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Updated 2025-07-15 23:00
US Approves Chicken Made From Cultivated Cells, the Nation's First 'Lab-Grown' Meat
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Associated Press: For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer "lab-grown" meat to the nation's restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves. The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn't come from slaughtered animals -- what's now being referred to as "cell-cultivated" or "cultured" meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates. The companies received approvals for federal inspections required to sell meat and poultry in the U.S. The action came months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deemed that products from both companies are safe to eat. A manufacturing company called Joinn Biologics, which works with Good Meat, was also cleared to make the products. Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks, using cells that come from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells. In Upside's case, it comes out in large sheets that are then formed into shapes like chicken cutlets and sausages. Good Meat, which already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, the first country to allow it, turns masses of chicken cells into cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat and satays. But don't look for this novel meat in U.S. grocery stores anytime soon. Cultivated chicken is much more expensive than meat from whole, farmed birds and cannot yet be produced on the scale of traditional meat, said Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alt:Meat Lab at University of California Berkeley. The companies plan to serve the new food first in exclusive restaurants: Upside has partnered with a San Francisco restaurant called Bar Crenn, while Good Meat dishes will be served at a Washington, D.C., restaurant run by chef and owner Jose Andres.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google Accuses Microsoft of Anticompetitive Cloud Practices in Complaint To FTC
After years of publicly alleging that Microsoft used its dominant position in enterprise software to push customers toward Microsoft's cloud services, Google on Tuesday formally filed a complaint to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has been examining such issues, according to a copy of the document reviewed by The Information. From the report: Microsoft used the licensing terms in its Office 365 productivity software to lock customers into separate contracts with its Azure cloud server business, Google's complaint said. Microsoft is the second largest cloud provider after Amazon, and Google is a distant third. Google previously complained about Microsoft's cloud licensing practices to European regulators. Under pressure, last year Microsoft agreed to change its licensing practices in the region to make it more affordable for Azure customers to use additional cloud providers, but the changes didn't apply to U.S. customers.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Camera Review Site DPReview Finds a Buyer, Avoids Shutdown by Amazon
ArsTechnica says: Back in March, the editor-in-chief of the 25-year-old, Amazon-owned camera review site DPReview.com announced that the site was shutting down. The site was the casualty of a round of layoffs at Amazon that will affect a total of about 27,000 employees this year; DPReview was meant to stop publishing new pieces on April 10 and to be available in read-only mode for an undetermined period of time after that. But then, something odd happened: The site simply kept publishing at a fairly regular clip throughout the entire month of April and continuing until now. A no-update update from EIC Scott Everett published in mid-May merely acknowledged that pieces were still going up and that there was "nothing to share," which wasn't much to go on but also didn't make it sound as though the site were in imminent danger of disappearing. Yesterday, Everett finally had something to share: DPReview.com and its "current core editorial, tech, and business team[s]" were being acquired by Gear Patrol, an independently owned consumer technology site founded by Eric Yang in 2007. The deal had already closed as of yesterday, June 20.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
FTC Sues Amazon for Inducing Users To Subscribe To Prime
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sued Amazon for illegally inducing consumers to sign up for its Prime service and then hindering them from canceling the subscription, the most aggressive action against the company to date by the agency's chair, Lina Khan. From a report: The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, argues that Amazon had used design tactics on its website known as "dark patterns" to nudge people into subscribing to Prime, the F.T.C. said in a release. And when consumers wanted to cancel, they had to go through a byzantine process to do so. "Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money," Ms. Khan said in a statement. The lawsuit was the first time that the F.T.C. has taken Amazon to court under Ms. Khan, who rose to fame with a viral critique of the company and who is ramping up scrutiny of the e-commerce giant. Ms. Khan has said the power that big tech companies have over online commerce requires regulators to be far more aggressive and has begun taking actions against them./i.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Secret Invasion's Opening Credits Scene is AI-Made
An anonymous reader shares a report: The world of Secret Invasion is decidedly sketchy. With thousands of shapeshifting Skrulls on Earth, you can't trust what you think you're seeing. One second, you're looking at Nick Fury or an esteemed world leader; the next, you see their face morph into something (or someone) else entirely. This is a description of the plot of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe show on Disney Plus (as well as its comic book counterpart), which follows Nick Fury as he uncovers -- what else? -- a secret invasion by the Skrull population on Earth. But the concept of shape-shifting is also seen in the series' very different approach to its opening credits, which look like a sort of watercolor rendering of the key players and themes of Secret Invasion. As we see a sort of jittery and ominous sequence of the Skrull green taking over more and more of the world, it looks a lot like if an AI was prompted with the concept of "Skrull cubism" -- which, actually, isn't that far off of what it is. As director and executive producer Ali Selim tells Polygon, the intro sequence was designed by Method Studios using artificial intelligence, something he thinks plays with the very themes of the show. "When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it -- it just came right out of the shape-shifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who did this? Who is this?" Selim says. Like many people, Selim says he doesn't "really understand" how the artificial intelligence works, but was fascinated with the ways in which the AI could translate the sense of foreboding he wanted for the series. "We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Ant Developing Large Language Model Technology
Jack Ma-backed Ant Group is developing large-language model technology that will power ChatGPT-style services, joining a list of Chinese companies seeking to win an edge in next-generation artificial intelligence. From a report: The project known as "Zhen Yi" is being created by a dedicated unit and will deploy in-house research. An Ant spokesperson confirmed the news which was first reported by Chinastarmarket.cn Ant is racing against companies including its affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Baidu and SenseTime. Their efforts mirror developments in US where Alphabet's Google and Microsoft are exploring generative AI, which can create original content from poetry to art just with simple user prompts.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Musk Says Looking Ahead To Tesla and Starlink India Debut
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk says the firm is looking to invest in India and bring the electric carmaker to the country "as soon as humanly possible." From a report: Musk said he had a "very good" conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and is hopeful that they will be able to "announce something in the not too distant future." The dialog comes at a time when Tesla and New Delhi have revived talks about incentives to bring the carmaker to the South Asian market. SpaceX representatives have also revived conversations with the telecom ministry in India in recent weeks for setting up satellite internet service Starlink in the country, according to a person familiar with the matter.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
