ICT news

• Space-Scanning Algorithm Spots 'Potentially Hazardous' 600-Foot Asteroid

  02-08-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An asteroid-hunting algorithm called HelioLinc3D has spotted a potentially hazardous 600-foot-long space rock that's currently about 4 astronomical units from Earth. The asteroid is 2022 SF289 and "swings by Earth on the opposite side of its orbit, classifying it as a potentially hazardous asteroid (or PHA)," reports Gizmodo. From the report: "Potentially hazardous" merely means there is some chance the object could impact Earth, and thus it is worth keeping an eye on. What's significant about 2
  
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• Experian's Tech Chief Defends Credit Scores: 'We're Not Palantir'

  28-01-2026 20:22 via tech.slashdot.org
  When asked directly whether people actually like Experian, Alex Lintner, the credit bureau's CEO of Software and Technology, offered an unusual defense in an interview: "First of all, we're not Palantir, so we don't do reputation scores." Speaking on The Verge's podcast, Lintner conceded that consumers who have poor credit scores through "life's circumstances" sometimes direct their frustration at Experian, though he argued the company enables vital access to credit for 247 million Americans.
  Th
  
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• There's a Rash of Scam Spam Coming From a Real Microsoft Address

  28-01-2026 19:48 via it.slashdot.org
  There are reports that a legitimate Microsoft email address -- which Microsoft explicitly says customers should add to their allow list -- is delivering scam spam. ArsTechnica: The emails originate from [email protected], an address tied to Power BI. The Microsoft platform provides analytics and business intelligence from various sources that can be integrated into a single dashboard. Microsoft documentation says that the address is used to send subscription emails to mail-enabled s
  
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• Apple Sued by App Developer Over its Continuity Camera

  28-01-2026 19:01 via apple.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple is being sued by Reincubate, which makes the Camo smartphone webcam app. It has filed a lawsuit against Apple in a U.S. federal court in New Jersey, accusing the company of anticompetitive conduct and patent infringement. The suit alleges that Apple copied Camo's technology, integrated similar features into iOS, and used control over its software ecosystem to disadvantage Reincubate's Camo product.
  Reincubate's Camo and Camo Studio apps allow iOS or And
  
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• Tim Berners-Lee Wants Us To Take Back the Internet

  28-01-2026 18:22 via tech.slashdot.org
  mspohr shares a report: When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989, his vision was clear: it would used by everyone, filled with everything and, crucially, it would be free. Today, the British computer scientist's creation is regularly used by 5.5 billion people -- and bears little resemblance to the democratic force for humanity he intended.
  Since Berners-Lee's disappointment a decade ago, he's thrown everything at a project that completely shifts the way data is held on the w
  
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• What's the 'Best' Month for New Movies and Music? A Statistical Analysis

  28-01-2026 17:45 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  An analysis of film and music release patterns has found that summer and late fall are the optimal windows for movie premieres, while the music industry has no clear "best" month -- only a worst one, December, which the report's author dubbed "Dump-cember."
  For films, the calendar splits into distinct strategic zones. Summer months and holidays see elevated box office because audiences have more free time, and studios chase mega-billion-dollar hits during these windows. October and November see
  
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• 430,000-Year-Old Wooden Tools Are the Oldest Ever Found

  28-01-2026 17:15 via science.slashdot.org
  Early hominins in Europe were creating tools from raw materials hundreds of thousands of years before Homo sapiens arrived there, two new studies indicate, pushing back the established time for such activity. From a report: The evidence includes a 500,000-year-old hammer made of elephant or mammoth bone, excavated in southern England, and 430,000-year-old wooden tools found in southern Greece -- the earliest wooden tools on record.
  The findings suggest that early humans possessed sophisticated t
  
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• 30,000 More UPS Jobs On the Chopping Block as Amazon Era Ends

  28-01-2026 16:29 via slashdot.org
  UPS said today it plans to eliminate an additional 30,000 operational jobs this year as the shipping giant continues to wind down its partnership with Amazon -- previously its largest customer -- and push forward a broader turnaround strategy under CEO Carol Tome.
  CFO Brian Dykes said on an earnings call that the cuts will be accomplished through attrition and a voluntary separation program for full-time drivers. The company also plans to further deploy automation across its network. UPS has ide
  
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• Android's Full Desktop Mode Surfaces in Accidental Chromium Leak

  28-01-2026 15:43 via slashdot.org
  A bug report filed on the Chromium Issue Tracker inadvertently exposed Google's desktop Android interface for the first time, revealing a system codenamed "Aluminum OS" running on existing Chromebook hardware. The report, ostensibly about Chrome Incognito tabs, included screen captures from an HP Elite Dragonfly 13.5 Chromebook running Android 16.
  The status bar has been redesigned for large screens -- taller than the tablet version, displaying time with seconds, date, battery, Wi-Fi, a notifica
  
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• 'Clawdbot' Has AI Techies Buying Mac Minis

