ICT news

• Billionaire and Engineer Conduct First Private Spacewalk In SpaceX Mission

  12-09-2024 23:21 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Two astronauts, billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, completed the world's first private spacewalk outside a SpaceX capsule, testing new spacesuits and procedures in a risky mission that pushes the boundaries of commercial spaceflight. Reuters reports: The astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission went one at a time, each spending about 10 minutes outside the gumdrop-shaped Crew Dragon capsule on a tether, as Elon Musk's company again succeeded in pushing the boundaries of c
  
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• FDA Approves Apple AirPods As Hearing Aids

  12-09-2024 22:40 via science.slashdot.org
  
  The FDA on Thursday approved the first hearing aid software for Apple's latest AirPods Pro earbuds. According to Apple, the feature will be pushed to eligible devices through a software update in the coming weeks. The Washington Post reports: The move, which comes two years after the FDA first approved over-the-counter hearing aids, could help more Americans with hearing loss start getting help, the FDA said in a statement. The feature works by amplifying some sounds, such as voices, while minim
  
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• Music Industry's 1990s Hard Drives Are Dying

  12-09-2024 22:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: One of the things enterprise storage and destruction company Iron Mountain does is handle the archiving of the media industry's vaults. What it has been seeing lately should be a wake-up call: roughly one-fifth of the hard disk drives dating to the 1990s it was sent are entirely unreadable. Music industry publication Mix spoke with the people in charge of backing up the entertainment industry. The resulting tale is part explainer on how musi
  
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• Microsoft To Revamp Windows Kernel Access for Security Vendors

  12-09-2024 20:49 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft announced plans to modify Windows, enabling security vendors like CrowdStrike to operate outside the operating system's kernel. The move follows the July incident where a faulty CrowdStrike update caused widespread system failures. From a report: Microsoft says it has now "discussed the requirements and key challenges in creating a new platform which can meet the needs of security vendors" with partners like CrowdStrike, Broadcom, Sophos, and Trend Micro.
  [...] While Microsoft isn't di
  
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• Dumbphones and Fax Machines Are the New Boss Flex

  12-09-2024 20:10 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Some executives are embracing old technology like dumbphones and fax machines, seeking digital detox and prioritizing focus. They see these vintage tools as power moves, allowing them to control their time and avoid constant distractions, WSJ writes in a story. These bosses believe old tech enhances leadership, enabling them to be present and productive.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• OpenAI Releases o1, Its First Model With 'Reasoning' Abilities

  12-09-2024 19:17 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI has launched a new AI model, named "o1", designed for improved reasoning and problem-solving skills. o1, part of a new series of models and available in ChatGPT and the API, can tackle complex tasks in science, coding, and math more effectively than their predecessors. Notably, o1 models have shown promising results in standardized tests and coding competitions. While o1 models represent a significant advancement in AI capabilities, they currently lack features like web browsing and file
  
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• Ex-Google Exec Said Goal Was To 'Crush' Competition, Trial Evidence Shows

  12-09-2024 18:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  A Google executive told colleagues the goal for the company's then-nascent online advertising business in 2009 was to "crush" rival advertising networks, according to evidence prosecutors presented at the tech titan's antitrust trial on Wednesday. From a report: The statements underscored the U.S. Department of Justice's claim that Google has sought to monopolize markets for publisher ad servers and advertiser ad networks, and tried to dominate the market for ad exchanges which sit in the middle
  
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• Unity is Killing Its Controversial Runtime Fee

  12-09-2024 18:15 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Unity is canceling the Runtime Fee and reverting back to its existing seat-based subscription model, albeit with a price increase for Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise users. From a report: The engine maker introduced the controversial levy around a year ago. Initially, the Runtime Fee sought to charge developers a per install tariff once projects had passed certain milestones. It was a decision that left many users reeling, resulting in a colossal backlash that ultimately forced the company to rew
  
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• 10 Years After It Was Pulled Offline, Viral Mobile Game Flappy Bird Is Coming Back

  12-09-2024 17:29 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Mobile video game phenomenon Flappy Bird is set to return 10 years after its creator pulled it offline. From a report: In 2014, Vietnam-based developer Dong Nguyen shocked the gaming world when he pulled viral hit Flappy Bird from the App Store and the Google Play Store at a time when it was making tens of thousands of dollars a day. He went on to say: "I can call Flappy Bird a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it."
  Now, Flappy Bird is set to return, with an expand
  
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• China's Startup Ecosystem Collapses as New Venture Formations Plunge 98%

  12-09-2024 16:44 via slashdot.org
  
  China's once-booming venture capital industry is experiencing a severe downturn, with the number of new startups plummeting from 51,302 in 2018 to just 1,202 in 2023, according to data provider IT Juzi. This decline is starkly evident in science parks and innovation hubs across the country, where vacant offices and abandoned equipment have become commonplace, according to a stunning FT story.
  Industry insiders attribute the crisis to a combination of factors, including China's economic slowdown,
  