EA Sports and EA Games Splitting Apart in Internal Shakeup
Electronic Arts is undergoing a major internal shakeup, announcing today in a message from CEO Andrew Wilson that it is realigning its major studios and its leadership structure in an effort to "empower our creative teams." From a report: The reorganization includes splitting EA Games and EA Sports, with the former being renamed "EA Entertainment" in a signal that EA intends to expand beyond games where possible. "We're building the future of interactive entertainment on a foundation of legendary franchises and innovative new experiences, which represents massive opportunities for growth," Wilson wrote in a message announcing the news.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
ISPs Say US Should Force Big Tech Firms To Pay For Broadband Construction
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Internet service providers in both the US and Europe are clamoring for new payments from Big Tech firms. European broadband providers are much closer to realizing the long-held goal of payments from tech companies, as the European Union government is holding an official consultation on the proposal. As the EU process unfolds, the telco lobby group USTelecom is hoping to push the US down a similar but not quite identical path. In a blog post on Friday, USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter argued that the biggest technology companies should contribute toward a fund that subsidizes the building of broadband networks. Spalter wrote that Amazon and similar Internet companies should fill what he called a "conspicuously empty seat at the collective table of global high-speed connectivity." Given that "six companies account for half of all Internet traffic worldwide... Does it still make sense that the government and broadband providers alone fund this critical infrastructure? Is there no shared obligation from the primary financial beneficiaries of these networks -- the world's most powerful Internet companies?" Spalter wrote. "We need a modern reset that more equitably shares these financial obligations among those who benefit the most from these connections," he argued. USTelecom members include AT&T, Verizon, Lumen (formerly CenturyLink), Windstream, and other telcos. It's one of the biggest trade groups that lobbies for US-based Internet service providers. [...] USTelecom pointed to the Biden administration's comments in its pitch to make Big Tech firms pay into a central fund like the existing Universal Service Fund (USF) managed by the Federal Communications Commission. "We concur with the US government's position that rather than the payments to broadband providers proposed in the EU, such 'publicly accountable funding mechanisms can better ensure that resources are devoted to key policy objectives, such as improving access and strengthening network security, while avoiding discriminatory measures that distort competition,'" Spalter wrote. The Biden administration's comments didn't call for tech companies to pay into a government-run fund, though. The document noted that the US "approach to financing improvements to broadband infrastructure involves private investments, a national Universal Service Fund, and significant public funding made from general appropriations," but didn't argue for any changes to who pays into the fund.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
YouTube To Launch Its First Official Shopping Channel In South Korea
YouTube is launching its first official shopping channel for live commerce in South Korea on June 30. Reuters reports: The new channel will operate in Korean language and will start as a 90-day project. In the beginning it will provide a live-commerce platform to companies and plans to livestream shopping content from about 30 brands, Yonhap and other Korean media said, citing people familiar with the matter. It is YouTube's first official shopping channel in any country, Yonhap said. "We may experiment with a variety of YouTube Shopping features from time to time," a YouTube spokesperson said, without elaborating. With YouTube's ad revenue affected by advertisers curtailing spending and competition from platforms like TikTok, Google's Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said in February there was "lots of potential in making it easier for people to shop from the creators, brands and content they love."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Adobe's $20 Billion Figma Acquisition Likely To Face EU Investigation
According to a report from The Financial Times, the European Union Commission is planning an in-depth investigation into Adobe's $20 billion purchase of Figma, the popular online graphics editing and interface design application. Gizmodo reports: Back in February, the EU Commission noted that it had received numerous requests to review the business deal. The international watchdog announced that it would need to clear the proposed merger, under the justification that it "threatens to significantly affect competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software." Now, the Brussels-based Commission will open a phase II investigation, per the FT. Generally, anti-competition probes are handled at the phase I level, which accounts for 90% of all cases, according to EU internal data. In comparison, a phase II analysis takes more time and goes deeper. By the Commission's description, a phase II investigation "typically involves more extensive information gathering, including companies' internal documents, extensive economic data, more detailed questionnaires to market participants, and/or site visits." From the start of such a probe, the regulatory body has 90 days to make a decision. The EU Commission would not directly confirm its plans to investigate the Adobe/Figma merger. In an email, spokesperson Marta Perez-Cejuela told Gizmodo, "this transaction has not been formally notified to the Commission." Such notification is a requirement before any investigation can move forward. Commission officials requested that Adobe submit an official notification in February. Despite the Commission's lack of formal announcement, an EU probe into the acquisition is expected. Already the U.S. Department of Justice and the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority are looking into the digital design tool deal. The DOJ is reportedly preparing to file an antitrust suit blocking the merger, while the UK CMA is actively investigating the acquisition, with a first decision due by the end of June.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
For First Time, US Task Force Recommends Screening Adults For Anxiety Disorders
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: Adults ages 19 to 64 in the United States should be screened for anxiety disorders, according to a new recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force released Tuesday. The final recommendation, published in the medical journal JAMA, marks the first time the USPSTF has made a final recommendation on screening for anxiety disorders in adults, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. The task force found "insufficient evidence" to screen for anxiety in older adults. The USPSTF, a group of independent medical experts whose recommendations help guide doctors' decisions and influence insurance plans, also continues to recommend that all adults be screened for major depressive disorder, including those who are pregnant or postpartum and older adults. The recommendation is consistent with the task force's 2016 recommendation on depression screenings. While rates of clinical depression had been rising steadily in the United States, they jumped significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic. In general, about 1 in 6 adults will have depression at some time in their life, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And although depression and anxiety are different conditions, they commonly can happen together -- and such screening recommendations can help clinicians identify which patients may need treatment for both conditions or one versus the other. "Anxiety disorders are common, and they can really impact people's quality of life, and what the task force found is that screening for anxiety disorders in the general adult population can lead to identifying these conditions early and then, if those people who are identified get linked up with appropriate care, they will benefit," said Dr. Michael Silverstein, vice chair of the USPSTF and director