  28-01-2026 14:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  An open-source AI agent originally called Clawdbot (now renamed Moltbot) is gaining cult popularity among developers for running locally, 24/7, and wiring itself into calendars, messages, and other personal workflows. The hype has gone so far that some users are buying Mac Minis just to host the agent full-time, even as its creator warns that's unnecessary. Business Insider reports: Founded by [creator Peter Steinberger], it's an AI agent that manages "digital life," from emails to home automati
  
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• Amazon Cuts Another 16,000 Jobs

  28-01-2026 11:43 via slashdot.org
  Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is eliminating approximately 16,000 roles across the company as part of organizational changes that began in October 2025 and are only now being finalized by certain teams. Senior Vice President Beth Galetti shared the news in a memo to employees, framing the reductions as an effort to reduce layers, increase ownership, and remove bureaucracy. The memo follows another memo that the company accidentally sent to employees.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Asteroid 2024 YR4 Has a 4% Chance of Hitting the Moon

  28-01-2026 11:00 via science.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Universe Today: There's a bright side to every situation. In 2032, the Moon itself might have a particularly bright side if it is blasted by a 60-meter-wide asteroid. The chances of such an event are still relatively small (only around 4%), but non-negligible. And scientists are starting to prepare both for the bad (massive risks to satellites and huge meteors raining down on a large portion of the planet) and the good (a once in a lifetime chance to stud
  
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• Ancient Martian Beach Discovered, Providing New Clues To Planet's Habitability

  28-01-2026 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  alternative_right shares a report from Phys.org: New findings from NASA's Perseverance rover have revealed evidence of wave-formed beaches and rocks altered by subsurface water in a Martian crater that once held a vast lake -- considerably expanding the timeline for potential habitability at this ancient site. In an international study led by Imperial College London, researchers uncovered that the so-called 'Margin unit' in Mars's Jezero crater preserves evidence of extensive underground interac
  
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• Amazon Inadvertently Announces Cloud Unit Layoffs In Email To Employees

  28-01-2026 06:00 via slashdot.org
  Amazon appears to have prematurely acknowledged layoffs inside AWS after an internal email referencing "organizational changes" and "impacted colleagues" was mistakenly sent to cloud employees. CNBC reports: "Changes like this are hard on everyone," Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at Amazon Web Services, wrote in an email viewed by CNBC. "These decisions are difficult and are made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success." The note als
  
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• US Government Lost More Than 10,000 STEM PhDs Last Year

  28-01-2026 04:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science.org: Some 10,109 doctoral-trained experts in science and related fields left their jobs last year as President Donald Trump dramatically shrank the overall federal workforce. That exodus was only 3% of the 335,192 federal workers who exited last year but represents 14% of the total number of Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or health fields employed at the end of 2024 as then-President Joe Biden prepared to leave office.
  
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• Apple Updates iOS 12 For the First Time Since 2023

  28-01-2026 03:02 via apple.slashdot.org
  Apple quietly released its first update to iOS 12 since 2023 to keep iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation working on older hardware through January 2027. The update applies to legacy devices like the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6/6 Plus, and 2013-era iPads. Macworld reports: The update appears to be related to a specific issue. According to Apple's "About iOS 12 Updates" page, iOS 12.5.78 "extends the certificate required by features such as iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation to continue worki
  
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• Scientists Launch AI DinoTracker App That Identifies Dinosaur Footprints

  28-01-2026 02:25 via science.slashdot.org
  Scientists have released DinoTracker, a free AI-powered app that identifies dinosaur footprints by analyzing shape patterns rather than relying on potentially flawed historical labels. "When we find a dinosaur footprint, we try to do the Cinderella thing and find the foot that matches the slipper," said Prof Steve Brusatte, a co-author of the work. "But it's not so simple, because the shape of a dinosaur footprint depends not only on the shape of the dinosaur's foot but also the type of sand or
  
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• SoundCloud Data Breach Impacts 29.8 Million Accounts

  28-01-2026 01:45 via yro.slashdot.org
  A data breach at SoundCloud exposed information tied to 29.8 million user accounts, according to Have I Been Pwned. While SoundCloud says no passwords or financial data were accessed, attackers mapped email addresses to public profile data and later attempted extortion. BleepingComputer reports: The company confirmed the breach on December 15, following widespread reports from users who were unable to access SoundCloud and saw 403 "Forbidden" errors when connecting via VPN. SoundCloud told Bleep
  
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• Supreme Court To Decide How 1988 Videotape Privacy Law Applies To Online Video

  28-01-2026 01:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Supreme Court is taking up a case on whether Paramount violated the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by disclosing a user's viewing history to Facebook. The case, Michael Salazar v. Paramount Global, hinges on the law's definition of the word "consumer." Salazar filed a class action against Paramount in 2022, alleging that it "violated the VPPA by disclosing his personally identifiable information to Facebook without consent," Sa
  
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• OpenAI Releases Prism, a Claude Code-Like App For Scientific Research

  28-01-2026 00:20 via science.slashdot.org
  OpenAI has launched Prism, a free scientific research app that aims to do for scientific writing what coding agents did for programming. Engadget reports: Prism builds on Crixet, a cloud-based LaTeX platform the company is announcing it acquired today. For the uninitiated, LaTeX is a typesetting system for formatting scientific documents and journals. Nearly the entire scientific community relies on LaTeX, but it can make some tasks, such as drawing diagrams through TikZ commands, time-consuming
  
