ICT news

• Applets Are Officially Going, But Java In the Browser Is Better Than Ever

  14-12-2025 00:19 via developers.slashdot.org
  "The entire java.applet package has been removed from JDK 26, which will release in March 2026," notes Inside Java.
  But long-time Slashdot reader AirHog links to this blog post reminding us that
  "Applets Are Officially Gone, But Java In The Browser Is Better Than Ever."
  This brings to an official end the era of applets, which began in 1996. However, for years it has been possible to build modern, interactive web pages in Java without needing applets or plugins. TeaVM provides fast, performant, a
  
  Read more

• MIT Grieves Shooting Death of Renowned Director of Plasma Science Center

  18-12-2025 04:30 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) community is grieving after the "shocking" shooting death of the director of its plasma science and fusion center, according to officials. Nuno FG Loureiro, 47, had been shot multiple times at his home in the affluent Boston suburb of Brookline on Monday night when police said they received a call to investigate. Emergency responders brought Loureiro to a hospital, and the award-winning scienti
  
  Read more

• Senate Confirms Billionaire Entrepreneur Jared Isaacman As New NASA Chief

  18-12-2025 01:50 via science.slashdot.org
  Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Politico: The Senate on Wednesday approved Jared Isaacman for the top job at NASA -- an unprecedented comeback after President Donald Trump yanked his nomination this spring. Senators confirmed the billionaire private astronaut in a 67-30 vote. Trump renominated Isaacman for NASA administrator in November, after pulling his original nomination in May. He cited Isaacman's relationship with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, with whom Trump had just had a f
  
  Read more

• The Oscars Will Abandon Broadcast TV For YouTube In 2029

  18-12-2025 01:10 via news.slashdot.org
  The Academy has struck a multi-year deal to move the Oscars to YouTube starting in 2029, ending decades on ABC and making the ceremony free to stream worldwide with YouTube holding exclusive global rights. Variety reports: The Oscars, including red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes content and Governors Ball, will be available live and for free on YouTube to viewers around the world, as well as to YouTube TV subscribers in the United States. Architects of the agreement said they hope the move t
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Meta 'Pauses' Third-Party Headset Program

  18-12-2025 00:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Meta has paused its third-party Horizon OS headset program, effectively canceling planned VR headsets from Asus and Lenovo as it refocuses on "building the world-class first-party hardware and software needed to advance the VR market." Road to VR reports: A little over a year and a half ago, Meta made an "industry-altering announcement," as I called the move in my reporting: the company was rebranding the Quest operating system to 'Horizon OS' and announced it was working with select partners to
  
  Read more

• Netflix To Add Soccer Video Game Based On FIFA World Cup Next Year

  17-12-2025 23:50 via games.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Netflix on Wednesday said it will add a soccer simulation title to its gaming portfolio, as the streaming giant looks to leverage the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament to deepen its video game push. The soccer title will be developed and published by Delphi Interactive, which is also helping create a premium James Bond game called "007 First Light," and in association with the sport's governing body, FIFA. Netflix said the game will launch in time f
  
  Read more

• GitHub Is Going To Start Charging You For Using Your Own Hardware

  17-12-2025 23:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  GitHub will begin charging $0.002 per minute for self-hosted Actions runners used on private repositories starting in March. "At the same time, GitHub noted in a Tuesday blog post that it's lowering the prices of GitHub-hosted runners beginning January 1, under a scheme it calls 'simpler pricing and a better experience for GitHub Actions,'" reports The Register. "Self-hosted runner usage on public repositories will remain free." From the report: Regardless of the public repo distinction, enterpr
  
  Read more

• Linux Kernel Rust Code Sees Its First CVE Vulnerability

  17-12-2025 22:30 via it.slashdot.org
  Longtime Linux developer Greg Kroah-Hartman announced that the Linux kernel has received its first CVE tied to Rust code. Phoronix reports: This first CVE (CVE-2025-68260) for Rust code in the Linux kernel pertains to the Android Binder rewrite in Rust. There is a race condition that can occur due to some noted unsafe Rust code. That code can lead to memory corruption of the previous/next pointers and in turn cause a crash. This CVE for the possible system crash is for Linux 6.18 and newer since
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Google Releases Gemini 3 Flash, Promising Improved Intelligence and Efficiency

  17-12-2025 21:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google began its transition to Gemini 3 a few weeks ago with the launch of the Pro model, and the arrival of Gemini 3 Flash kicks it into high gear. The new, faster Gemini 3 model is coming to the Gemini app and search, and developers will be able to access it immediately via the Gemini API, Vertex AI, AI Studio, and Antigravity. Google's bigger gen AI model is also picking up steam, with both Gemini 3 Pro and its image component (Nano Banan
  
  Read more

• Browser Extensions With 8 Million Users Collect Extended AI Conversations

  17-12-2025 20:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Browser extensions with more than 8 million installs are harvesting complete and extended conversations from users' AI conversations and selling them for marketing purposes, according to data collected from the Google and Microsoft pages hosting them.
  Security firm Koi discovered the eight extensions, which as of late Tuesday night remained available in both Google's and Microsoft's extension stores. Seven of them carry "Featured" badges, which are endorsemen
  
