ICT news

• 'Old/Weird Laptops' Sought To Help Test Linux Kernel Backlight Drivers

  27-10-2022 21:22 via linux.slashdot.org
  Do you have a laptop that's either "pretty old" or "weird in some other way"? Did it ship without Windows from the factory, or did you flash its firmware with coreboot? You could help the Linux kernel move its backlight code forward without abandoning quirky gear like yours. ArsTechnica: Hans de Goede, a longtime Linux developer and principal engineer at Red Hat, writes on his Livejournal about the need to test "a special group of laptops" to prevent their backlight controls from disappearing in
  
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• Tim Sweeney Signed Away His Right To Criticize Google Until 2032

  05-03-2026 19:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  As part of Epic's settlement with Google over the Play Store, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney agreed to stop criticizing Google's app store practices until 2032 and even publicly support the revised policies. The deal also prohibits Epic from pushing for further changes to Google's platform rules. The Verge reports: On March 3rd, he not only signed away Epic's rights to sue and disparage the company, he signed away his right to advocate for any further changes to Google's app store polices. He can't critic
  
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• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Calls OpenAI's Messaging Around Military Deal 'Straight Up Lies'

  05-03-2026 18:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei is not happy -- perhaps predictably so -- with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. In a memo to staff, reported by The Information, Amodei referred to OpenAI's dealings with the Department of Defense as "safety theater." "The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoD's deal] and we did not is that they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses," Amodei wrote.Last week, Anthropic
  
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• Amazon's Bahrain Data Center Targeted By Iran For US Military Support

  05-03-2026 17:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Iranian state media said on Wednesday that it targeted Amazon's data center in Bahrain due to the company's support of the U.S. military. The drone strike that occurred on Sunday disrupted core cloud services and caused "prolonged" outages. Two data centers in the UAE were also damaged by drone strikes. CNBC reports: All of the facilities remain offline, according to the Amazon Web Services health dashboard. The attack in Bahrain was launched "to identify the role of these centers in supporting
  
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• US Tech Firms Pledge At White House To Bear Costs of Energy For Datacenters

  05-03-2026 16:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  Major tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta pledged at the White House to pay for new power generation and grid upgrades needed to support their rapidly expanding datacenters. The Guardian reports: The agreement is meant to help mitigate concerns that big tech's datacenters are driving up US electricity costs for homes and small businesses at a time the administration of Donald Trump is seeking to curb inflation. "This means that the tech companies and the datacenters will
  
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• Jensen Huang Says Nvidia Is Pulling Back From OpenAI and Anthropic

  05-03-2026 15:00 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: At the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference in downtown San Francisco Wednesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said his company's recent investments in OpenAI and Anthropic are likely to be its last in both, saying that once they go public as anticipated later this year, the opportunity to invest closes. It could be that simple. While firms sometimes pile into companies until practically the eve of their public debut in search of
  
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• Solar In Poor Countries Is Creating a Huge Lead Hazard

  05-03-2026 14:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  schwit1 shares a report from Slow Boring: A new report (PDF) from the Center for Global Development documents that most of [the decentralized solar/battery systems used in poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa] use lead-acid batteries, like Americans use in cars. Lead-acid batteries work for a while and then need to be recycled. If they're recycled safely, that's fine. But in poor countries, most lead-acid batteries are not recycled safely and they become a huge source of toxic lead poisoning. C.
  
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• Humble Games' Former Bosses Buy the Studio's Back Catalog

  05-03-2026 11:00 via games.slashdot.org
  Former Humble Games executives have reacquired the publisher's catalog of more than 50 indie titles from Ziff Davis and relaunched their company as Balor Games. "For the developers we have worked with over the years, this moment is a reunion," Balor Games CEO Alan Patmore wrote in a statement. "[It has] the same leadership and the same commitment to thoughtful publishing remain in place. What changes is our scale and our focus. Balor Games is built for inventors and backed by believers. To that
  
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• US Cybersecurity Adds Exploited VMware Aria Operations To KEV Catalog

  05-03-2026 08:00 via it.slashdot.org
  joshuark writes: The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a VMware Aria Operations vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-22719 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, flagging the flaw as exploited in attacks. VMware Aria Operations is an enterprise monitoring platform that helps organizations track the performance and health of servers, networks, and cloud infrastructure. The flaw has now been added to the CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalo
  
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• A Nuclear Reactor Backed By Bill Gates Gets Federal Approval To Start Building

  05-03-2026 04:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: A novel type of nuclear power plant in Wyoming backed by Bill Gates received a key federal permit on Wednesday, making it the first new U.S. commercial reactor in nearly a decade to receive clearance to begin construction. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal body that oversees reactor safety, unanimously voted (PDF) to grant a construction permit to TerraPower, a start-up founded by Mr. Gates. TerraPower is one of several co
  
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• Father Sues Google, Claiming Gemini Chatbot Drove Son Into Fatal Delusion