of the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute at Brown University. "So it really is extremely good news for the delivery of preventive services for the American public," he said. "We also found that in the older adult population, which is defined as age 65 and older, that the task force really needs more evidence to weigh the risks and benefits of screening for anxiety disorders. And for that older adult population, we're calling for urgent new research." USPSTF researchers noted in their anxiety screening recommendation statement that most people with anxiety disorders don't receive treatment within the first year of symptoms, if ever -- showing a need for more robust screening. "Only 11% of US adults with an anxiety disorder started treatment within the first year of onset; the median time to treatment initiation was 23 years," the researchers wrote. "A US study of 965 primary care patients found that only 41% of patients with an anxiety disorder were receiving treatment for their disorder." Once the new screening recommendations are practiced in the real world, the results may reveal that anxiety disorders are much more prevalent than previously thought, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, who was not involved in the recommendation statements. "Anxiety has been way under the radar for a long time, and so I think it's good that they are recommending for the broad population to be screened. When we start screening for anxiety, we're going to find a lot more of it than we thought we had," he said. "I think it's an opportunity for us to get our hands around this crisis before we have a mental health emergency," Benjamin added. "So we definitely have to do more. We know as a nation, we have under-invested in mental health. We have not put as much money into mental health. We have not been treating mental health at the same level as physical health. And we know that people who need mental health services are really struggling to find providers to care for them."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
New Grammy Award Rules Require Human Input, Curb AI Use
The Recording Academy on Friday updated its rulebook for the Grammy Awards, banning work produced entirely by artificial intelligence. Some music created with AI help may still qualify, however. Reuters reports: Music creators must now contribute to at least 20% of an album to earn a nomination. "A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any categories." In the past, any producer, songwriter, engineer or featured artist on an album could earn a nomination for album of the year, even if the person had a small input.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
DeepMind Co-Founder Proposes a New Kind of Turing Test For Chatbots
Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, suggests chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard should be put through a "modern Turing test" where their ability to turn $100,000 into $1 million is evaluated to measure human-like intelligence. He discusses the idea in his new book called "The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma." Insider reports: In the book, Suleyman dismissed the traditional Turing test because it's "unclear whether this is a meaningful milestone or not," Bloomberg reported Tuesday. "It doesn't tell us anything about what the system can do or understand, anything about whether it has established complex inner monologues or can engage in planning over abstract time horizons, which is key to human intelligence," he added. The Turing test was introduced by Alan Turing in the 1950s to examine whether a machine has human-level intelligence. During the test, human evaluators determine whether they're speaking to a human or a machine. If the machine can pass for a human, then it passes the test. Instead of comparing AI's intelligence to humans, Suleyman proposes tasking a bot with short-term goals and tasks that it can complete with little human input in a process known as "artificial capable intelligence," or ACI. To achieve ACI, Suleyman says AI bots should pass a new Turing test in which it receives a $100,000 seed investment and has to turn it into $1 million. As part of the test, the bot must research an e-commerce business idea, develop a plan for the product, find a manufacturer, and then sell the item. He expects AI to achieve this milestone in the next two years. "We don't just care about what a machine can say; we also care about what it can do," he wrote, per Bloomberg.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iOS 17 Will Decode Your Car's Dashboard Symbols and Warning Lights
According to a Reddit user, Apple's Visual Look Up feature has been expanded in iOS 17 to include all of the various symbols on a vehicle's dashboard -- "everything from the labels used for HVAC controls, to the warning lights that only turn on when there's a problem," reports Gizmodo. From the report: Apple introduced a feature with iOS 15 called Visual Look Up that uses AI to analyze photos taken with the iPhone's camera and attempt to decipher them, providing more information about what's in the shot. It gave the iPhone the power to determine the breed of the dog you snapped at the park, or what type of flower was growing in your neighbor's garden. Reddit user yahlover shared several screenshots of the iOS 17 beta successfully recognizing and showing explanations for symbols like the double triangle labelling the button that turns on a car's hazard lights, and even the setting that defrosts the windshield. Although these symbols are now nearly universal across all vehicles, they can still be cryptic, especially to newer drivers. And while eventually vehicle dashboards will all just be giant screens with the ability to provide more descriptive information about controls and warnings, it's going to be decades before the standard dashboard iconography used today disappears forever.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Consumer Group Calls On EU To Urgently Investigate 'The Risks of Generative AI'
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: European regulators are at a crossroads over how AI will be regulated -- and ultimately used commercially and non-commercially -- in the region, and today the EU's largest consumer group, the BEUC, weighed in with its own position: stop dragging your feet, and "launch urgent investigations into the risks of generative AI" now, it said. "Generative AI such as ChatGPT has opened up all kinds of possibilities for consumers, but there are serious concerns about how these systems might deceive, manipulate and harm people. They can also be used to spread disinformation, perpetuate existing biases which amplify discrimination, or be used for fraud," said Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director General of BEUC, in a statement. "We call on safety, data and consumer protection authorities to start investigations now and not wait idly for all kinds of consumer harm to have happened before they take action. These laws apply to all products and services, be they AI-powered or not and authorities must enforce them." The BEUC, which represents consumer organizations in 13 countries in the EU, issued the call to coincide with a report out today (PDF) from one of its members, Forbrukerradet in Norway. That Norwegian report is unequivocal in its position: AI poses consumer harms (the title of the report says it all: "Ghost in the Machine: addressing the consumer harms of generative AI") and poses numerous problematic issues. It highlights, for example, how "certain AI developers including Big Tech companies" have closed off systems from external scrutiny making it difficult to see how data is collected or algorithms work; the fact that some systems produce incorrect information as blithely as they do correct results, with users often none the wiser about which it might be; AI that's built to mislead or manipulate users; the bias issue based on the information that is fed into a particular AI model; and security, specifically how AI could be weaponized to scam people or breach systems. [...] The AI Law, when implemented, will be the world's first attempt to try to codify some kind of understanding and legal enforcement around how AI is used commercially and non-commercially. The next step in the process is for the EU to engage with individual countries in the EU to hammer out what final form the law will take -- specifically to identify what (and who) would fit into its categories, and what will not. The question will be in how readily different countries agree together. The EU wants to finalize this process by the end of this year, it said. "It is crucial that the EU makes this law as watertight as possible to protect consumers," said Pachl in her statement. "All AI systems, including generative AI, need public scrutiny, and public authorities must reassert control over them. Lawmakers must require that the output from any generative AI system is safe, fair and transparent for consumers."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Rivian Is the Next Automaker To Adopt Tesla's Charging Plugs
