ICT news

• Chinese Cities Are Sinking Rapidly

  19-04-2024 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Major cities across China are sinking, putting a substantial portion of the country's rapidly urbanizing population in harm's way in the coming decades, according to a sweeping new analysis by Chinese scientists. Subsidence is the technical term for when land sinks relative to its surroundings, and it's a major threat for cities around the world. It accelerates local sea level rise from climate change, because the land is getting lower as the ocean g
  
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• Spotify Hides Song Lyrics Behind Paywall

  03-05-2024 00:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Several users on Reddit have noticed that Spotify has started hiding song lyrics behind a paywall. "This means you won't be able to sing along unless you know the lyrics already, or are willing to look them up in another app," reports Android Police. From the report: Still, you lose the convenience of real-time sync with the track and automatic scrolling. Like skips per hour, it appears Spotify will implement a limit system and accessing lyrics will count against the user's limit, which should i
  
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• Nurses Say Hospital Adoption of Half-Cooked 'AI' Is Reckless

  03-05-2024 00:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Techdirt: Last week, hundreds of nurses protested the implementation of sloppy AI into hospital systems in front of Kaiser Permanente. Their primary concern: that systems incapable of empathy are being integrated into an already dysfunctional sector without much thought toward patient care: "No computer, no AI can replace a human touch," said Amy Grewal, a registered nurse. "It cannot hold your loved one's hand. You cannot teach a computer how to have emp
  
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• Sony, Apollo Offers To Buy Paramount For $26 Billion

  02-05-2024 23:20 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management have made a bid to acquire Paramount for $26 billion and take it private. Variety reports: Sony and private-equity giant Apollo submitted a letter with the non-binding offer Wednesday to Paramount Global, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The bid, which would include the assumption of debt and could be negotiated, would be a premium over the company's current $22 billion enterprise value. Shares of Paramount Global jumped 13% o
  
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• Maximum-Severity GitLab Flaw Allowing Account Hijacking Under Active Exploitation

  02-05-2024 22:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Dan Goodin reports via Ars Technica: A maximum severity vulnerability that allows hackers to hijack GitLab accounts with no user interaction required is now under active exploitation, federal government officials warned as data showed that thousands of users had yet to install a patch released in January. A change GitLab implemented in May 2023 made it possible for users to initiate password changes through links sent to secondary email addresses. The move was designed to permit resets when user
  
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• Microsoft Bans US Police Departments From Using Enterprise AI Tool

  02-05-2024 22:02 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Microsoft has changed its policy to ban U.S. police departments from using generative AI through the Azure OpenAI Service, the company's fully managed, enterprise-focused wrapper around OpenAI technologies. Language added Wednesday to the terms of service for Azure OpenAI Service prohibits integrations with Azure OpenAI Service from being used "by or for" police departments in the U.S., including integrations with OpenAI's text- and speech-ana
  
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• The Original Smart Thermostat, Unveiled 16 Years Ago, is About To Get Dumb

  02-05-2024 21:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Ecobee, the company that pioneered smart thermostats with its Ecobee Smart in 2008, has announced it will end online support for the device and its commercial counterpart, the Ecobee Energy Management System, on July 31, 2024. The move will disable internet-dependent features such as web portal control, smart integrations, and weather-related functionality, while basic HVAC control and scheduling will remain operational.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• The Last Thing the iPad Needs Is a Spec Bump

  02-05-2024 20:42 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a column: When Apple CEO Tim Cook and a bunch of his deputies take the virtual stage next week to announce new iPads, they're going to spend a lot of time talking about specs. If the rumors are true, we're going to get new iPad Pros with OLED screens and thinner bodies, new Airs with faster chips and a correctly placed front camera, and a couple of new accessories. Before they even launch, I feel confident telling you these are the best iPads ever. But after all these
  
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• Warrantless FBI Searches of American Communications Drop 50 Percent

  02-05-2024 20:05 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The FBI cut its warrantless searches of American data in half in 2023, according to a government report released on Tuesday. From a report: According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's annual transparency report, the FBI conducted 57,094 searches of "US person" data under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act last year -- a 52 percent decrease from 2022.
  In a press briefing, a senior FBI official said that the drop was due to reforms the agency implemente
  
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• Google Defends 'Better' Search Product as Antitrust Trial Concludes

  02-05-2024 19:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google is making its last attempt to fight back against a historic effort by the US Department of Justice to break the tech giant's grip on online search, as the most significant antitrust trial in 25 years comes to a close in Washington. From a report: A federal court in Washington began hearing closing arguments on Thursday after a 10-week trial in which the DoJ accused Alphabet, the parent company of Google, of suppressing search rivals by paying tens of billions annually for anti-competitive
  
