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• Windows 11 Poised To Beat 10, Mostly Because It Has To

  04-04-2025 18:06 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: The gap between Windows 10 and Windows 11 continues to narrow, and Microsoft's flagship operating system is on track to finally surpass its predecessor by summer. The latest figures from Statcounter show the increase in Windows 11's market share accelerating, while Windows 10 declines.
  Before Champagne corks start popping in Redmond, it is worth noting that Windows 10 still accounts for over half the market -- 54.2 percent -- and Windows 11 now accounts for 4
  
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• Lawmakers Are Skeptical of Zuckerberg's Commitment To Free Speech

  10-04-2025 05:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta's latest whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, got a warm reception on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as the Careless People author who the company has fought to silence described the company's chief executive as someone willing to shapeshift into whatever gets him closest to power. The message was one that lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism were very open to. Their responses underscore that amid CEO Mark Zuckerberg's lat
  
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• Microsoft Windows 95 Reboot Chime and Minecraft Soundtrack Inducted Into National Recording Registry

  10-04-2025 02:11 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  BrianFagioli writes: In a move that is sure to make longtime PC users do a double take, the Library of Congress has added two very unexpected sounds to its National Recording Registry. No, it's not another classic rock album or jazz staple. Believe it or not, it's actually the "Reboot Chime" from Windows 95 (that played when the operating system started) and the soundtrack from Minecraft!Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• US Army Says It Could Acquire Targets Faster With 'Advanced AI'

  09-04-2025 23:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Army told the government it had a lot of success using AI to "process targets" during a recent deployment. It said that it had used AI systems to identify targets at a rate of 55 per day but could get that number up to 5,000 a day with "advanced artificial intelligence tools in the future." 404 Media: The line comes from a new report from the Government Accountability Office -- a nonpartisan watchdog group that investigates the federal government. The report is titled "Defense Command a
  
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• Anthropic Launches Its Own $200 Monthly Plan

  09-04-2025 22:04 via slashdot.org
  
  Anthropic has unveiled a new premium tier for its AI chatbot Claude, targeting power users willing to pay up to $200 monthly for broader usage. The "Max" subscription comes in two variants: a $100/month tier with 5x higher rate limits than Claude Pro, and a $200/month option boasting 20x higher limits -- directly competing with OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro tier.
  Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic still lacks an unlimited usage plan. Product lead Scott White didn't rule out even pricier subscriptions in the future
  
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• WordPress Launches AI Site Builder Amid Company Restructuring

  09-04-2025 21:00 via it.slashdot.org
  
  WordPress.com has released an AI-powered site builder in early access that constructs complete websites with generated text, layouts, and images. The tool operates through a chatbot interface where users input specifications, resulting in a fully formed site that can be further refined through additional prompts.
  While WordPress.com claims the builder creates "beautiful, functional websites in minutes," it currently cannot handle ecommerce sites or complex integrations. Users need a WordPress.co
  
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• Google DeepMind Has a Weapon in the AI Talent Wars: Aggressive Noncompete Rules

  09-04-2025 20:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The battle for AI talent is so hot that Google would rather give some employees a paid one-year vacation than let them work for a competitor. From a report: Some Google DeepMind staff in the UK are subject to noncompete agreements that prevent them from working for a competitor for up to 12 months after they finish work at Google, according to four former employees with direct knowledge of the matter who asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to share these details with the pr
  
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• Google Maps is Launching Tools To Help Cities Analyze Infrastructure and Traffic

  09-04-2025 19:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google is opening up its Google Maps Platform data so that cities, developers, and other business decision makers can more easily access information about things like infrastructure and traffic. The Verge: Google is integrating new datasets for Google Maps Platform directly into BigQuery, the tech giant's fully managed data analytics service, for the first time. This should make it easier for people to access data from Google Maps platform products, including Imagery Insights, Roads Management I
  
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• Scientists Recreate Brain Circuit in Lab For First Time

  09-04-2025 17:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Scientists have recreated in a laboratory the sensory pathway that transmits feelings of pain to the human brain, in a breakthrough that could lead to better treatments. Financial Times: A team at Stanford University in California is the first to combine different neurons grown from human stem cells into a functioning brain circuit in a lab dish. Their experiments, published in Nature on Wednesday, illustrate scientists' rapid progress in replicating living tissues and organs through synthetic b
  
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• The AI Therapist Can See You Now

  09-04-2025 17:05 via science.slashdot.org
  
  New research suggests that given the right kind of training, AI bots can deliver mental health therapy with as much efficacy as -- or more than -- human clinicians. From a report: The recent study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows results from the first randomized clinical trial for AI therapy. Researchers from Dartmouth College built the bot as a way of taking a new approach to a longstanding problem: The U.S. continues to grapple with an acute shortage of mental health p
  
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• Samsung and Google Partner To Launch Ballie Home Robot with Built-in Projector