Today, Rivian announced that it is switching from the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard to the North American Charging Standard (NACS), tesla's competing standard, in 2024. The automaker joins Ford and General Motors in adopting Tesla's charging plugs for its future electric vehicles. Ars Technica reports: "We're excited to work with Tesla and to see collaborations like this help advance the world toward carbon neutrality. The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla's expansive Supercharger network while we continue to build out our Rivian Adventure Network. We look forward to continuing to find new ways to accelerate EV adoption," said Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe in a statement. In an email to customers, Rivian said that it would make adapters available, so people should not wait for the factory to switch over to the NACS port from CCS1. It also says that it will add Tesla charging sites to its mobile and vehicle navigation apps. From 2025, it will start building NACS ports into its vehicles. Like GM, Rivian is in the midst of deploying thousands of DC fast chargers with CCS1 plugs, and like GM, Rivian says that the switch to NACS does not affect those plans. As with Ford and GM, there are no details as to the terms of the deal between Rivian and Tesla.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Texas Power Use To Break Records In Heat Wave, Prices Soar To $2,500 Per Megawatt Hour
The Texas power grid operator, ERCOT, has urged residents and businesses to conserve electricity as the first heat wave of the summer increases air conditioner usage, causing power reserves to potentially fall short. Power prices in the state's day-ahead market reached over $2,500 per MWh, and ERCOT issued a warning about a projected reserve capacity shortage, although controlled outages are not currently necessary. Reuters reports: ERCOT operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state's power load. The grid operator issued a "Watch" for what it called a "projected reserve capacity shortage with no market solution available for Tuesday" from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, which could push ERCOT to take more actions to maintain reliability. Although controlled outages are one of the most extreme actions a grid operator could take to maintain reliability, ERCOT said "controlled outages are not needed at this time." ERCOT forecast power use would reach 81,348 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday before slipping to 80,991 MW on Wednesday. Tuesday's high, which is a little below a forecast earlier in the day, would still top the grid's current record peak of 80,148 MW on July 20, 2022. Day-ahead power prices for Tuesday settled around $2,500 per MWh at 5 p.m. local time in several zones, including Houston and Dallas, according to the ERCOT website. That compares with next-day prices at the ERCOT North Hub , which includes Dallas, that traded for $37 per MWh for the peak hours during the day on Monday, the U.S. Juneteenth holiday.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Christopher Nolan Says AI Dangers Have Been 'Apparent For Years'
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Variety: Christopher Nolan got honest about artificial intelligence in a new interview with Wired magazine. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker says the writing has been on the wall about AI dangers for quite some time, but now the media is more focused on the technology because it poses a threat to their jobs. "The growth of AI in terms of weapons systems and the problems that it is going to create have been very apparent for a lot of years," Nolan said. "Few journalists bothered to write about it. Now that there's a chatbot that can write an article for a local newspaper, suddenly it's a crisis." Nolan said the main issue with AI is "a very simple one" and relates to the technology being used by companies to "evade responsibility for their actions." "If we endorse the view that AI is all-powerful, we are endorsing the view that it can alleviate people of responsibility for their actions -- militarily, socioeconomically, whatever," Nolan continued. "The biggest danger of AI is that we attribute these godlike characteristics to it and therefore let ourselves off the hook. I don't know what the mythological underpinnings of this are, but throughout history there's this tendency of human beings to create false idols, to mold something in our own image and then say we've got godlike powers because we did that." Nolan added that he feels there is "a real danger" with AI, saying, "I identify the danger as the abdication of responsibility." "I feel that AI can still be a very powerful tool for us. I'm optimistic about that. I really am," he said. "But we have to view it as a tool. The person who wields it still has to maintain responsibility for wielding that tool. If we accord AI the status of a human being, the way at some point legally we did with corporations, then yes, we're going to have huge problems." "The whole machine learning as applied to deepfake technology, that's an extraordinary step forward in visual effects and in what you could do with audio," Nolan told Wired. "There will be wonderful things that will come out, longer term, in terms of environments, in terms of building a doorway or a window, in terms of pooling the massive data of what things look like, and how light reacts to materials. Those things are going to be enormously powerful tools." Will Nolan be using AI technology on his films? "I'm, you know, very much the old analog fusty filmmaker," he said. "I shoot on film. And I try to give the actors a complete reality around it. My position on technology as far as it relates to my work is that I want to use technology for what it's best for. Like if we do a stunt, a hazardous stunt. You could do it with much more visible wires, and then you just paint out the wires. Things like that."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Spotify Plans New Premium Tier, Expected To Include HiFi Audio
Spotify is planning a more expensive subscription option that's expected to include high-fidelity audio in an effort to drive more revenue and placate investors who've been saying the company should raise its prices. From a report: Dubbed "Supremium" internally, according to people familiar with the strategy, the new tier will be Spotify's most expensive plan and likely offer a HiFi feature the company first announced it was working on in 2021. Spotify delayed that product's rollout after two of its competitors, Apple Music and Amazon Music, began offering the feature for free as part of their standard plans. The new tier will launch this year in non-US markets first. To augment its current "Premium" tier, Spotify will give subscribers expanded access to audiobooks, either through a specific number of hours free per month or a specific number of titles. There will be an option to purchase more. Currently, the company only sells audiobooks a la carte through its app. Spotify plans to introduce that feature in the US in October, after first launching in markets abroad.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Latest SUSE Linux Enterprise Goes All in With Confidential Computing
SUSE's latest release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 Service Pack 5 (SLE 15 SP5) has a focus on security, claiming it as the first distro to offer full support for confidential computing to protect data. From a report: According to SUSE, the latest version of its enterprise platform is designed to deliver high-performance computing capabilities, with an inevitable mention of AI/ML workloads, plus it claims to have extended its live-patching capabilities. The release also comes just weeks after the community release openSUSE Leap 15.5 was made available, with the two sharing a common core. The Reg's resident open source guru noted that Leap 15.6 has now been confirmed as under development, which implies that a future SLE 15 SP6 should also be in the pipeline. SUSE announced the latest version at its SUSECON event in Munich, along with a new report on cloud security issues claiming that more than 88 percent of IT teams have reported at least one cloud security incident over the the past year. This appears to be the justification for the claim that SLE 15 SP5 is the first Linux distro to support "the entire spectrum" of confidential computing, allowing customers to run fully encrypted virtual machines on their infrastructure to protect applications and their associated data. Confidential computing relies on hardware-based security mechanisms in the processor to provide this protection, so enterprises hoping to take advantage of this will need to ensure their servers have the necessary support, such as AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP) and Intel's Trust Domain Extensions (TDX).Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Short Daytime Naps May Keep Brain Healthy as It Ages, Study Says
