearing From the Other Side

  10-06-2025 23:05 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Bluesky's user engagement has fallen roughly 50% since peaking in mid-November, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis, as progressive groups' efforts to migrate users from Elon Musk's X platform show signs of failure. The research found that while many news influencers maintain Bluesky accounts, two-thirds post irregularly compared to more than 80% who still post daily to X. A Washington Post columnist tries to make sense of it: The people who have migrated to Bluesky tend to be tho
  
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• 2020s on Course To Be Weakest Decade for Global Economy Since 1960s, Says World Bank

  10-06-2025 22:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The World Bank sharply reduced its global economic growth forecast for 2025 to 2.3% from 2.7%, warning that the current decade is on track to become the weakest for the global economy since the 1960s. The Washington-based lender attributed the downgrade to mounting costs from "international discord -- about trade, in particular," as Donald Trump's tariff policies create unprecedented uncertainty.
  The revised forecast would mark the slowest growth rate outside full-blown recessions since 2008. Ev
  
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• Gabbard Says AI is Speeding Up Intel Work, Including the Release of the JFK Assassination Files

  10-06-2025 21:49 via news.slashdot.org
  
  AI is speeding up the work of America's intelligence services, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Tuesday. From a report: Speaking to a technology conference, Gabbard said AI programs, when used responsibly, can save money and free up intelligence officers to focus on gathering and analyzing information. The sometimes slow pace of intelligence work frustrated her as a member of Congress, Gabbard said, and continues to be a challenge. AI can run human resource programs, for inst
  
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• 1.5 TB of James Webb Space Telescope Data Just Hit the Internet

  10-06-2025 20:44 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A NASA-backed project using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has released more than 1.5 TB of data for open science, offering the largest view deep into the universe available to date. From a report: The Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), a joint project from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Rochester Institute of Technology, has launched a searchable dataset for budding astrophysics enthusiasts worldwide.
  As well as a catalog of galaxies, the dataset include
  
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• Ubuntu Linux 25.10 Quietly Kills Off GNOME On Xorg As Wayland Takes Over

  10-06-2025 20:01 via news.slashdot.org
  
  BrianFagioli writes: Ubuntu 25.10, known as Questing Quokka, is taking a big turn under the hood. Canonical has dropped support for the GNOME desktop running on Xorg. Starting with this release, the default Ubuntu session now uses Wayland only. Yes, folks, there's no longer an option to log into GNOME on Xorg.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Apple's Upgraded AI Models Underwhelm On Performance

  10-06-2025 18:46 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple's latest AI models continue to lag behind competitors, according to the company's own benchmark testing it disclosed this week. The tech giant's newest "Apple On-Device" model, which runs locally on iPhones and other devices, performed only "comparably" to similarly-sized models from Google and Alibaba in human evaluations of text generation quality -- not better, despite being Apple's most recent release.
  The performance gap widens with Apple's more powerful "Apple Server" model, designed
  
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• Cisco Updates Networking Products in Bid To Tap AI-Fueled Demand

  10-06-2025 18:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Cisco is updating its networking and security products to make AI networks speedier and more secure, part of a broader push to capitalize on the AI spending boom. From a report: A new generation of switches -- networking equipment that links computer systems -- will offer a 10-fold improvement in performance, the company said on Tuesday. That will help prevent AI applications from suffering bottlenecks when transferring data, Cisco said. Networking speed has become a bigger issue as data center
  
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• Scientists Warn Against Attempts To Change Definition of 'Forever Chemicals'

  10-06-2025 17:28 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A group of 20 internationally renowned scientists have issued a strong warning against attempts to narrow the definition of "forever chemicals" in what they describe as a politically or economically motivated effort to weaken regulation of the potentially harmful chemicals. From a report: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used for their oil-, water- and stain-resistant properties in a range of consumer and industrial products from waterproof clot
  
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• New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years

  10-06-2025 16:46 via slashdot.org
  
  The Class of 2025 is encountering the worst entry-level job market in years with unemployment among recent degree-holders aged 22 to 27 reaching 5.8% this spring -- the highest level in approximately four years and well above the national average. According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data, 85% of the unemployment rate increase since mid-2023 stems from new labor market entrants struggling to find work.
  Corporate hiring freezes implemented under threats of President Trump's tariffs, comb
  
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• OpenAI Taps Google in Unprecedented Cloud Deal Despite AI Rivalry

  10-06-2025 16:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI plans to add Alphabet's Google cloud service to meet its growing needs for computing capacity, Reuters reported Tuesday, marking a surprising collaboration between two prominent competitors in the AI race. From the report: The deal, which has been under discussion for a few months, was finalized in May, one of the sources added. It underscores how massive computing demands to train and deploy AI models are reshaping the competitive dynamics in AI, and marks OpenAI's latest move to diversi
  
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• New Code.org Curriculum Aims To Make Schoolkids Python-Literate and AI-Ready

  10-06-2025 15:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader theodp writes: The old Code.org curriculum page for middle and high school students has been changed to include a new Python Lab in the tech-backed nonprofit's K-12 offerings. Elsewhere on the site, a Computer Science and AI Foundations curriculum is described that includes units on 'Foundations of AI Programming [in Python]' and 'Insights from Data and AI [aka Data Science].' A more-detailed AI Foundations Syllabus 25-26 document promises a second semester of material i
  
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• Meta Is Creating a New AI Lab To Pursue 'Superintelligence'

  10-06-2025 09:38 via tech.slashdot.org
  Meta is preparing to unveil a new AI research lab dedicated to pursuing "superintelligence," a hypothetical A.I. system that exceeds the powers of the human brain, as the tech giant jockeys to stay competitive in the technology race, New York Times reported Tuesday, citing four people with the knowledge of the company's plans. From the report: Meta has tapped Alexandr Wang, 28, the founder and chief executive of the A.I. start-up Scale AI, to join the new lab, the people said, and has been in ta
  
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• Second New Glenn Launch Slips Toward Fall As Program Leadership Departs

  10-06-2025 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  Blue Origin is falling far short of its goal to launch the New Glenn rocket eight times in 2025, with its second flight now delayed until at least mid-August. Key leadership changes were also announced, including the departure of the New Glenn program head, as the company faces pressure to increase launch cadence and compete with SpaceX for federal contracts and Amazon's Project Kuiper deployments. Ars Technica reports: The mission, with an undesignated payload, will be named "Never Tell Me the
  
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• FAA To Eliminate Floppy Disks Used In Air Traffic Control Systems

  10-06-2025 05:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Tom's Hardware: The head of the Federal Aviation Administration just outlined an ambitious goal to upgrade the U.S.'s air traffic control (ATC) system and bring it into the 21st century. According to NPR, most ATC towers and other facilities today feel like they're stuck in the 20th century, with controllers using paper strips and floppy disks to transfer data, while their computers run Windows 95. While this likely saved them from the disastrous CrowdStr
  
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