  09-04-2025 16:06 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Samsung Electronics and Google Cloud are jointly entering the consumer robotics market with Ballie, a yellow, soccer-ball-shaped robot equipped with a video projector and powered by Google's Gemini AI models. First previewed in 2020, the long-delayed device will finally launch this summer in the US and South Korea. The mobile companion uses small wheels to navigate homes autonomously and integrates with Samsung's SmartThings platform to control smart home devices.
  Running on Samsung's Tizen oper
  
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• China Raises Tariffs on US Goods To 84% as Rift Escalates

  09-04-2025 13:31 via slashdot.org
  
  China retaliated against the US after new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, announcing it would raise the tariff on US goods to 84%, escalating the trade conflict between the world's two largest economies. From a report: The Chinese countermeasures are effective April 10, according to a government statement Wednesday. China's move came after Trump's latest tariffs went into force at midday Wednesday in Beijing, taking the cumulative rate announced this year to 104%. A day earlier, China
  
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• Enterprises Are Shunning Vendors in Favor of DIY Approach To AI, UBS Says

  09-04-2025 11:15 via slashdot.org
  
  Established software companies hoping to ride the AI wave are facing a stiff headwind: many of their potential customers are building AI tools themselves. This do-it-yourself approach is channeling billions in spending towards cloud computing providers but leaving traditional software vendors struggling to capitalize, complicating their AI growth plans.
  Cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services are pulling in an estimated $22 billion from AI services, with Azure alone capturin
  
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• Clean Energy Powered 40% of Global Electricity in 2024, Report Finds

  09-04-2025 08:30 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The world used clean power sources to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year for the first time since the 1940s, figures show. The Guardian: A report by the energy thinktank Ember said the milestone was powered by a boom in solar power capacity, which has doubled in the last three years. The report found that solar farms had been the world's fastest-growing source of energy for the last 20 consecutive years.
  Phil MacDonald, Ember's managing director, said: "Solar power has become
  
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• Fake Job Seekers Are Flooding US Companies

  09-04-2025 06:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Fake job seekers using AI tools to impersonate candidates are increasingly targeting U.S. companies with remote positions, creating a growing security threat across industries. By 2028, one in four global job applicants will be fake, according to Gartner. These imposters use AI to fabricate photo IDs, generate employment histories, and provide interview answers, often targeting cybersecurity and cryptocurrency firms, CNBC reports.
  Once hired, fraudulent employees can install malware to demand ra
  
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• Hackers Spied on 100 US Bank Regulators' Emails for Over a Year

  09-04-2025 04:31 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Hackers intercepted about 103 bank regulators' emails for more than a year, gaining access to highly sensitive financial information, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter and a draft letter to Congress. From the report: The attackers were able to monitor employee emails at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency after breaking into an administrator's account, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public. OCC on Feb
  
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• UK Creating 'Murder Prediction' Tool To Identify People Most Likely To Kill

  09-04-2025 03:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter toutankh writes: The UK government is developing a tool to predict murder. The scheme was originally called the "homicide prediction project", but its name has been changed to "sharing data to improve risk assessment". The Ministry of Justice hopes the project will help boost public safety but campaigners have called it "chilling and dystopian".The existence of the project was uncovered by Statewatch rather than announced by the UK government. PR following this discovery looks like
  
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• Microsoft Cancels $1 Billion Ohio Data Center Projects

  09-04-2025 02:10 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has scrapped plans to build three data center campuses in Licking County, Ohio, in a $1 billion investment pullback, the company said. The canceled developments in New Albany, Heath, and Hebron join a growing list of Microsoft data center project cancellations across the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United Kingdom.
  Microsoft will retain ownership of the land and plans to eventually develop the sites at an unspecified future date. Two properties will remain available for
  
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• Razer Pauses Direct Laptop Sales in the US as New Tariffs Loom

  09-04-2025 01:43 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Razer's upcoming Blade 16 and other laptops are no longer available for preorder or purchase on its US site. From a report: The configurator for preordering its new Blade 16 laptop was available as recently as April 1st, according to the Internet Archive -- one day before the Trump administration announced sweeping US tariffs on China, Taiwan, and others that make laptop components.
  When asked recently if tariffs might affect Razer's prices or availability, its Public Relations Manager, Andy Joh
  
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• Middle-Aged Man Trading Cards Go Viral in Rural Japan Town

  08-04-2025 20:05 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Children in a small Japanese town are obsessively collecting trading cards featuring local elderly men rather than popular fantasy creatures, helping bridge generational gaps in an aging rural community.
  In Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture, the "Ojisan TCG" (Middle-aged Man Trading Card Game) features 28 local men with assigned elemental types and battle stats. The collection includes a former fire brigade chief and a prison officer-turned-volunteer whose card has become so sought-after that children
  
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• China's Biotech Advances Threaten US Dominance, Warns Congressional Report