  Read more

• English Has Become Easier To Read

  17-12-2025 20:00 via news.slashdot.org
  The conventional wisdom that English prose has gotten easier to read because sentences have gotten shorter is wrong, according to a new analysis published in Works in Progress by writer and Mercatus Center research fellow Henry Oliver. The real transformation happened centuries ago in the 1500s and 1600s when Bible translators like William Tyndale and Thomas Cranmer developed a "plain style" built on logical syntax rather than the older rhythmic, periodic structures inherited from medieval prose
  
  Read more

• FCC Chair Suggests Agency Isn't Independent, Word Cut From Mission Statement

  17-12-2025 19:17 via yro.slashdot.org
  FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs "is not an independent agency, formally speaking." Axios: During his testimony, the word "independent" was removed from the FCC's mission statement on its website. The extraordinary statement speaks to a broader trend of regulatory agencies losing power to the executive branch during the Trump era. Last week, the Supreme Court appeared poised to allow President Trump to fire members of the Federal Trade C
  
  Read more

• How We Ingest Plastic Chemicals While Consuming Food

  17-12-2025 18:38 via science.slashdot.org
  A comprehensive database built by scientists in Switzerland and Norway has catalogued 16,000 chemicals linked to plastic materials, and the findings paint a troubling picture of what Americans are actually eating when they prepare food in their kitchens. Of those 16,000 chemicals, more than 5,400 are considered hazardous to human health by government and industry standards, while just 161 are classified as not hazardous. The remaining 10,700-plus chemicals simply don't have enough data to determ
  
  Read more

• Coursera Acquires Udemy For $930 Million

  17-12-2025 17:49 via news.slashdot.org
  Coursera announced on Wednesday that it will acquire rival online learning platform Udemy in an all-stock deal that values the combined company at $2.5 billion, a move that brings together two of the largest U.S.-based players in an industry that has struggled since pandemic-era enrollment highs faded. Under the terms of the agreement, Udemy shareholders will receive 0.8 shares of Coursera for each share they hold, valuing Udemy at roughly $930 million. Based on Coursera's last closing price, th
  
  Read more

• Google Sues Alleged Chinese Scam Group Behind Massive US Text Message Phishing Ring

  17-12-2025 17:12 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google is suing a Chinese-speaking cybercriminal group it says is responsible for a massive wave of scam text messages sent to Americans this year, according to a legal complaint filed Tuesday. From a report: The group, known as Darcula, sells software that allows users to send phishing text messages en masse, impersonating organizations like the IRS or the U.S. Postal Service in scams. The lawsuit is designed to give Google legal standing so U.S. courts will allow it to seize websites the group
  
  Read more

• Meta Is Considering Charging Business Pages To Post Links

  17-12-2025 16:21 via tech.slashdot.org
  Meta is informing some users that they will soon be restricted in how many link posts they can share each month, unless they pay for its Meta Verified subscription service. As per the notification message: "Starting December 16, certain Facebook profiles without Meta Verified, including yours, will be limited to sharing links in 2 organic posts per month. Subscribe to Meta Verified to share more links on Facebook, plus get a verified badge and additional benefits to help protect your brand."
  To
  
  Read more

• Warner Bros Discovery Board Rejects Rival Bid From Paramount

  17-12-2025 15:45 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Warner Bros Discovery's board spurned Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid on Wednesday, calling the offer "illusory" as it accused the studio giant of misleading shareholders about its financing. From a report: Paramount has been in a race with Netflix to win control of Warner Bros, and with it, its prized film and television studios, HBO Max streaming service and franchises like "Harry Potter." After Warner Bros accepted the streaming giant's offer, Paramount launched a hos
  
  Read more

• OpenAI in Talks With Amazon About Investment That Could Exceed $10 Billion

  17-12-2025 15:09 via slashdot.org
  OpenAI is in discussions with Amazon about a potential investment and an agreement to use its AI chips, CNBC confirmed on Tuesday. From the report: The details are fluid and still subject to change but the investment could exceed $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. The discussions come after OpenAI completed a restructuring in October and formally outlined the details of its partnership with Microsoft, giving i
  
  Read more

• Uber and DoorDash Try To Halt NYC Law That Encourages Tipping

  17-12-2025 14:00 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Two of the largest food-delivery app companies have made a last-ditch effort to overturn tipping laws in New York City that go into effect in January just as its next mayor, who has been highly critical of the companies and the app industry, takes office. Tips to delivery workers have plummeted since some food-delivery apps switched to showing the tipping option only after a purchase had been completed; that change came after New York
  
  Read more

• Senators Count the Shady Ways Data Centers Pass Energy Costs On To Americans

  17-12-2025 11:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  U.S. senators are probing whether Big Tech data centers are driving up local electricity bills by socializing grid upgrade costs onto residents. Some of the tactics they're using include NDAs, shell companies, and lobbying. Ars Technica reports: In letters (PDF) to seven AI firms, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) cited a study estimating that "electricity prices have increased by as much as 267 percent in the past five years" in "are
  