Taking a short nap during the day may help to protect the brain's health as it ages, researchers have suggested after finding that the practice appears to be associated with larger brain volume. From a report: While previous research has suggested long naps could be an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, other work has revealed that a brief doze can improve people's ability to learn. Now researchers say they have found evidence to suggest napping may help to protect against brain shrinkage. That is of interest, the team say, as brain shrinkage, a process that occurs with age, is accelerated in people with cognitive problems and neurodegenerative diseases, with some research suggesting this may be related to sleep problems. "In line with these studies, we found an association between habitual daytime napping and larger total brain volume, which could suggest that napping regularly provides some protection against neurodegeneration through compensating for poor sleep," the researchers note. Writing in the journal Sleep Health, researchers at UCL and the University of the Republic in Uruguay report how they drew on data from the UK Biobank study that has collated genetic, lifestyle and health information from 500,000 people aged 40 to 69 at recruitment. The team used data from 35,080 Biobank participants to look at whether a combination of genetic variants that have previously been associated with self-reported habitual daytime napping are also linked to brain volume, cognition and other aspects of brain health.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Some Subreddits Are Now Filled With Porn To Protest Reddit
An anonymous reader shares a report: A handful of subreddits have classified themselves as not safe for work (NSFW) to protest Reddit's recent treatment of the platform's volunteer moderators, and as a result, some non-porn communities are starting to get a lot of porn. More than 8,000 subreddits went dark last week in protest of the company's API pricing changes that are set to shut down popular third-party apps. But as the protests went on, Reddit started to push back. In an interview with The Verge, CEO Steve Huffman said that, while the platform allows the protests, "the users are not in support of it now. It's like a protest in a city that goes on too long, and the rest of the citizens of the city would like to go about their lives." In an interview with NBC News, Huffman characterized moderators as "landed gentry." And some mods have felt threatened by messages sent to them by the company. Thousands of subreddits have reopened; one tracker indicates only about 3,300 remain private or restricted. But switching to NSFW creates a new level of friction in reopened communities.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
New Twitch Program Meant To Give Streamers More Money Will Benefit Only 2.5%
An anonymous reader shares a report: Although Twitch's new Partner Plus program, which gives streamers an increased share of their subscription revenues, was seen as an olive branch by many in the streaming community, creators should probably take a second look at the company's sparkling initiative before starting to cheer, industry experts say. Last Thursday, Twitch announced that streamers who qualified for its new Partner Plus initiative would get a 70 / 30 split of revenue from subscriptions, which are donated by their viewers. Most streamers earn a 50/50 split. As explained by Twitch, those inducted into the program would receive 70% of their subscriptions for one year until they reach their first $100,000. Once streamers hit that amount, their subscription share reduces to 50%, which is the standard split for most streamers. While it was clear from the get-go that not all streamers would qualify for the program -- requirements include being a Twitch partner and having at least 350 monthly recurring subscriptions -- many were outraged to hear that it could be as little as 2.5%, or about 1,066. That's the number that Twitch analytics service Streams Charts came up with after analyzing how many Twitch partners were active, or who have streamed at least once, in the past three months and how many of those had more than 350 monthly subscriptions. Out of the more than 71,000 Twitch partners, Streams Charts told Gizmodo, only about 42,000 were active in the past three months. Of those, only 1,066 had at least 350 monthly subscriptions.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Submarine Missing Near Titanic Used a $30 Logitech Gamepad for Steering
Earlier this week, news broke about an OceanGate Expeditions tourist submarine headed for the wreck of the Titanic that went missing with five people aboard. Soon after, details emerged about the sub's non-standard design that did not meet regulations, including steering apparently handled by a $30 Logitech F710 wireless PC game controller from 2010. From a report: Reuters reports that the five-person crew of the missing vessel, known as Titan, includes Hamish Harding, a British billionaire and adventure enthusiast, and OceanGate's founder and CEO, Stockton Rush. It disappeared on Sunday while on an expedition to explore the Titanic shipwreck site after losing contact with the Polar Prince research ship, roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes after their dive began. The submarine was last reported in the North Atlantic, approximately 900 miles east of Cape Cod, in a water body known to have a depth of about 13,000 feet. Search and rescue operations began shortly thereafter and are still underway. According to the BBC, the entire sub is bolted shut from the outside, so even if the vessel surfaces, the occupants cannot escape without outside assistance and could suffocate within the capsule.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Suzuki and SkyDrive To Jointly Start Producing 'Flying Cars' in 2024
Suzuki said Tuesday it has agreed to jointly start producing "flying cars" with Japanese start-up SkyDrive around the spring of 2024 as it aims to take the lead in the growing industry. From a report: Flying cars are a type of aircraft with the ability to vertically take off and land using multiple rotors. The vehicles are typically meant for carrying a small number of people, with some models also equipped for use on land. SkyDrive will set up a fully-owned production subsidiary that will assemble vehicles utilizing the Suzuki group's plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. The announcement comes a day after SkyDrive, a leading flying car start-up in Japan, unveiled at the Paris Airshow a plan to change the design of its vehicle under development so it can carry three people instead of two. The new design, which has an overall length of about 13 meters and a height of 3 meters, will extend the maximum flight range to about 15 kilometers from the current 10 km. SkyDrive and Suzuki announced a tie-up in the area of flying vehicles in March 2022, but the details of the collaboration have been under discussion.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
McDonalds and Fandom Replaced A Wiki Page With An Advertisement
An anonymous reader shares a report: Grimace, an ancient McDonalds character who -- recent marketing blitz aside -- may be so unknown among younger readers they will actually need to consult a website to find out who the hell he is, has for a very long time had an extensive page up over at the unofficial McDonalds Wiki. Until this week, at least, when McDonalds paid the site's owners to temporarily replace Grimace's biography with a paid advertisement. Let's be clear up front: the original biography, written by critic, writer and digital marketer Nathan Steinmetz, aka Humanstein, isn't the most important piece of historical information on the internet. Doing exactly what it needed to do, it served as an introduction to the character himself, before also (this was the real highlight) delving into real-life matters like Malaysian Happy Meals, records of his public appearances and a list of the people who had voiced the character and worn the purple suit. Or it did, until it started looking like this instead. At time of writing the page had been completely hijacked, Nathan's research wiped and replaced with reminders that people can go buy a Grimace meal at McDonalds and play a video game based on the character. The wiki's changelog says the swap is temporary, running "for the length of this [advertising] campaign." [...]Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma Automatically Generates Apple ID Passkeys