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• Microsoft Lays Off Another 650 Staff From Its Video Game Workforce

  12-09-2024 16:02 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft is laying off a further 650 staff from its gaming business, according to a memo sent by Xbox chief Phil Spencer to staff today, September 12. From a report: In the memo, Spencer said the roles affect mostly corporate and support functions, and were made "to organize our business for long term success." He clarified that no games, devices or experiences are being canceled and no studios are being closed as part of these cuts. These latest layoffs mean Microsoft has let go of 2,550 staff
  
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• As Quantum Computing Threats Loom, Microsoft Updates Its Core Crypto Library

  12-09-2024 15:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Microsoft has updated a key cryptographic library with two new encryption algorithms designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers. The updates were made last week to SymCrypt, a core cryptographic code library for handing cryptographic functions in Windows and Linux. The library, started in 2006, provides operations and algorithms developers can use to safely implement secure encryption, decryption, signing, verification, hashing, an
  
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• Voyager 1 Team Accomplishes Tricky Thruster Swap

  12-09-2024 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  fjo3 shares a report from NASA: Engineers working on NASA's Voyager 1 probe have successfully mitigated an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters, which keep the distant explorer pointed at Earth so that it can receive commands, send engineering data, and provide the unique science data it is gathering. After 47 years, a fuel tube inside the thrusters has become clogged with silicon dioxide, a byproduct that appears with age from a rubber diaphragm in the spacecraft's fuel tank. The clogging redu
  
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• OpenAI Fundraising Set To Vault Startup's Valuation To $150 Billion

  12-09-2024 07:50 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5 billion from investors at a valuation of $150 billion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation. From the report: The new valuation, a figure that doesn't include the money being raised, is significantly higher than the $86 billion valuation from the company's tender offer earlier this year, and cements its place as one of the most valuable startups in the world. At the same time, OpenAI is also in talks to raise $5 billion in debt
  
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• 'An AI Bot Named James Has My Old Local News Job'

  12-09-2024 05:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired, written by Guthrie Scrimgeour: It always seemed difficult for the newspaper where I used to work, The Garden Island on the rural Hawaiian island of Kauai, to hire reporters. If someone left, it could take months before we hired a replacement, if we ever did. So, last Thursday, I was happy to see that the paper appeared to have hired two new journalists -- even if they seemed a little off. In a spacious studio overlooking a tropical beach, James, a
  
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• Americans Used Record 100 Trillion Megabytes of Wireless Data In 2023

  12-09-2024 02:45 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  A new survey released on Tuesday found that Americans used over 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data last year -- a 36% increase from the previous year and the largest single-year increase in the history of wireless data consumption. Reuters reports: The increase -- 26 trillion MBs over 2022 -- comes as a growing number of 5G wireless devices are being used, said wireless industry association CTIA that represents major wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and technology firms.
  
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• Mistral Releases Pixtral 12B, Its First-Ever Multimodal AI Model

  12-09-2024 02:02 via slashdot.org
  
  Mistral AI has launched Pixtral 12B, its first multimodal model with language and vision processing capabilities, positioning it to compete with AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic. You can download its source code from Hugging Face, GitHub, or via a torrent link. VentureBeat reports: While the official details of the new model, including the data it was trained upon, remain under wraps, the core idea appears that Pixtral 12B will allow users to analyze images while combining text prompts with
  
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• Bluesky Lets You Post Videos Now

  12-09-2024 01:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Bluesky, the decentralized social networking startup, has introduced support for videos up to 60 seconds long in its latest update, version 1.91. The Verge reports: The videos will autoplay by default, but Bluesky says you can turn this feature off in the settings menu. You can also add subtitles to your videos, as well as apply labels for things like adult content. There are some limitations to Bluesky's video feature, as the platform will only allow up to 25 video uploads (or 10GB of video) pe
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg Says He's Done Apologizing

  12-09-2024 00:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The home of the Golden State Warriors was packed on Tuesday evening this week, but it wasn't to watch Steph Curry. Thousands of fans gathered at the Chase Center in downtown San Francisco to watch one of Silicon Valley's biggest ballers, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, sit down for a conversation with the hosts of the Acquired podcast, David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert. Shortly after hopping onstage, Zuckerberg joked that he might need to schedule his
  
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• Android Apps Can Now Block Sideloading, Force Downloads Through Google Play

  12-09-2024 00:05 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman reports: There are many reasons why you may want to sideload apps on your Android phone, but there are also good reasons why developers would want to block sideloading. A sideloaded app won't contribute to the developer's Play Store metrics, for one, but it also prevents the developer from curating which devices can use their app. Improperly sideloaded apps can also crash due to missing assets or code, or they might be missing certain features because you insta
  
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