  Read more

• The Arctic Is in Dire Straits, 20 Years of Reporting Show

  17-12-2025 08:00 via news.slashdot.org
  A new Arctic Report Card recap shows how the Arctic has transformed in just 20 years, warming about twice as fast as the global average and losing most of its oldest sea ice. It's also triggering cascading impacts from "Atlantification" to permafrost-driven "rusting rivers" and more destructive storms. Scientific American reports: The first Arctic Report Card was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2006. Since then the region has warmed twice as fast as the global
  
  Read more

• Breach At South Korea's Equivalent of Amazon Exposed Data of Almost Every Adult

  17-12-2025 04:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: The alleged perpetrator had improper access to virtually every South Korean adult's personal information: names, phone numbers and even the keycode to enter residential buildings. It was one of the biggest data breaches of recent years and it has sent the company it targeted -- Coupang, South Korea's equivalent of Amazon -- reeling, generating lawsuits, government investigation and calls to toughen penalties against such leaks. Th
  
  Read more

• EU Moves To Ease 2035 Ban On Internal Combustion Cars

  17-12-2025 02:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  The EU is moving to soften its planned 2035 ban on internal combustion cars by allowing a small share of low-emission engines. "The less stringent limit would leave room for automakers to continue selling some plug-in hybrids, which have both electric and internal combustion engines and can use the combustion engine to recharge the battery without the need to find a charging station," reports the Associated Press. From the report: The proposal from the EU's executive commission would change prov
  
  Read more

• Meta Tolerates Rampant Ad Fraud From China To Safeguard Billions In Revenue

  17-12-2025 01:50 via meta.slashdot.org
  A Reuters investigation found that Meta knowingly tolerated large volumes of scam and illegal ads from China worth billions in revenue. Reuters reports: Though China's authoritarian government bans use of Meta social media by its citizens, Beijing lets Chinese companies advertise to foreign consumers on the globe-spanning platforms. As a result, Meta's advertising business was thriving in China, ultimately reaching over $18 billion in annual sales in 2024, more than a tenth of the company's glob
  
  Read more

• Dual-PCB Linux Computer With 843 Components Designed By AI Boots On First Attempt

  17-12-2025 01:10 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Quilter says its AI designed a complex Linux single-board computer in just one week, booting Debian on first power-up. "Holy crap, it's working," exclaimed one of the engineers. Tom's Hardware reports: LA-based startup Quilter has outlined Project Speedrun, which marks a milestone in computer design by AI. The headlining claims are that Quilter's AI facilitated the design of a new Linux SBC, using 843 parts and dual-PCBs, taking just one week to finish, then successfully booting Debian the first
  
  Read more

• Mark Carney Criticised For Using British Spellings In Canadian Documents

  17-12-2025 00:30 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Mark Carney says that amid a fundamental shift to the nature of globalization, his government will catalyze the growth in both the public and private sector. But Canadian linguists say that's a problem. Language experts have called out the Canadian prime minister's growing "utilization" of British spellings in key documents -- including the recent federal budget and a press release issued following a meeting with Donald Trump.Carney, who ser
  
  Read more

• Intel Quietly Discontinues Its Open-Source User-Space Gaudi Driver Code

  16-12-2025 23:50 via news.slashdot.org
  Intel has quietly stopped maintaining its open-source user-space driver stack for Gaudi accelerators. Phoronix reports: It turns out earlier this year Intel archived the SynapseAI Core open-source code and is no longer maintained by Intel. The open-source Synapse AI Core GitHub repository was archived in February and README updated with: "This project will no longer be maintained by Intel. Intel has ceased development and contributions including, but not limited to, maintenance, bug fixes, new r
  
  Read more

• Reporter Suggests Half-Life 3 Will Be a Steam Machine Launch Title

  16-12-2025 23:10 via games.slashdot.org
  A veteran games journalist claims Half-Life 3 is real and still planned as a Spring 2026 launch title tied to Valve's next Steam Machine push. Ars Technica reports: On the contrary, veteran journalist Mike Straw insisted on a recent Insider Gaming podcast that "everybody I've talked to are still adamant [Half-Life 3] is a game that will be a launch title with the Steam Machine."Straw -- who has a long history of reporting gaming rumors from anonymous sources -- said this Half-Life 3 information
  
  Read more

• Volkswagen To End Production At German Plant, a First In Company History

  16-12-2025 22:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: The last vehicle will roll off the assembly line at Volkswagen's plant in Dresden, Germany, on Tuesday, marking the first time in the automaker's 88-year history that it has closed a plant in its home country. Volkswagen warned of potential production cuts last year, as it faced shaky demand in Europe and China, its biggest market, as well as higher tariffs that have crimped sales in the United States.After 24 years of vehicle producti
  
  Read more

• Utah Leaders Hinder Efforts To Develop Solar Energy Supply

  16-12-2025 21:50 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills this year that ended solar development tax credits and imposed a new tax on solar generation despite solar power accounting for two-thirds of the new projects waiting to connect to the state's power grid. The legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature has already had an impact.
  Since May, when the laws took effect, 51 planned solar projects withdrew their applications to connect to the grid. That represents more than a quarter of all projec
  
  Read more

Follow @newslocke_ict on Twitter!