You can now forgo entering your password on icloud.com and apple.com domains thanks to newly added passkey support. From a report: When running iOS 17 on an iPhone, any Apple site on the web can rely instead on Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate your login. As part of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, your Apple ID is automatically assigned a passkey that can be used for iCloud and Apple sites. If you're running iOS 17 on your iPhone, you can try it out now. Just go to any sign-in page with an apple.com or icloud.com domain, like appleid.apple.com or www.apple.com/shop/bag, and look for the Sign in with iPhone button after your enter your Apple ID email address. We've tried this from Safari on the Mac, although you can use passkeys on non-Apple devices as well. Once you select Sign in with iPhone, a QR code is presented that you scan with your iPhone. If you scan the QR code from the Camera app, you can tap the yellow link box to invoke Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate your identity on the web without ever entering your password.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenAI Considers Creating an App Store for AI Software
OpenAI -- an early mover in releasing chatbots powered by large-language models -- is contemplating another initiative to extend its influence in the world of artificial intelligence. From a report: The company is considering launching a marketplace in which customers could sell AI models they customize for their own needs to other businesses, according to two people with knowledge of discussions at the company. The marketplace could be OpenAI's version of an app store, offering businesses a way to access bleeding-edge large-language models that can, for instance, sniff out financial fraud in online retail transactions or answer questions about specific markets with up-to-date information, these people said. Creating such an app store also could be a hedge against a future where no AI model dominates. It's not clear whether OpenAI would charge commissions on those sales or otherwise look to generate revenue from the marketplace.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple Expanding Self-Service Repair Program To iPhone 14 Lineup and More Macs
Apple today announced that its self-service repair program will be expanding to the iPhone 14 lineup, 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip, and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips starting June 21. From a report: First launched in April 2022, Apple's program provides customers with access to parts, manuals, and tools to repair select devices. Apple says the program is designed for anyone with "experience repairing electronic devices," but says the "vast majority" of customers are better off visiting an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. Apple also announced that customers can now complete the post-repair System Configuration process by placing the device into Diagnostics Mode and following the on-screen prompts. Users no longer need to contact the program's support team to complete this step, which verifies that the parts are genuine and working properly.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenAI Lobbied the EU To Water Down AI Regulation
Billy Perrigo, reporting for Time: The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has spent the last month touring world capitals where, at talks to sold-out crowds and in meetings with heads of governments, he has repeatedly spoken of the need for global AI regulation. But behind the scenes, OpenAI has lobbied for significant elements of the most comprehensive AI legislation in the world -- the E.U.'s AI Act -- to be watered down in ways that would reduce the regulatory burden on the company, according to documents about OpenAI's engagement with E.U. officials obtained by TIME from the European Commission via freedom of information requests. In several cases, OpenAI proposed amendments that were later made to the final text of the E.U. law -- which was approved by the European Parliament on June 14, and will now proceed to a final round of negotiations before being finalized as soon as January. In 2022, OpenAI repeatedly argued to European officials that the forthcoming AI Act should not consider its general purpose AI systems -- including GPT-3, the precursor to ChatGPT, and the image generator Dall-E 2 -- to be "high risk," a designation that would subject them to stringent legal requirements including transparency, traceability, and human oversight.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Mastercard Submits Fresh Trademark Application For Crypto Tech
According to a recently discovered patent application, Mastercard plans to develop software optimized for bitcoin and blockchain transactions. The second-largest payment-processing corporation also aims to facilitate crypto-based transactions by reducing connections between virtual asset service providers. Crypto News reports: The trademark application is a fascinating window into Mastercard's plans for the future of digital currency. Details have been revealed about creating a downloadable application programming interface (API) designed to verify transactions inside blockchain networks and ease the handling or trading of cryptocurrency. By standardizing this API software, communication between VASPs may be streamlined and crypto transactions easier. Mastercard wants to set up a platform for financial institutions to exchange customer information to verify compliance. This new step is significant for Mastercard's fast-growing presence in the cryptocurrency sector. The corporation announced its intention to offer a limited number of cryptocurrencies on its network in February 2021.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Webb Telescope Is Powerful Enough To See a Variety of Biosignatures In Exoplanets, Argues New Paper
A new study argues that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is capable of detecting the chemical signs of life in exoplanet atmospheres -- the best hope for finding life on another world. Phys.Org reports: The team simulated atmospheric conditions for five broad types of Earth-like worlds: an ocean world, a volcanically active world, a rocky world during the high bombardment period, a super-Earth, and a world like Earth when life arose. They assumed all these worlds had a surface pressure of less than five Earth atmospheres, and calculated the absorption spectra for several organically produced molecules such as methane, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. These molecules can also be formed by non-biological methods, but they form a good baseline as a proof of concept. They found that with a reasonably thick atmosphere, the JWST, specifically its NIRSpec G395M/H instrument, could confirm the presence of these molecules within 10 transits of the planet. It would be easiest to do with super-Earths and other worlds with a thick atmosphere, but it is still possible for potentially habitable worlds. Given the number of transits needed, our best shot at detecting biosignatures with JWST would be the close-orbiting worlds of red dwarf stars, such as the Trappist-1 system, which has several potentially habitable Earth-sized planets. Given the overlap between biological and non-biological origins, JWST observations might not be enough to confirm the existence of life, but this study shows that we are very close to that ability.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Seaweed Farming For CO2 Capture Would Take Up Too Much of the Ocean