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• Apple Adds More Carve-outs To Its EU Core Tech Fee After Criticism From Devs

  02-05-2024 18:42 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple is tweaking how it applies a new fee that can apply to iOS developers in the European Union as it continues to configure its approach to the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA): Developers of free apps will be able to avoid the fee entirely under changes it announced Thursday, which apply from today, while other developers earning under a certain revenue threshold will get longer before they have to pay Apple the fee. From a report: The so-called "core technology fee" remains opt in for iOS d
  
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• Microsoft Launches Passkey Support For All Consumer Accounts

  02-05-2024 18:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft is fully rolling out passkey support for all consumer accounts today. From a report: After enabling them in Windows 11 last year, Microsoft account owners can also now generate passkeys across Windows, Android, and iOS. This makes it effortless to sign in to a Microsoft account without having to type a password in every time.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Google's Payments To Apple Reached $20 Billion in 2022, Antitrust Court Documents Show

  02-05-2024 17:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Alphabet paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 for Google to be the default search engine in the Safari browser, according to newly unsealed court documents in the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Google. From a report: The deal between the two tech giants is at the heart of the landmark case, in which antitrust enforcers allege Google has illegally monopolized the market for online search and related advertising. The Justice Department and Google will offer closing arguments in the case
  
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• Huawei Secretly Backs US Research, Awarding Millions in Prizes

  02-05-2024 16:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant blacklisted by the US, is secretly funding cutting-edge research at American universities including Harvard through an independent Washington-based foundation. From a report: Huawei is the sole funder of a research competition that has awarded millions of dollars since its inception in 2022 and attracted hundreds of proposals from scientists around the world, including those at top US universities that have banned their researchers from working with t
  
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• Whistleblower Josh Dean of Boeing Supplier Spirit AeroSystems Has Died

  02-05-2024 16:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems and one of the first whistleblowers to allege Spirit leadership had ignored manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX, died Tuesday morning after a struggle with a sudden, fast-spreading infection. Seattle Times: Known as Josh, Dean lived in Wichita, Kan., where Spirit is based. He was 45, had been in good health and was noted for having a healthy lifestyle. He died after two weeks in critical condition, his aunt Carol Parson
  
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• Microsoft To Invest $2.2 Billion In Cloud and AI Services In Malaysia

  02-05-2024 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Microsoft said on Thursday it will invest $2.2 billion over the next four years in Malaysia to expand cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services in the company's latest push to promote its generative AI technology in Asia. The investment, the largest in Microsoft's 32-year history in Malaysia, will include building cloud and AI infrastructure, creating AI-skilling opportunities for 200,000 people, and supporting the country's developers, the
  
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• CISA and FBI Release Secure by Design Alert to Urge Manufacturers to Eliminate Directory Traversal Vulnerabilities

  02-05-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint Secure by Design Alert, Eliminating Directory Traversal Vulnerabilities in Software. This Alert was crafted in response to recent well-publicized threat actor campaigns that exploited directory traversal vulnerabilities in software (e.g., CVE-2024-1708, CVE-2024-20345) to compromise users of the software—impacting critical infrastructure sectors, including the Healthcare and Public Health Sector.
  Additionally,
  
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• Google Phone Starts Rolling Out 'Audio Emoji'

  02-05-2024 12:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The Google Phone app is rolling out "Audio Emoji" to some users as part of an incoming update in the beta channel, version 128. As 9to5Google reports, they are "essentially stock sound effects attached to one of six different emoji." The list includes: clapping (applause), laughing, party, crying (trombone), poop, and sting (ba dum tss). From the report: When you, as the caller, select one of these "Audio Emoji," the Google Phone app will play a fun animation while a sound effect plays for a cou
  
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• A New Battery Warns Parents if Their Child Has Swallowed It

  02-05-2024 09:05 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  A new battery from Energizer comes with "color alert technology" to alert parents if their child has swallowed one. When the coin lithium battery comes into contact with saliva, it activates a blue dye "so parents and caregivers know that medical attention could be required," reports the New York Times. The battery also features more secure packaging and a nontoxic bitter coating. From the report: The new coin lithium battery features more secure packaging, a nontoxic bitter coating to discourag
  
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• AM Radio Law Opposed By Tech and Auto Industries Is Close To Passing

  02-05-2024 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A controversial bill that would require all new cars to be fitted with AM radios looks set to become a law in the near future. Yesterday, Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass) revealed that the "AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act" now has the support of 60 US Senators, as well as 246 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, making its passage an almost sure thing. Should that happen, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be requi
  
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• PFAS Increase Likelihood of Death By Cardiovascular Disease, Study Shows