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• Amazon To Pay $309 Million To US Shoppers In Settlement Over Returns

  27-01-2026 23:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  Amazon has agreed to pay $309 million and provide additional remedies in a class-action settlement over claims that customers were wrongly denied refunds after returning items. Plaintiffs say (PDF) the deal delivers over $1 billion in total value, including more than $600 million in refunds and operational changes. Reuters reports: Amazon denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. "Following an internal review in 2025, we identified a small subset of returns where we issued a refund wi
  
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• Internal Messages May Doom Meta At Social Media Addiction Trial

  27-01-2026 23:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: This week, the first high-profile lawsuit -- considered a "bellwether" case that could set meaningful precedent in the hundreds of other complaints -- goes to trial. That lawsuit documents the case of a 19-year-old, K.G.M, who hopes the jury will agree that Meta and YouTube caused psychological harm by designing features like infinite scroll and autoplay to push her down a path that she alleged triggered depression, anxiety, self-harm, and s
  
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• Citigroup Mandates AI Training For 175,000 Employees To Help Them 'Reinvent Themselves'

  27-01-2026 22:25 via slashdot.org
  Citigroup has rolled out mandatory AI training for all 175,000 of its employees across 80 locations worldwide, a sweeping initiative that CEO Jane Fraser describes as helping workers "reinvent themselves" before the technology permanently alters what they do for a living.
  The $205 billion bank sent out an internal memo last year requiring staffers to learn prompting skills specifically. Fraser told the Washington Post at Davos that AI "will change the nature of what people do every day" and "wil
  
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• Mozilla is Building an AI 'Rebel Alliance' To Take on Industry Heavweights OpenAI, Anthropic

  27-01-2026 21:43 via tech.slashdot.org
  Mozilla, the nonprofit organization behind the Firefox browser that has spent two decades battling tech giants over control of the internet, is now turning its attention to AI and deploying roughly $1.4 billion in reserves to fund what president Mark Surman calls a "rebel alliance" of startups focused on AI safety, transparency and governance.
  The organization released a report Tuesday outlining its strategy to counter the growing dominance of OpenAI and Anthropic, which have raised more than $6
  
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• Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp To Test Premium Subscriptions

  27-01-2026 21:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta plans to test new subscriptions that give people access to exclusive features on its apps, the company told TechCrunch on Monday. The tech giant said the new subscriptions will unlock more productivity and creativity, along with expanded AI capabilities.
  In the coming months, Meta said it will offer a premium experience on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp that gives users access to special features and more control over how they share and connect, while
  
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• Android Phones Are Getting More Anti-Theft Features

  27-01-2026 20:22 via it.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Google on Tuesday announced an expanded set of Android theft-protection features, designed to make its mobile devices less of a target for criminals. Building on existing tools like Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, and others introduced in 2024, the newly launched updates include stronger authentication safeguards and enhanced recovery tools, the company said.
  [...] With the new features, users of Android devices running Android 16 or higher will ha
  
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• France To Ditch US Platforms Microsoft Teams, Zoom For 'Sovereign Platform' Amid Security Concerns

  27-01-2026 19:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  France will replace the American platforms Microsoft Teams and Zoom with its own domestically developed video conferencing platform, which will be used in all government departments by 2027, the country said. From a report: The move is part of France's strategy to stop using foreign software vendors, especially those from the United States, and regain control over critical digital infrastructure. It comes at a crucial moment as France, like Europe, reaches a turning point regarding digital sover
  
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• Microsoft Was Routing Example-Domain Traffic To a Japanese Cable Company for Five Years

  27-01-2026 19:01 via it.slashdot.org
  Microsoft has quietly suppressed an unexplained anomaly on its network that was routing traffic destined for example.com -- a domain reserved under RFC2606 specifically for testing purposes and not obtainable by any party -- to sei.co.jp, a domain belonging to Japanese electronics cable maker Sumitomo Electric.
  The misconfiguration meant anyone attempting to set up an Outlook account using an example.com email address could have inadvertently sent test credentials to Sumitomo Electric's servers.
  
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• Doomsday Clock Ticks To 85 Seconds Before Midnight, Its Closest Ever

  27-01-2026 18:21 via science.slashdot.org
  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Tuesday set their symbolic Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds before midnight -- the closest the timepiece has ever been to the theoretical point of annihilation since scientists created it during the Cold War in 1947.
  The clock now stands four seconds nearer than last year's setting, and this marks the third time in four years that the Bulletin has moved it closer to midnight. The Chicago-based nonprofit pointed to aggressive behavior by nuclear powers Russia,
  
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• Amazon To Shut Down All Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh Stores

  27-01-2026 17:40 via slashdot.org
  Amazon is closing all of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores in a shift to focus on its online same-day delivery service and new big-box retail stores. From a report: The e-commerce giant said Tuesday that some of its shuttered Amazon-branded brick-and-mortar stores would be converted into Whole Foods Market locations. Amazon said its branded stores failed to deliver the right economic model and distinctive customer experience necessary for large-scale expansion.
  Amazon's same-day del
  
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