An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: If we're going to prevent the gravest dangers of global warming, experts agree, removing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is essential. That's why, over the past few years, projects focused on growing seaweed to suck CO2 from the air and lock it in the sea have attracted attention -- and significant amounts of funding -- from the US government and private companies including Amazon. The problem: farming enough seaweed to meet climate-change goals may not be feasible after all. A new study, published today in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, estimates that around a million square kilometers of ocean would need to be farmed in order to remove a billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the course of a year. It's not easy to come by that amount of space in places where seaweed grows easily, given all the competing uses along the coastlines, like shipping and fishing. To put that into context, between 2.5 and 13 billion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide would need to be captured each year, in addition to dramatic reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, to meet climate goals, according to the study's authors. A variety of scientific models suggest we should be removing anything from 1.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year to 29 billion tons by 2050 in order to prevent global warming levels from rising past 1. 5C. An 2017 report from the UN estimated that we'd need to remove 10 billion tons annually to stop the planet from warming past 2C by the same date. "The industry is getting ahead of the science," says Isabella Arzeno-Soltero, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, who worked on the project. "Our immediate goal was to see if, given optimal conditions, we can actually achieve the scales of carbon harvests that people are talking about. And the answer is no, not really." [...] Their findings suggest that cultivating enough seaweed to reach these targets is beyond the industry's current capacity, although meeting climate goals will require much more than reliance solely on seaweed.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
'Unheard of' Marine Heatwave Off UK and Irish Coasts Poses Serious Threat
An unprecedented marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland is posing a significant threat to marine species, with sea temperatures several degrees above normal, breaking records for late spring and early summer. The Guardian reports: The Met Office said global sea surface temperatures in April and May reached an all-time high for those months, according to records dating to 1850, with June also on course to hit record heat levels. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has categorized parts of the North Sea as being in a category four marine heatwave, which is considered "extreme," with areas off the coast of England up to 5C above what is usual. The Met Office says temperatures are likely to remain high because of the emerging El Nino weather phenomenon. Daniela Schmidt, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Bristol, said: "The extreme and unprecedented temperatures show the power of the combination of human-induced warming and natural climate variability like El Nino. While marine heatwaves are found in warmer seas like the Mediterranean, such anomalous temperatures in this part of the north Atlantic are unheard of. They have been linked to less dust from the Sahara but also the North Atlantic climate variability, which will need further understanding to unravel. Heat, like on land, stresses marine organisms. In other parts of the world, we have seen several mass mortalities of marine plants and animals caused by ocean heatwave which have caused hundreds of millions of pounds of losses, in fisheries income, carbon storage, cultural values and habitat loss. As long as we are not dramatically cutting emissions, these heatwaves will continue to destroy our ecosystems. But as this is happening below the surface of the ocean, it will go unnoticed." Dr Dan Smale from the Marine Biological Association has been working on marine heatwaves for more than a decade and was surprised by the temperatures. He said: "I always thought they would never be ecologically impactful in the cool waters around UK and Ireland but this is unprecedented and possibly devastating. Current temperatures are way too high but not yet lethal for majority of species, although stressful for many ... If it carries on through summer we could see mass mortality of kelp, seagrass, fish and oysters." Piers Forster, a professor of climate physics at the University of Leeds, said: "Both Met Office and NOAA analyses of sea-surface temperature show temperatures are at their highest ever level -- and the average sea-surface temperature breached 21C for the first time in April. These high temperatures are mainly driven by unprecedented high rates of human-induced warming. Cleaning up sulphur from marine shipping fuels is probably adding to the greenhouse gas driven warming. The shift towards El Nino conditions is also adding to the heat. There is also evidence that there is less Saharan dust over the ocean this year. This normally reflects heat away from the ocean. So in all, oceans are being hit by a quadruple whammy -- it's a sign of things to come."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
ASUS Urges Customers To Patch Critical Router Vulnerabilities
ASUS has released new firmware for several router models to address security vulnerabilities, including critical ones like CVE-2022-26376 and CVE-2018-1160, which can lead to denial-of-service attacks and code execution. The company advises customers to update their devices immediately or restrict WAN access until the devices are secured, urging them to create strong passwords and follow security measures. BleepingComputer reports: The first is a critical memory corruption weakness in the Asuswrt firmware for Asus routers that could let attackers trigger denial-of-services states or gain code execution. The other critical patch is for an almost five-year-old CVE-2018-1160 bug caused by an out-of-bounds write Netatalk weakness that can also be exploited to gain arbitrary code execution on unpatched devices. "Please note, if you choose not to install this new firmware version, we strongly recommend disabling services accessible from the WAN side to avoid potential unwanted intrusions. These services include remote access from WAN, port forwarding, DDNS, VPN server, DMZ, port trigger," ASUS warned in a security advisory published today. "We strongly encourage you to periodically audit both your equipment and your security procedures, as this will ensure that you will be better protected." The list of impacted devices includes the following models: GT6, GT-AXE16000, GT-AX11000 PRO, GT-AX6000, GT-AX11000, GS-AX5400, GS-AX3000, XT9, XT8, XT8 V2, RT-AX86U PRO, RT-AX86U, RT-AX86S, RT-AX82U, RT-AX58U, RT-AX3000, TUF-AX6000, and TUF-AX5400.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Gen-Z Is Taking Courses On How To Send An Email and What To Wear In the Office, According to a WSJ Report
Recent graduates from Generation Z, who have primarily experienced virtual classes and remote internships during college, may need to improve their soft skills such as email writing, casual conversation, and appropriate work attire. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, companies like KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC are offering training programs to help these employees adapt to the office, focusing on in-person communication, eye contact, conversation pauses, and professional dress. Insider reports: KPMG is offering new hires introductory training that includes how to talk to people in person, with tips on the appropriate level of eye contact and pauses in a conversation, the company's vice chair of talent and culture, Sandy Torchia, told the Journal. Deloitte and PwC also began offering similar trainings earlier this year, the Financial Times reported in May. Similarly, the consulting company Proviti said it expanded its training for new hires during the pandemic to include a series of virtual meetings that focus on issues like how to make authentic conversation, according to the Journal. Scott Redfearn, Protiviti's executive vice president of global human resources, told the Journal the company has had to remind new hires to avoid casual attire like blue jeans with holes in them. Some universities have also stepped in to bridge the gap. Michigan State University's director of career management, Marla McGraw, told the Journal that companies need to be more direct when it comes to telling new hires what to wear and how to act in the office. The school now requires many of its business majors to take classes that foster soft skills like how to network in person. The Journal reported that one course breaks down a networking conversation by reminding students to pause after they introduce themselves in order to let the other person say their name, as well as respond to signs the other person might be looking to end the conversation. While it's common for companies to host onboarding sessions that cover office dynamics like attire and rules for interpersonal relationships, some experts say younger employees need these reminders now more than ever.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Intel To Invest $25 Billion In Israel Factory In Record Deal, Netanyahu Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: U.S. chipmaker Intel will spend $25 billion on a new factory in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, calling it the largest-ever international investment in the country. The factory in Kiryat Gat is due to open in 2027, to operate through 2035 at least and to employ thousands of people, Israel's Finance Ministry said. Under the deal Intel will pay a 7.5% tax rate, up from the current 5%, the ministry added. During its almost five decades of operations in Israel, Intel has grown to become the country's largest privately held employer and exporter and a leader of the local electronics and information industry, according to the company's website. In 2017, Intel bought Israel-based Mobileye, which develops and deploys advanced driver-assistance systems, for $15 billion. Intel took Mobileye public last year.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
