ICT news

• Disney, ABC Sue FCC Over Threats to Broadcast Licenses

  18-08-2026 23:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Disney and ABC are suing the FCC to block an early review of eight station licenses, arguing the Trump administration is using the agency's regulatory power to punish the network over programming and editorial decisions it dislikes. Reuters reports: In a lawsuit (PDF) filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Disney said the FCC was seeking to coerce and retaliate against "a network that refuses to bow to the administration's demands," calling the agency's actions an "extraordinary assault on
  
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• Memory Prices Climb 500% In 12 Months

  18-08-2026 22:03 via hardware.slashdot.org
  RAM prices have exploded over the past year, with some DDR5 kits approaching 500% year-over-year increases and a 128GB kit now selling for $3,399, which is more than 10 times its previous low. Tom's Hardware reports: Things improve as you step down the memory capacities and speed tiers, but not as much as we'd like. You're still looking at $392 for a memory kit that was just $72 last year. To reinforce the point, I pulled the latest average price data from PCPartPicker, comparing where we are to
  
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• You Can Finally Buy a Fairphone In the US

  18-08-2026 21:00 via mobile.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Your iPhone, SamsungGalaxy, andGoogle Pixel have a 1-year warranty. Unless you cough up extra dough for an extended service plan, you'll pay a hefty fee if you damage the screen and need a replacement (around $329 for aniPhone 17done directly fromApple). But it doesn't have to be this way. What if you could order the part from the manufacturer and do the repair yourself? That dream is finally being realized for American consumers, thanks to Fairpho
  
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• Google Buys All of Spirit Airlines' Data to Feed Its AI Models

  18-08-2026 20:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google has agreed to pay $10 million for a massive trove of anonymized Spirit Airlines data following the carrier's shutdown, including internal communications, spreadsheets, booking and frequent-flyer records, transactions, and employee information. CNN reports: Did you ever fly on Spirit Airlines? Or work there? Or send an email to someone who worked there? Then your information will soon be feeding Google's artificial intelligence model. The discount airline halted all operations in May, and
  
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• Apple Lowers App Store Fees In Europe to Settle Dispute With EU

  18-08-2026 19:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  Apple is overhauling its EU App Store fees to settle its Digital Markets Act dispute, simplifying the fee structure and "[resolving] Apple's disagreements with the Commission over business terms and alternative distribution." MacRumors reports: The initial acquisition fee and store services fee are being removed for apps distributed outside of the App Store, and Apple will now charge a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital purchases that replaces the prior per-install Core Technology Fee. Com
  
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• Microsoft MVP Creates Site to Remind You of All the Brands Redmond Replaced

  18-08-2026 18:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Microsoft MVP Loryan Strant has created the Microsoft Rebrand Registry, cataloging 72 Microsoft products and the 158 names they've had over the years. His analysis finds that Microsoft product names survive an average of two years and eleven months. The site even predicts which products are most likely to get renamed next, "by considering the amount of time the current name has applied, prior names, and the frequency with which Microsoft changes names of products in the same family," reports The
  
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• India Paves the Way For Charging Merchants a Fee On UPI Transactions

  18-08-2026 17:00 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: For most Indians, paying by Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become almost absurdly routine. Scan a QR code, tap a few buttons and the money moves instantly. There is no card machine, no cash, and -- most importantly -- for the user, no visible fee. That may be about to change. India has paved the way for banks and payment companies to charge merchants a fee on UPI transactions, potentially ending a decade-long experiment in free digital paym
  
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• Sainsbury's Store Pauses Facial Recognition After False Shoplifting Claim

  18-08-2026 13:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Bruce66423 shares a report from The Guardian: Sainsbury's has paused the use of AI face scanning in one of its stores after a customer was wrongly identified as a shoplifter and ejected from the shop. "I was embarrassed, mortified even, and felt quite humiliated and powerless," Matt Arnold, 46, said of his ordeal. The comedy promoter was buying supplies in the store in East Dulwich, in south-east London, for a standup event at Dulwich Hamlet football club when, after scanning his items and a Nec
  
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• Solar Power and Batteries Have Been Keeping Europe's Grid Stable

  18-08-2026 09:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  AleRunner writes: Solar has been doing the "heavy lifting" to help Europe meet its energy needs amid a string of blistering heatwaves." Euronews tells us as Europe's energy demands in the meantime, heat and Jellyfish have been causing shutdowns and reduced power output at multiple reactors at French nuclear plants as we already discussed From the report: A new analysis from energy think-tank Ember found that solar output in European countries rose by up to 17 percent on heatwave days in June and
  
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• 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Lenders Pitch Loans For Needs Like Electricity and Rent

  18-08-2026 05:30 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Buy now, pay later" loans took off during the pandemic as a way for online shoppers to go on retail splurges without using a credit card. Now, lenders are offering the loans as a means for people to finance basic households needs. The lending apps Flex and Zip allow customers to take out loans to pay for their broadband, electricity, health insurance, mobile phone service, mortgage and water bills. Affirm, one of the most popular pay-l
  
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• Supreme Court Rejects Verizon Bid For $47 Million Refund of FCC Fine

  18-08-2026 01:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Supreme Court today rejected Verizon's attempt to get a $47 million refund from the Federal Communications Commission. In a list of orders (PDF) issued by the court, Verizon's petition was denied without explanation. The denial apparently ends any possibility of Verizon asking a lower court to review the fine and order the FCC to issue a refund. However, AT&T and T-Mobile are continuing to challenge similar fines on grounds that sell
  
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• Apple Wallet Driver's License Feature to Launch in Four More US States

  18-08-2026 00:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  Apple Wallet's driver's license and state ID feature is set to expand to North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia, bringing the total to 18 states plus Puerto Rico. The digital IDs can be used at participating TSA checkpoints and businesses without handing over or unlocking an iPhone, though users are still generally advised to carry a physical ID because acceptance remains limited. MacRumors reports: A few days ago, North Carolina's DMV announced that it plans to launch a mobile ID program
  
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