ICT news

• Pimax Confirms Shipment Delays, Targeting Q2 Release

  25-01-2018 18:30
  Pimax released a post-CES progress update that confirms our suspicions: The company won’t be able to live up to its delivery window promises. The company revised its shipping target from Q1 to Q2, 2018.
  
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• The Underground World of Black-Market AI Chatbots is Thriving

  06-09-2024 18:48 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: ChatGPT's 200 million weekly active users have helped propel OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot, to a $100 billion valuation. But outside the mainstream there's still plenty of money to be made -- especially if you're catering to the underworld. Illicit large language models (LLMs) can make up to $28,000 in two months from sales on underground markets, according to a study published last month in arXiv, a preprint server owned by Cornell University.Â
  
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• PwC 'Tipping the Balance' of Hybrid Working and Will Start Tracking Its Workers' Locations

  06-09-2024 18:01 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  PwC has demanded staff spend less time working from home -- and it's going to start tracking their location to ensure they comply. From a report: The accountancy firm informed its 26,000 U.K. employees in a memo that from January they'll be expected to be at their desks -- or with clients -- at least three days a week, or for 60% of their time. Previously staff were expected to spend two to three days working in-person. What's more, to ensure staffers are not secretly working from home (or at a
  
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• America's EV Charging Infrastructure Has Doubled In Less Than Four Years

  06-09-2024 17:25 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  The electric revolution has given way to a gradual transformation, but the groundwork is already being laid for the future. From a report: The Department of Energy recently highlighted this by noting the number of publicly available EV chargers has doubled since President Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021. According to the government, there are now more than 192,000 publicly available charging ports in the United States and around 1,000 are being added every week. The Department of Energ
  
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• Gen Z-ers Are Computer Whizzes. Just Don't Ask Them to Type.

  06-09-2024 16:45 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Typing skills among Generation Z have declined sharply, despite their digital nativity, according to recent data. The U.S. Department of Education reports that only 2.5% of high school graduates in 2019 took a keyboarding course, down from 44% in 2000.
  Many educators assume Gen Z already possesses typing skills due to their familiarity with technology. However, access to devices doesn't automatically translate into proficiency, WSJ reports. Some schools are addressing this gap by introducing typ
  
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• OpenAI Japan Exec Teases 'GPT-Next'

  06-09-2024 16:00 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI plans to launch a new AI model, GPT-Next, by year-end, promising a 100-fold increase in power over GPT-4 without significantly higher computing demands, according to a leaked presentation by an OpenAI Japan executive. The model, codenamed "Strawberry," incorporates "System 2 thinking," allowing for deliberate reasoning rather than mere token prediction, according to previous reports. GPT-Next will also generate high-quality synthetic training data, addressing a key challenge in AI develop
  
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• Threads is Trading Trust For Growth

  06-09-2024 14:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Ben Werdmuller, an entrepreneur who leads tech for ProPublica, writes on the trust crisis brewing in Meta's Threads app. He posted a quick comment about the Internet Archive's legal troubles, only to find it blew up in unexpected ways. Turns out, Threads' algorithm tossed his post to folks way outside his usual crowd, and they weren't happy about the lack of context. He writes: The comments that really surprised me were the ones that accused me of engagement farming. I've never received these be
  
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• Largest Dam Removal In US History Is Complete

  06-09-2024 12:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The largest dam removal project in U.S. history has been completed with the demolition of four dams on the Klamath River, marking a significant victory for tribal nations on the Oregon-California border who have long fought to restore the river to its natural state. However, as CNN's Rachel Ramirez and the BBC's Lucy Sherriff both highlight, the restoration of salmon populations and surrounding ecosystems is "only just beginning." From the report: The removal of the four hydroelectric dams -- Ir
  
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• Part of Brain Network Much Bigger In People With Depression, Scientists Find

  06-09-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Researchers have discovered that people with depression have an expanded brain network, specifically the frontostriatal salience network, which is 73% larger compared to healthy individuals. "It's taking up more real estate on the brain surface than we see is typical in healthy controls," said Dr Charles Lynch, a co-author of the research, from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He added that expansion meant the size of other -- often neighboring -- brain networks were smaller. The Guardian rep
  
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• Qualcomm Has Explored Buying Pieces of Intel Chip Design Business

  06-09-2024 07:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Qualcomm has explored the possibility of acquiring portions of Intel's design business to boost the company's product portfolio, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. From the report: The mobile chipmaker has examined acquiring different pieces of Intel, which is struggling to generate cash and looking to shed business units and sell off other assets, the people said. Intel's client PC design business is of significant interest to Qualcomm executives, one of the sou
  
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• Engineers Gave a Mushroom a Robot Body and Let It Run Wild

