ICT news

• Education Giant Pearson Hit By Cyberattack Exposing Customer Data

  09-05-2025 15:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: Education giant Pearson suffered a cyberattack, allowing threat actors to steal corporate data and customer information, BleepingComputer has learned. Pearson is a UK-based education company and one of the world's largest providers of academic publishing, digital learning tools, and standardized assessments. The company works with schools, universities, and individuals in over 70 countries through its print and online services. In a stat
  
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• LEGO Says Smart Brick Won't Replace Traditional Play After CES Backlash

  08-01-2026 15:05 via slashdot.org
  LEGO has responded to concerns that its newly announced Smart Brick technology represents a departure from the company's foundation in physical, non-digital play, a day after the official reveal at CES drew criticism from child development advocates. Federico Begher, SVP of Product, New Business, told IGN the sensor-packed bricks are "an addition, a complementary evolution" and emphasized that the company would "still very much nurture and innovate and keep doing our core experience."
  A BBC News
  
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• SteamOS Continues Its Slow Spread Across the PC Gaming Landscape

  08-01-2026 14:00 via games.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: SteamOS's slow march across the Windows-dominated PC gaming landscape is continuing to creep along. At CES this week, Lenovo announced it will launch a version of last year's high-priced, high-powered Legion Go 2 handheld with Valve's gaming-focused, Linux-based OS pre-installed starting in June. And there are some intriguing signs from Valve that SteamOS could come to non-AMD devices in the not-too-distant future as well. [...] Valve has al
  
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• Rubin Observatory Spots an Asteroid That Spins Fast Enough To Set a Record

  08-01-2026 11:00 via science.slashdot.org
  Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered a record-setting asteroid, known as 2025 MN45, nearly half a mile wide and spinning once every 1.88 minutes -- the fastest known rotation for an object of its size. "This is now the fastest-spinning asteroid that we know of, larger than 500 meters," said Sarah Greenstreet, University of Washington astronomer and lead author of the study. The findings have been published in the The Astrophysical Journal Letters. GeekWire reports: 202
  
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• How Bright Headlights Escaped Regulation

  08-01-2026 08:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Autoblog: ... the problem is that the federal brightness standards for automotive headlights have not changed for decades. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 hasn't had significant updates since 1986, with an addition allowing Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlights coming only in 2022. The NHTSA last investigated (PDF) the issue of headlamp glare in 2003. The current standards include huge loopholes for auto manufacturers to em
  
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• Japan's Nuclear Watchdog Halts Plant's Reactor Safety Screening Over Falsified Data

  08-01-2026 04:30 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Japan's nuclear watchdog said Wednesday it is scrapping the safety screening for two reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in central Japan, after its operator was found to have fabricated data about earthquake risks. It was a setback to Japan's attempts to accelerate nuclear reactor restarts. Less than a quarter of commercial nuclear reactors are operational in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns, but rising energ
  
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• AI Chip Frenzy To Wallop DRAM Prices With 70% Hike

  08-01-2026 02:25 via news.slashdot.org
  Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are projected to raise server memory prices by up to 70% in early 2026, according to Korea Economic Daily. "Combined with 50 percent increases in 2025, this could nearly double prices by mid-2026," reports the Register. From the report: The two Korean giants, alongside US-based Micron, dominate global memory production. All three are reallocating advanced manufacturing capacity to high-margin server DRAM and HBM chips for AI infrastructure, squeezing supply for P
  
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• Google and Character.AI Agree To Settle Lawsuits Over Teen Suicides

  08-01-2026 01:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  Google and Character.AI have agreed to settle multiple lawsuits from families alleging the chatbot encouraged self-harm and suicide among teens. "The settlements would mark the first resolutions in the wave of lawsuits against tech companies whose AI chatbots encouraged teens to hurt or kill themselves," notes Axios. From the report: Families allege that Character.AI's chatbot encouraged their children to cut their arms, suggested murdering their parents, wrote sexually explicit messages and did
  
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• OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health, Encouraging Users To Connect Their Medical Records

  08-01-2026 01:02 via science.slashdot.org
  OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Health, a sandboxed health-focused mode that lets users connect medical records and wellness apps for more personalized guidance. The company makes sure to note that ChatGPT Health is "not intended for diagnosis or treatment." The Verge reports: The company is encouraging users to connect their personal medical records and wellness apps, such as Apple Health, Peloton, MyFitnessPal,Weight Watchers, and Function, "to get more personalized, grounded responses to their qu
  
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• California Lawmaker Proposes a Four-Year Ban On AI Chatbots In Kids' Toys

  08-01-2026 00:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill [dubbed SB 867] on Monday that would place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from "dangerous AI interactions.""Chatbots and other AI tools may become integral parts of our lives in the future, but the dangers they pose now require us to take bold a
  
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• JPMorgan Chase Reaches a Deal To Take Over the Apple Credit Card

  07-01-2026 23:40 via news.slashdot.org
  According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled), Goldman Sachs is transferring Apple Card and Apple Savings to JPMorgan Chase. "It was clear in 2023 that Goldman Sachs would exit the consumer credit game, abandoning its Apple Card partnership with it," reports AppleInsider. "However, it has taken 26 months to reach a point where it can finally hand over issuing control to another bank." From the report: Goldman Sachs is reportedly expected to hand over the $20 billion of outstanding balances at
  