  05-03-2026 02:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  A father is suing Google and Alphabet for wrongful death, alleging Gemini reinforced his son Jonathan Gavalas' escalating delusions until he died by suicide in October 2025. "Jonathan Gavalas, 36, started using Google's Gemini AI chatbot in August 2025 for shopping help, writing support, and trip planning," reports TechCrunch. "On October 2, he died by suicide. At the time of his death, he was convinced that Gemini was his fully sentient AI wife, and that he would need to leave his physical body
  
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• Google Ends Its 30% App Store Fee, Welcomes Third-Party App Stores

  05-03-2026 00:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  Google is eliminating its traditional 30% Play Store fee and introducing lower commissions, while at the same time allowing alternative billing systems and making it easier for third-party app stores to operate on Android. The changes stem largely from Google's settlement with Epic Games. Engadget reports: The biggest change is to how Google will collect fees from developers publishing apps on Android. Rather than take its standard 30 percent cut of in-app purchases through the Play Store, Googl
  
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• Sony Pulls Back From PlayStation Games on PC

  04-03-2026 23:00 via games.slashdot.org
  Sony is reportedly abandoning its recent push to bring major PlayStation games to PC and will instead keep most single-player titles exclusive to the PlayStation 5. According to Bloomberg, the shift back toward console exclusivity may be driven by weaker PC sales and concerns about diluting the PlayStation brand. From the report: Online games such as Marathon and Marvel Tokon will still be released across multiple platforms, but single-player titles such as last year's samurai hit Ghost of Yotei
  
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• Computer Scientists Caution Against Internet Age-Verification Mandates

  04-03-2026 22:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  fjo3 shares a report from Reason Magazine: Effective January 1, 2027, providers of computer operating systems in California will be required to implement age verification. That's just part of a wave of state and national laws attempting to limit children's access to potentially risky content without considering the perils such laws themselves pose. Now, not a moment too soon, over 400 computer scientists have signed an open letter warning that the rush to protect children from online dangers thr
  
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• Vehicle Tire Pressure Sensors Enable Silent Tracking

  04-03-2026 21:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Longtime Slashdot reader linuxwrangler writes: Dark Reading reports that a team of researchers has determined that signals from tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMSs), required in U.S. cars since 2007, can be used to track the presence, type, weight, and driving pattern of vehicles. The researchers report (PDF) that the TPMS data, which includes unique sensor IDs, is sent in clear text without authentication and can be intercepted 40-50 meters from a vehicle using devices costing $100. "Resear
  
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• Emails To Outlook.com Rejected By Faulty Or Overzealous Blocking Rules

  04-03-2026 20:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Microsoft spent much of the past week rejecting legitimate emails sent to Outlook.com, Live, and Hotmail accounts due to what appears to be overly aggressive IP reputation filtering or faulty blocklist rules. According to The Register, many senders received 550 errors claiming their networks were blocked, preventing delivery of invoices, notifications, and authentication emails. From the report: A block list is a good thing. It helps stem the flow of spam from networks or addresses associated wi
  
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• TikTok Says End-To-End Encryption Makes Users Less Safe

  04-03-2026 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption (E2EE) -- the controversial privacy feature used by nearly all its rivals -- arguing it makes users less safe. E2EE means only the sender and recipient of a direct message can view its contents, making it the most secure form of communication available to the general public. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and X have embraced it because they say their priority is maximizing user pri
  
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• Apple Announces Low-Cost 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip

  04-03-2026 18:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Continuing its product launches this week, Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new, low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip. It starts at $599 and begins shipping on Wednesday, March 11. MacRumors reports: The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads
  
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• Intel's Make-Or-Break 18A Process Node Debuts For Data Center With 288-Core Xeon 6+ CPU

  04-03-2026 17:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  Intel has formally unveiled its Xeon 6+ "Clearwater Forest" data-center processor with up to 288 cores, built on the company's new Intel 18A process and using Foveros Direct packaging. The chip targets telecom, cloud, and edge-AI workloads with massive parallelism, large caches, and high-bandwidth DDR5-8000 memory. Tom's Hardware reports: Intel's Xeon 6+ processors with up to 288 cores combine 12 compute chiplets containing 24 energy-efficient Darkmont cores per tile that are produced using 18A
  
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• New App Alerts You If Someone Nearby Is Wearing Smart Glasses

  04-03-2026 16:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  A new Android app called Nearby Glasses alerts users when Bluetooth signals from smart glasses are detected nearby. The Android app, called Nearby Glasses, "launches at a time as there is an increasing resistance against always-recording or listening devices, which critics say process information about nearby people who do not give their consent," reports TechCrunch. From the report: Yves Jeanrenaud, who made the app, first spoke to 404 Media about the project and said he was in part inspired to
  
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• Qualcomm CEO: 'Resistance Is Futile' As 6G Mobile Revolution Approaches

  04-03-2026 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  At Mobile World Congress, Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm argued that the coming 6G networks will power an AI-driven "agent economy," where devices and AI assistants constantly communicate across the network. "AI will fundamentally change our mobile experiences," Qualcomm chief executive, Cristiano Amon says. "It's going to change how we think about our smartphones. Think about our personal computing. Think about and interact with a car. The car is now a computing surface. If you actually believe in
  