  06-09-2024 05:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScienceAlert: Nobody knows what sleeping mushrooms dream of when their vast mycelial networks flicker and pulse with electrochemical responses akin to those of our own brain cells. But given a chance, what might this web of impulses do if granted a moment of freedom? An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Cornell University in the US and the University of Florence in Italy took steps to find out, putting a culture of the edible mushroom species Ple
  
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• Telegram Allows Private Chat Reports After Founder's Arrest

  06-09-2024 04:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Telegram has quietly updated its policy to allow users to report private chats to its moderators following the arrest of founder Pavel Durov in France over "crimes committed by third parties" on the platform. [...] The Dubai-headquartered company has additionally edited its FAQ page, removing two sentences that previously emphasized its privacy stance on private chats. The earlier version had stated: "All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst the
  
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• US, UK, EU Sign 'Legally Binding' AI Treaty

  06-09-2024 02:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The United States, United Kingdom and European Union have signed the first "legally binding" international AI treaty on Thursday, the Council of Europe human rights organization said. Called the AI Convention, the treaty promotes responsible innovation and addresses the risks AI may pose. Reuters reports: The AI Convention mainly focuses on the protection of human rights of people affected by AI systems and is separate from the EU AI Act, which entered into force last month. The EU's AI Act enta
  
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• Android Earthquake Alerts Now Available Across All 50 States, 6 US Territories

  06-09-2024 01:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google's Android Earthquake Alerts System, initially launched in 2020, is now available in all 50 U.S. states and 6 territories. Droid Life reports: For users in California, Oregon and Washington, users will continue to have their alerts powered by the ShakeAlert system, utilizing traditional seismometers to detect earthquakes. For all out states and supported territories, "this expansion uses the built-in accelerometers in Android phones to bring another layer of preparedness and potentially li
  
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• AT&T Sues Broadcom For Breaching VMware Support Extension Contract

  06-09-2024 00:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Broadcom, alleging that Broadcom is refusing to honor an extended support agreement for VMware software unless AT&T purchases additional subscriptions it doesn't need. The company warns the consequences could risk massive outages for AT&T's customer support operations and critical federal services, including the U.S. President's office. The Register reports: A complaint [PDF] filed last week in the Supreme Court of New York State explains that AT&
  
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• New AI Model 'Learns' How To Simulate Super Mario Bros. From Video Footage

  06-09-2024 00:00 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Last month, Google's GameNGen AI model showed that generalized image diffusion techniques can be used to generate a passable, playable version of Doom. Now, researchers are using some similar techniques with a model called MarioVGG to see if an AI model can generate plausible video of Super Mario Bros. in response to user inputs. The results of the MarioVGG model -- available as a pre-print paper (PDF) published by the crypto-adjacent AI com
  
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• Snap Sued Over 'Sextortion' of Kids By Predators

  05-09-2024 23:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has filed a lawsuit against Snap, accusing Snapchat of fostering and promoting illicit sexual material involving children, facilitating sextortion, and enabling trafficking of children, drugs, and guns. CNBC reports: The suit alleges that Snap "repeatedly made statements to the public regarding the safety and design of its platforms that it knew were untrue," or that were contradicted by the company's own internal findings. "Snap was specifically aware, bu
  
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• Apple Announces 'Find My' For South Korea

  05-09-2024 22:40 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Apple announced it is planning to bring its Find My service to South Korea in early 2025. Originally released in 2010, the Find My service has been unavailable in South Korea, making it the last country without access to Apple's tracking feature. AppleInsider reports: In July 2024, complaints from users in South Korea reached a point where they were finally petitioning the government to allow Apple's Find My feature to work. Any iPhone made for sale in South Korea had Find My permanently disable
  
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• Uniswap Labs Beset By Regulators For Building a Decentralized Exchange

  05-09-2024 22:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Uniswap Labs, the firm behind the world's most popular decentralized exchange, is under fire from a variety of regulators. From a report: If regulators want to throw a giant monkey wrench into the crypto economy, making people afraid to use Uniswap would be a great way to do it. Uniswap Labs today agreed to a $175,000 settlement with the CFTC, while some of its chief investors received subpoenas from the New York Department of Financial Services. The CFTC settlement concerned trading for various
  
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• Verizon To Buy Frontier For $9.6 Billion, Says It Will Expand Fiber Network

  05-09-2024 21:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Verizon today announced a deal to acquire Frontier Communications, an Internet service provider with about 3 million customers in 25 states. Verizon said the all-cash transaction is valued at $20 billion. Verizon agreed to pay $9.6 billion and is taking on over $10 billion in debt (PDF) held by Frontier. Verizon said the deal is subject to regulatory approval and a vote by Frontier shareholders and is expected to be completed in 18 months."U
  