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• Bose Open-Sources Its SoundTouch Home Theater Smart Speakers Ahead of End-of-Life

  07-01-2026 23:02 via news.slashdot.org
  Bose is end-of-lifing its SoundTouch smart speakers but softened the blow by open-sourcing the SoundTouch API and preserving limited local features, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect. Ars Technica reports: In October, Bose announced that its SoundTouch Wi-Fi speakers and soundbars would become dumb speakers on February 18. At the time, Bose said that the speakers would only work if a device was connected via AUX, HDMI, or Bluetooth (which has higher latency than Wi-Fi). After that date, the speakers
  
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• Warner Bros Rejects Revised Paramount Bid, Sticks With Netflix

  07-01-2026 22:25 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Warner Bros Discovery's board unanimously turned down Paramount Skydance's latest attempt to acquire the studio, saying its revised $108.4 billion hostile bid amounted to a risky leveraged buyout that investors should reject. In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Warner Bros' board said Paramount's offer hinges on "an extraordinary amount of debt financing" that heightens the risk of closing. It reaffirmed its commitment to streaming giant Ne
  
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• Power Bank Feature Creep is Out of Control

  07-01-2026 21:45 via hardware.slashdot.org
  The humble power bank has transformed from a simple pocket-sized battery into a feature-laden gadget that now sometimes includes screensavers, Bluetooth connectivity and built-in Wi-Fi hotspots. The Verge's Thomas Ricker highlighted the $270 EcoFlow Rapid Pro X Power Bank 27k at CES 2026 as a prime offender -- a device he declared "too expensive, too big, too slow, and too heavy." Its giant display takes 30 seconds to wake from sleep, plays swirly graphics and blinking eyeballs, and requires a s
  
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• New Dietary Guidelines Abandon Longstanding Advice on Alcohol

  07-01-2026 21:01 via news.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Ever since the federal government began issuing the Dietary Guidelines in 1980, it has told Americans to limit themselves to one or two standard alcoholic drinks a day. Over time, the official advice morphed to no more than two drinks a day for men, and no more than one for women. No longer [non-paywalled source].
  The updated guidelines issued on Wednesday say instead that people should consume less alcohol "for better overall health" and "limit alcohol bever
  
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• Samsung's Rolling Ballie Robot Indefinitely Shelved After Delays

  07-01-2026 20:21 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Samsung Electronics has once again sidelined Ballie, a long-anticipated robot that was first announced six years ago but never released. Bloomberg News: The device -- designed to roll and roam throughout the home -- is completely absent from this week's CES, the biggest electronics trade show. And though Samsung said last year that Ballie was nearly ready for a retail release, the product is now unlikely to resurface soon.
  In an emailed statement, Samsung referred to Ballie as an "active innovat
  
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• The Inevitable Rise of the Art TV

  07-01-2026 19:39 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Several years after Samsung introduced the Frame TV in 2017 -- a television designed to display fine art and resemble a framed painting when switched off -- competitors are finally catching up in meaningful numbers. Amazon announced the Ember Artline TV at CES 2026 this week, a $899 model that can display one of 2,000 works of art for free and includes an Alexa AI tool to recommend pieces suited to your room. Hisense unveiled its CanvasTV late last year, TCL has the NXTvision model, and LG has a
  
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• How Aviation Emissions Could Be Halved Without Cutting Journeys

  07-01-2026 19:01 via news.slashdot.org
  Climate-heating emissions from aviation could be slashed in half -- without reducing passenger journeys -- by getting rid of premium seats, ensuring flights are near full and using the most efficient aircraft, according to analysis. The Guardian: These efficiency measures could be far more effective in tackling the fast-growing carbon footprint of flying than pledges to use "sustainable" fuels or controversial carbon offsets, the researchers said. They believe their study, which analysed more th
  
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• Microsoft Cancels Plans To Rate Limit Exchange Online Bulk Emails

  07-01-2026 18:21 via it.slashdot.org
  Microsoft has canceled plans to impose a daily limit of 2,000 external recipients on Exchange Online bulk email senders. From a report: The change was announced in April 2024, when Microsoft said that it would add new External Recipient Rate (ERR) limits starting January 2025 to fight spam, with plans to begin enforcing the limit on cloud-hosted mailboxes of existing tenants between July and December 2025.
  As explained last year, this new Mailbox External Recipient Rate Limit was designed to pre
  
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• Logitech Caused Its Mice To Freak Out By Not Renewing a Certificate

  07-01-2026 17:41 via it.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: If you're among the macOS users experiencing some weird issues with your Logitech mouse, then good news: Logitech has now released a fix. This comes after multiple Reddit users reported yesterday that Logi Options Plus -- the app required to manage and configure the controls on Logitech accessories -- had stopped working, preventing them from using customized scrolling features, button actions, and gestures.
  One Reddit user said that the scroll directions and
  