  02-05-2024 04:02 via science.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter berghem shares a report from The Guardian: For the first time, researchers have formally shown that exposure to toxic PFAS increases the likelihood of death by cardiovascular disease, adding a new level of concern to the controversial chemicals' wide use. The findings are especially significant because proving an association with death by chemical exposure is difficult, but researchers were able to establish it by reviewing death records from northern Italy's Veneto region, where m
  
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• Google Lays Off Hundreds of 'Core' Employees, Moves Some Positions To India and Mexico

  02-05-2024 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to CNBC, Google is laying off at least 200 employees from its "Core" teams and moving some roles to India and Mexico. From the report: The Core unit is responsible for building the technical foundation behind the company's flagship products and for protecting users' online safety, according to Google's website. Core teams include key technical units from information technology, its Python developer team, technical infrastructure, security foundation, app platforms, core developers, and
  
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• Unity Appoints Ex-Zynga Exec Matthew Bromberg As CEO

  02-05-2024 02:45 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Unity has appointed Matthew Bromberg, former CEO of Zynga, as its new CEO, president and board member. "Filling a role that has been temporarily filled by former Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst, Bromberg will formally join Unity as CEO on May 15," reports VentureBeat. "Whitehurst will serve as executive chair of the Unity board, and Roelof Botha will transition from chairman to lead independent board member." From the report: Bromberg fills a slot vacated by John Riccitiello, who resigned last fall a
  
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• Congress Lets Broadband Funding Run Out, Ending $30 Low-Income Discounts

  02-05-2024 02:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Federal Communications Commission chair today made a final plea to Congress, asking for money to continue a broadband-affordability program that gave out its last round of $30 discounts to people with low incomes in April. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has lowered monthly Internet bills for people who qualify for benefits, but Congress allowed funding to run out. People may receive up to $14 in May if their ISP opted into off
  
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• Anthropic Brings Claude AI To the iPhone and iPad

  02-05-2024 01:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Anthropic has released its Claude AI chatbot on the App Store, bringing the company's ChatGPT competitor to the masses. Compared to OpenAI's chatbot, Claude is built with a focus on reducing harmful outputs and promoting safety, with a goal of making interactions more reliable and ethically aware. You can give it a try here. 9to5Mac reports: Anthropic highlights three launch features for Claude on iPhone:Seamless syncing with web chats: Pick up where you left off across devices.
  Vision capabilit
  
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• Roblox Players To Start Seeing Video Ads In Its Virtual Realms

  02-05-2024 00:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Roblox announced it'll be rolling out virtual billboards with video advertisements that will be displayed in its virtual worlds. Reuters reports: Users will now see billboards featuring content from brands such as e.l.f beauty, Walmart and Warner Bros Discovery, just as they would in real life. That would give advertisers access to Roblox's nearly 72 million daily active users -- half of whom are Gen-Z customers, a population group prized by marketers and businesses.The company in November began
  
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• Dropbox Says Hackers Breached Digital-Signature Product

  02-05-2024 00:01 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Dropbox said its digital-signature product, Dropbox Sign, was breached by hackers, who accessed user information including emails, user names and phone numbers. The software company said it became aware of the cyberattack on April 24, sought to limit the incident and reported it to law enforcement and regulatory authorities. "We discovered that the threat actor had accessed data related to all users of Dropbox Sign, such as emails and user name
  
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• National Archives Bans Employee Use of ChatGPT

  01-05-2024 23:22 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) told employees Wednesday that it is blocking access to ChatGPT on agency-issued laptops to "protect our data from security threats associated with use of ChatGPT," 404 Media reported Wednesday. From the report: "NARA will block access to commercial ChatGPT on NARANet [an internal network] and on NARA issued laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and mobile phones beginning May 6, 2024," an email sent to all employees, and seen by 404 Media, r
  
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• Microsoft Says April Windows Updates Break VPN Connections

  01-05-2024 22:42 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has confirmed that the April 2024 Windows security updates break VPN connections across client and server platforms. From a report: The company explains on the Windows health dashboard that "Windows devices might face VPN connection failures after installing the April 2024 security update or the April 2024 non-security preview update."
  "We are investigating user reports, and we will provide more information in the coming days," Redmond added. The list of affected Windows versions inclu
  
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• UnitedHealthCare CEO Says 'Maybe a Third' of US Citizens Were Affected By Recent Hack

  01-05-2024 21:59 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Two months after hackers broke into Change Healthcare systems stealing and then encrypting company data, it's still unclear how many Americans were impacted by the cyberattack. Last month, Andrew Witty, the CEO of Change Healthcare's parent company UnitedHealth Group, said that the stolen files include the personal health information of "a substantial proportion of people in America." On Wednesday, during a House hearing, when Witty was pushed to give a more
  
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