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• ChatGPT Gets GPT-5.3 Instant Update With Less 'Cringe,' Fewer Hallucinations

  04-03-2026 14:00 via slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from MacRumors: OpenAI today updated its most popular ChatGPT model, debuting GPT-5.3 Instant. GPT-5.3 Instant is supposed to provide more accurate answers and better contextualized results when searching the web. The update also cuts down on unnecessary dead ends, caveats, and overly declarative phrasing, plus it has fewer hallucinations.According to OpenAI, it tweaked the Instant model to address complaints about tone, relevance, and conversational flow, whi
  
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• 'Game of Thrones' Movie In the Works

  04-03-2026 11:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Warner Bros. is developing a feature film set in the world of Game of Thrones with writer Beau Willimon of Andor and House of Cards. "That's about all we know right now, and as with everything 'Thrones' things could change, but the film is firmly in development," reports TheWrap. Page Six Hollywood was first to break the news and speculated that the story could revolve around Aegon I, the legendary Targaryen king who spawned a dynasty. From the report: The Targaryens have been at the center of a
  
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• NASA Repairs Artemis 2 Rocket, Continues Eyeing April Moon Launch

  04-03-2026 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  NASA is eyeing an April launch window for the upcoming Artemis II mission after it repaired a helium-flow issue on the Space Launch System upper stage rocket. "Work on the rocket and spacecraft will continue in the coming weeks as NASA prepares for rolling the rocket out to the launch pad again later this month ahead of a potential launch in April," NASA wrote in an update on Tuesday. Space.com reports: The repair work occurred inside the huge Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Sp
  
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• Microplastics and Nanoplastics In Urban Air Originate Mainly From Tire Abrasion, Research Reveals

  04-03-2026 08:00 via news.slashdot.org
  Dustin Destree shares a report from Phys.org: Although plastic particles in the air are increasingly coming into focus, knowledge about their distribution and effects is still limited. Chemical analyses from Leipzig now provide details from Germany for the first time: Around 4% of the particulate matter consists of plastic. Around two-thirds of this comes from tire abrasion. Extrapolated, this means that people in a city like Leipzig inhale approximately 2.1 micrograms of plastic per day through
  
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• A Possible US Government iPhone-Hacking Toolkit Is Now In the Hands of Foreign Spies, Criminals

  04-03-2026 04:00 via apple.slashdot.org
  Security researchers say a highly sophisticated iPhone exploitation toolkit dubbed "Coruna," which possibly originated from a U.S. government contractor, has spread from suspected Russian espionage operations to crypto-stealing criminal campaigns. Apple has patched the exploited vulnerabilities in newer iOS versions, but tens of thousands of devices may have already been compromised. An anonymous reader quotes an excerpt from Wired's report: Security researchers at Google on Tuesday released a r
  
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• OpenAI Is Developing an Alternative To GitHub

  04-03-2026 02:00 via developers.slashdot.org
  OpenAI is reportedly developing a code-hosting platform that could compete with GitHub, The Information reported on Tuesday. "If OpenAI does sell the product, it would mark a bold move by the creator of ChatGPT to compete directly against Microsoft, which holds a significant stake in the firm," notes Reuters. From the report: Engineers from OpenAI encountered a rise in service disruptions that rendered GitHub unavailable in recent months, which ultimately prompted the decision to develop the new
  
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• Google Chrome Is Switching To a Two-Week Release Cycle

  04-03-2026 00:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  Google is accelerating Chrome's major release cadence from four weeks to two starting with version 153 on September 8th. "...our goal is to ensure developers and users have immediate access to the latest performance improvements, fixes and new capabilities," says Google. "Building on our history of adapting our release process to match the demands of a modern web, Chrome is moving to a two-week release cycle." The company says the "smaller scope" of these releases "minimizes disruption and simpl
  
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• LibreOffice Says Its UI Is Way Better Than Microsoft Office's

  03-03-2026 23:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  darwinmac writes: While many users choose Microsoft Office over LibreOffice because of its support for the proprietary formats (.docx, .xlsx, and .pptx), others prefer Office for its "better" ribbon interface. These users often criticize LibreOffice for having a "clunky" UI instead of the "standard" ribbon interface you would find in Word, Excel, and other Office apps.Now, Neowin reports that LibreOffice is fighting back, arguing that its UI is actually superior because it is customizable, with
  
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• Meta's AI Display Glasses Reportedly Share Intimate Videos With Human Moderators

  03-03-2026 22:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: Users of Meta's AI smart glasses in Europe may be unknowingly sharing intimate video and sensitive financial information with moderators outside of the bloc, according to a report from Sweden's Svenska Dagbladet released last week. Employees in Kenya doing AI "annotation" told the journalists that they've seen people nude, using the toilet and engaging in sexual activity, along with credit card numbers and other sensitive information.With Meta's
  
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