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• Dell Walks Back AI-First Messaging After Learning Consumers Don't Care

  07-01-2026 17:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Dell's CES 2026 product briefing, PC Gamer writes, stood out from the relentless AI-focused presentations that have dominated tech events for years, as the company explicitly chose to downplay its AI messaging when announcing a refreshed XPS laptop lineup, new ultraslim and entry-level Alienware laptops, Area-51 desktop refreshes and several monitors.
  "One thing you'll notice is the message we delivered around our products was not AI-first," Dell head of product Kevin Terwilliger said during the
  
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• 'Everyone Hates OneDrive, Microsoft's Cloud App That Steals Then Deletes All Your Files'

  07-01-2026 16:20 via it.slashdot.org
  Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service has drawn renewed criticism for a particularly frustrating behavior pattern that can leave users without access to their local files after the service automatically activates during Windows updates.
  Author Jason Pargin recently outlined the problem: Windows updates can enable OneDrive backup without any plain-language warning or opt-out option, and the service then quietly begins uploading the contents of a user's computer to Microsoft's servers. The tr
  
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• Polymarket Refuses To Pay Bets That US Would 'Invade' Venezuela

  07-01-2026 15:40 via news.slashdot.org
  Polymarket is disputing that the mission to capture Nicolas Maduro constituted an invasion and said it will only settle a prediction contract if the US military takes control of Venezuelan territory. From a report: The decision by the prediction market has angered gamblers and added to the controversy surrounding a successful wager on the timing of Maduro's capture that netted more than $400,000 in winnings for a mystery trader.
  The dispute over the definition of "invade" highlights just one of
  
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• South Korea's President Identifies a New Enemy: Baldness

  07-01-2026 15:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung asked at a televised policy meeting last month whether the country's state-run healthcare plan could cover hair-loss treatment, framing it as a question about whether hair loss qualifies as a disease. The health minister told Lee that baldness is generally considered an aesthetic problem and therefore covered out-of-pocket, but the 61-year-old president -- who himself has a full head of hair -- pushed back, arguing that young people experiencing thinning hai
  
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• Founder of Spyware Maker PcTattletale Pleads Guilty To Hacking, Advertising Surveillance Software

  07-01-2026 14:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The founder of a U.S.-based spyware company, whose surveillance products allowed customers to spy on the phones and computers of unsuspecting victims, pleaded guilty to federal charges linked to his long-running operation. pcTattletale founder Bryan Fleming entered a guilty plea in a San Diego federal court on Tuesday to charges of computer hacking, the sale and advertising of surveillance software for unlawful uses, and conspiracy.The plea fo
  
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• Congressman Introduces Legislation To Criminalize Insider Trading On Prediction Markets

  07-01-2026 11:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Ritchie Torres has introduced a bill to ban government officials from using insider information to trade on political prediction markets like Polymarket. The bill was prompted by reports that traders on Polymarket made large profits betting on Nicolas Maduro's removal, raising suspicions that some wagers were placed using material non-public information. "While such insider trading in capital markets is already illegal and often prosecuted by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Co
  
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• An AI-Generated NWS Map Invented Fake Towns In Idaho

  07-01-2026 08:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  National Weather Service pulled an AI-generated forecast graphic after it hallucinated fake town names in Idaho. "The blunder -- not the first of its kind to be posted by the NWS in the past year -- comes as the agency experiments with a wide range of AI uses, from advanced forecasting to graphic design," reports the Washington Post. "Experts worry that without properly trained officials, mistakes could erode trust in the agency and the technology." From the report: At first glance, there was no
  
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• Creator of Claude Code Reveals His Workflow

  07-01-2026 04:30 via developers.slashdot.org
  Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, revealed a deceptively simple workflow that uses parallel AI agents, verification loops, and shared memory to let one developer operate with the output of an entire engineering team. "I run 5 Claudes in parallel in my terminal," Cherny wrote. "I number my tabs 1-5, and use system notifications to know when a Claude needs input." He also runs "5-10 Claudes on claude.ai" in his browser, using a "teleport" command to hand off work between the w
  
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• Discord Files Confidentially For IPO

  07-01-2026 03:02 via news.slashdot.org
  According to Bloomberg, Discord has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO. Reuters reports: The U.S. IPO market regained momentum in 2025 after nearly three years of sluggish activity, but hopes for a stronger rebound were tempered by tariff-driven volatility, a prolonged government shutdown and a late-year selloff in artificial intelligence stocks. Discord, which was founded in 2015, offers voice, video and text chatting capabilities aimed at gamers and streamers. According to a statement in Dece
  
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• NYC Wegmans Is Storing Biometric Data On Shoppers' Eyes, Voices and Faces

  07-01-2026 02:25 via yro.slashdot.org
  schwit1 shares a report from Gothamist: Wegmans in New York City has begun collecting biometric data from anyone who enters its supermarkets, according to new signage posted at the chain's Manhattan and Brooklyn locations earlier this month. Anyone entering the store could have data on their face, eyes and voices collected and stored by the Rochester-headquartered supermarket chain. The information is used to "protect the safety and security of our patrons and employees," according to the signag
  
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