  08-04-2025 19:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  China is moving fast to dominate biotechnology, and the U.S. risks falling behind permanently unless it takes action over the next three years, a congressional commission said. WSJ: Congress should invest at least $15 billion to support biotech research over the next five years and take other steps to bolster manufacturing in the U.S., while barring companies from working with Chinese biotech suppliers, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology said in a report Tuesday. To achie
  
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• Shopify CEO Says Staffers Need To Prove Jobs Can't Be Done By AI Before Asking for More Headcount

  08-04-2025 18:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke is changing his company's approach to hiring in the age of AI. Employees will be expected to prove why they "cannot get what they want done using AI" before asking for more headcount and resources, Lutke wrote in a memo to staffers that he posted to X. From a report: "What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?" Lutke wrote in the memo, which was sent to employees late last month. "This question can lead to really fun discussions a
  
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• Micron To Impose Tariff-Related Surcharge on SSDs, Other Products

  08-04-2025 17:04 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Micron has informed US customers it will implement surcharges on memory modules and solid-state drives starting Wednesday to offset President Trump's new tariffs, according to Reuters. While semiconductors received exemptions in Trump's recent trade action, memory storage products didn't escape the new duties.
  Micron, which manufactures primarily in Asian countries including China and Taiwan, had previously signaled during a March earnings call that tariff costs would be passed to customers.Read
  
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• Meta Got Caught Gaming AI Benchmarks

  08-04-2025 16:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta released two new Llama 4 models over the weekend -- Scout and Maverick -- with claims that Maverick outperforms GPT-4o and Gemini 2.0 Flash on benchmarks. Maverick quickly secured the number-two spot on LMArena, behind only Gemini 2.5 Pro.
  Researchers have since discovered that Meta used an "experimental chat version" of Maverick for LMArena testing that was "optimized for conversationality" rather than the publicly available version.
  In response, LMArena said "Meta's interpretation of our
  
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• India's 'Frankenstein' Laptop Economy Thrives Against Planned Obsolescence

  08-04-2025 13:16 via it.slashdot.org
  
  In Delhi's Nehru Place and Mumbai's Lamington Road, technicians are creating functional laptops from salvaged parts of multiple discarded devices. These "Frankenstein" machines sell for approximately $110 USD -- a fraction of the $800 price tag for new models. Technicians extract usable components -- motherboards, capacitors, screens, and batteries -- from e-waste sourced locally and from countries like Dubai and China.
  "Most people don't care about having the latest model; they just want someth
  
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• Bluesky Can't Take a Joke

  08-04-2025 11:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  On Bluesky, the joke's on you if you don't get the joke. The social network has become a "refuge" for those fleeing X and Threads, but its growing pains include a serious case of humor-impairment. When Amy Brown jokingly posted she was "screaming, crying, and throwing up" about price differences between Ohio and California Walgreens, literal-minded users scolded her for exaggerating. Brown, a former Wendy's social media manager who got banned from X after impersonating Elon Musk, puts it simply:
  
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• US's AI Lead Over China Rapidly Shrinking, Stanford Report Says

  08-04-2025 08:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. is still the global leader in state-of-the-art AI, but China has closed the gap considerably, according to a new report from Stanford. Axios: Institutions based in the U.S. produced 40 AI models of note in 2024, compared with 15 from China and three from Europe, according to the eighth edition of Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Index, released on Monday.
  However, the report found that Chinese models have rapidly caught up in quality, noting that Chinese models reached near parity on
  
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• No, the Dire Wolf Has Not Been Brought Back From Extinction

  08-04-2025 06:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Colossal Biosciences has claimed it "successfully restored" the extinct dire wolf after a "10,000+ year absence," but scientists clarify these are actually genetically modified grey wolves. The U.S. company announced three pups -- males Remus and Romulus born in October, and female Khaleesi born in January -- as dire wolves, but made only 20 genetic edits to grey wolves.
  Beth Shapiro of Colossal told New Scientist that just 15 modifications were based on dire wolf DNA, primarily targeting size,
  
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• States Are Banning Forever Chemicals. Industry Is Fighting Back

  08-04-2025 04:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  New Mexico's legislature passed bills last week that would ban consumer products containing PFAS, joining a small but growing number of states taking action against these persistent "forever chemicals." If signed by the governor, the legislation would prohibit the sale of many products with added per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in New Mexico, making it the third state after Maine and Minnesota to enact such comprehensive restrictions.
  At least 29 states have PFAS-related bills b
  
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• Framework Stops Selling Some of Its Laptops in the US Due To Tariffs

  08-04-2025 03:10 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Framework -- a company that makes upgradeable and repairable laptops -- will pause sales on several versions of one of its models in America thanks to Trump's tariffs, it said. From a report: "Due to the new tariffs that came into effect on April 5th, we're temporarily pausing US sales on a few base Framework Laptop 13 systems (Ultra 5 125H and Ryzen 5 7640U). For now, these models will be removed from our US site. We will continue to provide updates as we have them," Framework said in a post on
  
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