ICT news

• Labor Force Participation Rate Falls To Lowest In 50 years

  02-07-2026 23:05 via news.slashdot.org
  The US unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in June largely because 720,000 people left the labor force, pushing participation to 61.5%. Excluding the Covid-era jobs market, that's the lowest participation rate since June 1976. CNBC reports: The decline in the labor force marks a "massive exodus" driven by multiple factors, said Mike Reid, head of U.S. economics at RBC. "The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as both the number of unemployed workers and the size of the labor force pulled back," Reid wrote
  
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• AI Agent Executes 'First' End-To-End Ransomware Attack

  02-07-2026 22:00 via it.slashdot.org
  Sysdig says it has documented the first ransomware attack carried out end to end by an AI agent, which autonomously exploited exposed systems, stole credentials, established persistence, compromised a production database, and destroyed data. The research team named the attacker "JadePuffer" and said it gained initial access to an internet-facing Langflow instance by exploiting CVE-2025-3248. "The most striking characteristic, however, was the LLM's behavior," Sysdig director of threat research M
  
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• Godot Game Engine No Longer Accepts AI Code

  02-07-2026 21:00 via games.slashdot.org
  The Godot Foundation will stop accepting AI-authored code, agent-submitted pull requests, and AI-generated text in contributor communications after maintainers were overwhelmed by low-effort submissions. "It is time for us to recognize that these problems aren't going away and therefore we need to take steps to reduce the burden on maintainers while ensuring we still have a pipeline to mentor new contributors to become future maintainers," the Godot Foundation said in a blog post. Contributors m
  
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• Meta Is Charging a Subscription for Smart Glasses Features

  02-07-2026 20:05 via news.slashdot.org
  Meta is introducing a subscription for expanded access to advanced smart-glasses features. According to Wired, "[U]sers will need the Meta One Premium Plan to unlock expanded access to some features for their smart glasses, whether it's the Ray-Ban, Oakley, or Meta-branded version." They'll still be usable with a subscription, but "certain features will be limited," the report says. From the report: Specifically, a feature called Conversation Focus, which boosts the audio of the person you're sp
  
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• OpenAI 'In Early Talks To Give 5% Stake To US Government'

  02-07-2026 19:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  OpenAI is reportedly in early talks to give the U.S. government a 5% stake, potentially alongside similar contributions from other major AI companies. "Such a deal would help improve the industry's relations with the Trump administration and could help garner political support by sharing wealth generated by the AI boom with the public," reports The Guardian. From the report: [OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] and other OpenAI bosses have suggested that each of the biggest AI developers in the US should giv
  
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• WhatsApp Usernames Are Already Raising Impersonation Red Flags

  02-07-2026 18:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: WhatsApp this week started rolling out username reservations ahead of the broader launch planned later this year. The feature -- which lets people find and message each other by handle instead of phone number -- is already raising impersonation concerns, drawing scrutiny from security experts and regulators in India, the app's largest market, with more than 500 million users. The rollout marks a shift in how people identify one another on What
  
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• OnePlus Is Quietly Steering Customers Toward OPPO Products

  02-07-2026 17:00 via mobile.slashdot.org
  OnePlus is directing customers in some European markets toward OPPO devices, with its German website presenting OPPO as the natural upgrade path for existing users. The regional handoff adds to "months of speculation that the smartphone brand is slowly being folded into its parent company," reports Android Authority. From the report: The banner, seen on OnePlus' German website, tells visitors seeking "the experience you trust" that OPPO offers the same speed, performance, and compatibility that
  
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• The Space-Based Data Center Hype Machine Is Already In Orbit

  02-07-2026 13:00 via science.slashdot.org
  IEEE Spectrum argues that orbital data centers remain far from economically or technically practical despite Elon Musk's prediction that space will become the cheapest place to run AI within a few years. Deploying SpaceX's proposed million-satellite constellation would require enormous increases in launch and manufacturing capacity, while cooling, radiation, maintenance, latency, orbital debris, and astronomical interference present major unresolved obstacles. Longtime Slashdot reader xetdog sha
  
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• SpaceX Reportedly Has an AI Device Prototype

  02-07-2026 09:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  According to the Wall Street Journal, SpaceX showed investors an early prototype of a slim, "handset-like" AI device running a proprietary operating system and integrating xAI technology. Elon Musk, however, denied the report, calling it "utterly false." TechCrunch reports: SpaceX, alongside sister company Tesla, does have the manufacturing expertise to pull off mass-producing a bunch of AI devices -- not to mention access to the chips needed to power any on-device compute. SpaceX has also signa
  
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• US Home Battery Installations Hit Record High On Rising Electricity Costs

  02-07-2026 05:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: US homeowners have embraced home batteries in record-breaking numbers in early 2026, spurred on by state incentives while seeking to offset rising residential electricity costs. The trend could even unlock a more flexible energy supply for power grid operators and even AI data centers. New home battery installations reached a record 673 megawatts of energy storage in the first quarter of 2026, according to the US Energy Information Administr
  
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• T-Mobile Appears To Be Quitting VMware Amid Support Rights Lawsuit With Broadcom

  02-07-2026 01:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  T-Mobile appears to be migrating its 303,000-core VMware environment to another platform while fighting Broadcom in court for the extended support it says its perpetual-license agreement guarantees. "The matter is somewhat urgent," The Register reports, because a court-ordered support arrangement expires August 3, "so T-Mobile may soon be unable to get support for its very substantial VMware estate." The Register reports: The dispute relates to a deal T-Mobile struck with VMware in August 2023,
  
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• Meta Is Reportedly Building Its Own Cloud Business

  02-07-2026 00:00 via meta.slashdot.org
  Meta is reportedly developing its own cloud business that could sell access to its AI models and lease data-center computing capacity to other companies. The move would put Meta in direct competition with Amazon, Google, and SpaceX. Engadget reports: The cloud business could offer multiple services, according to [Bloomberg], like selling access to AI models run on Meta's infrastructure, or leasing the computing power of its data centers to other companies looking to train AI. Offering something
  
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