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• OpenAI Considering Monthly Subscription Prices as High as $2000 for New AI Models

  05-09-2024 19:55 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI executives are considering premium subscriptions for advanced language models, including the reasoning-focused Strawberry and flagship Orion, with potential monthly prices ranging up to $2,000, The Information reported Thursday, citing a source.
  The move reflects growing concerns about covering operational costs for ChatGPT, which currently generates approximately $2 billion annually from $20 monthly subscriptions, the report added. More sophisticated models like Strawberry and Orion may
  
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• Visa Debuts New Product Designed To Make It Safer To Pay Directly From Bank Account

  05-09-2024 19:33 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Visa said it plans to launch a dedicated service for bank transfers, skipping credit cards and the traditional direct debit process. From a report: Visa, which alongside Mastercard is one of the world's largest card networks, said Thursday it plans to launch a dedicated service for account-to-account (A2A) payments in Europe next year. Users will be able set up direct debits -- transactions that take funds directly from your bank account -- on merchants' e-commerce stores with just a few clicks.
  
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• Bluetooth Upgrade Boosts Precision Tracking and Device Efficiency

  05-09-2024 18:44 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has released version 6.0 of the Bluetooth Core Specification, introducing several new features and enhancements. The update includes Bluetooth Channel Sounding, which brings true distance awareness to devices, potentially improving "Find My" solutions and digital key security.
  Other additions include decision-based advertising filtering to improve scanning efficiency, and a monitoring advertisers feature to inform devices when other Bluetooth units move
  
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• Madrid Bans Hired E-scooters Over Safety Concerns

  05-09-2024 18:07 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Madrid City Hall said on Thursday it would ban all rental e-scooters from October because of the risk they pose to pedestrians, the latest city to make the move. From a report: "We are withdrawing authorization for companies hiring out scooters on the city's streets," the Spanish capital's conservative mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida wrote on X. "Our priority is the... safety of the people of Madrid," he said, adding that the measure would "take full effect in October." The three companies curr
  
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• UK Competition and Markets Authority Launches Investigation Into Ticketmaster

  05-09-2024 17:29 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has formally opened an investigation into Ticketmaster's compliance with consumer protection law in relation to the sale of Oasis concert tickets. From a report: The CMA said on Thursday that it is investigating whether "Ticketmaster has engaged in unfair commercial practices which are prohibited under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008"; "People were given clear and timely information to explain that the tickets could
  
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• Leaked Disney Data Reveals Financial and Strategy Secrets

  05-09-2024 16:44 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Passport numbers for a group of Disney cruise line workers. Disney+ streaming revenue. Sales of Genie+ theme park passes. The trove of data from Disney that was leaked online by hackers earlier this summer includes a range of financial and strategy information that sheds light on the entertainment giant's operations, according to files viewed by The Wall Street Journal. It also includes personally identifiable information of some staff and customers.
  The leak
  
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• Feds Indict Musician on Landmark Massive Streaming Fraud Charges

  05-09-2024 16:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Federal investigators have indicted a North Carolina man over a scheme in which he allegedly used bot accounts and hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs to earn more than $10 million in royalty payments from the major streaming services. RollingStone: The case is a landmark development in the still-developing music streaming market, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York calling it the first criminal case involving artificially inflated music streaming. In th
  
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• Deutsche Bank Chief Tells Germans: Work Longer and Harder

  05-09-2024 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing this week urged Germans to work harder to help restore the country's economy. From a report: "Investors are already doubting our ability to reform, but especially our ability and our will to perform," Sewing said at the Handelsblatt banking summit in Frankfurt. "More growth in Germany will come only if we also change our attitude to work; if we are prepared to work differently, but overall to work more and harder." Sewing said that EU citizens work about 34 hou
  
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• FBI, CISA, NSA, and US and International Partners Release Advisory on Russian Military Cyber Actors Targeting US and Global Critical Infrastructure

  05-09-2024 14:00 via cisa.gov
  Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—in partnership with CISA, the National Security Agency (NSA), and other U.S. and international partners—released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory Russian Military Cyber Actors Target U.S. and Global Critical Infrastructure. This advisory provides overlapping cybersecurity industry cyber threat intelligence, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) associated with Russian General Staff Main Intel
  
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• Discord Lowers Free Upload Limit To 10MB

  05-09-2024 12:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Discord has reduced the upload limit for free users from 25MB to 10MB per file, citing financial and operational reasons. "Every day, millions of files are uploaded to Discord and stored securely for your future access. Storage management is expensive, so we regularly review how people use Discord and their storage needs. In fact, our data shows that 99% of users stick to files smaller than 10MB," the company wrote in an updated support page. Dexerto reports: Discord increased its file-sharing l
  
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