KDE Plasma 6 Is Now 'Fairly Livable'
Prominent KDE developer Nate Graham believes that Plasma 6 is now "fairly livable" and recommends KDE developers and power users / enthusiasts start giving it a try. Phoronix reports: He characterized Plasma 6 as: "Basically everything in Plasma compiles with Qt 6, and at this point Plasma 6 is fairly livable. To give you a sense of how livable, it's good enough that over the past 2 months, I've gone on three KDE-related trips from the USA to Europe, with my only computer running Plasma 6 in "current git master" state, with work-in-progress merge requests applied! Its stability has been good enough that this has caused me no apprehension, and indeed, it's been totally fine on each trip. So seriously, if you're a KDE developer or an adventurous user, start living on Plasma 6! Jump right in, the water's fine. :)" He went on to write more about the current development activities around Plasma 6. He also shared his personal beliefs around Plasma 6.0 release timing although no official release schedule is yet to be determined. Nate's belief is that Plasma 6.0 will likely be ready for release sometime between December and March.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
LCD TVs Won't See Any Further Development
According to an industry insider, LCD TVs won't see any further development because all new R&D money is being spent on self-emissive displays like MicroLED and OLED, as well as on backlight technology like Mini-LED. Tom's Guide reports: According to Bob Raikes from Display Daily, it's all about OLED development. "I asked EMD (which is the US name of Merck KGaA and is by far the dominant supplier of LC materials), what they were doing to push LC materials for displays onto the next stage ... They are developing LCs for privacy windows and antennas, but they told us that 'there is no pull from clients' for significant development in LC materials," Raikes wrote in a recent article. "That shouldn't have been a surprise to me -- I have been talking about the switch to OLED and other emissive displays for the premium end (and later the mainstream) of the display market for a lot of years. Still, after decades of reporting on LC developments, it took a moment to sink in!" As for what, specifically, manufacturers are working on, it's the production of QD-OLED panels for use in the high-end Samsung and Sony TVs like the Samsung S95C OLED and Sony A95K OLED as well as the development of PHOLED panels that use a blue phosphorescent material that has a longer shelf life and can go brighter than the traditional organic material in OLED panels. [...] Sadly, LCD TVs' days are coming to a close, but OLED TVs are still going strong.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Meta Says Its New Speech-Generating AI Model Is Too Dangerous For Public
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Meta says its new speech-generating AI model is too dangerous for public release. Meta announced a new AI model called Voicebox yesterday, one it says is the most versatile yet for speech generation, but it's not releasing it yet: "There are many exciting use cases for generative speech models, but because of the potential risks of misuse, we are not making the Voicebox model or code publicly available at this time." The model is still only a research project, but Meta says can generate speech in six languages from samples as short as two seconds and could be used for "natural, authentic" translation in the future, among other things.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Trading Teams at Crypto Exchange Raise Conflict Questions
Crypto.com, the exchange endorsed by Hollywood actor Matt Damon, deploys internal teams to trade tokens for profit, the latest sign of potential conflicts of interest in the digital assets industry. Financial Times: The Singapore-based group, one of the top-10 crypto marketplaces in the world, operates proprietary trading and market making teams, according to five people with direct knowledge of the matter. In most markets, exchanges match buyers with sellers at the most competitive transparent price. Market making and prop trading are usually conducted by separate private companies. US regulators have begun clamping down on similar activities at other digital asset exchanges. This month the US Securities and Exchange Commission hit Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, with 13 charges including using a trading firm owned by chief executive Changpeng Zhao to engage in "manipulative trading that artificially inflated the platform's trading volume." "These trading platforms, they call themselves exchanges, are commingling a number of functions," SEC chair Gary Gensler told CNBC on June 6, adding: "In traditional finance, we don't see the New York Stock Exchange also operating a hedge fund, making markets." The existence of internal traders at Crypto.com has not been widely known since the company launched in 2016. One of the people with direct knowledge about the teams said that Crypto.com executives gave other, external trading houses "absolutely dramatic sworn statements that Crypto.com was in no way involved in trading," while another said that employees were asked to "say there is no internal market maker type operation."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The US Navy, NATO, and NASA Are Using a Shady Chinese Company's Encryption Chips
New submitter ole_timer shares a report from Wired: TikTok to Huawei routers to DJI drones, rising tensions between China and the US have made Americans -- and the US government -- increasingly wary of Chinese-owned technologies. But thanks to the complexity of the hardware supply chain, encryption chips sold by the subsidiary of a company specifically flagged in warnings from the US Department of Commerce for its ties to the Chinese military have found their way into the storage hardware of military and intelligence networks across the West. In July of 2021, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security added the Hangzhou, China-based encryption chip manufacturer Hualan Microelectronics, also known as Sage Microelectronics, to its so-called "Entity List," a vaguely named trade restrictions list that highlights companies "acting contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States." Specifically, the bureau noted that Hualan had been added to the list for "acquiring and ... attempting to acquire US-origin items in support of military modernization for [China's] People's Liberation Army." Yet nearly two years later, Hualan -- and in particular its subsidiary known as Initio, a company originally headquartered in Taiwan that it acquired in 2016 -- still supplies encryption microcontroller chips to Western manufacturers of encrypted hard drives, including several that list as customers on their websites Western governments' aerospace, military, and intelligence agencies: NASA, NATO, and the US and UK militaries. Federal procurement records show that US government agencies from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Drug Enforcement Administration to the US Navy have bought encrypted hard drives that use the chips, too. The disconnect between the Commerce Department's warnings and Western government customers means that chips sold by Hualan's subsidiary have ended up deep inside sensitive Western information networks, perhaps due to the ambiguity of their Initio branding and its Taiwanese origin prior to 2016. The chip vendor's Chinese ownership has raised fears among security researchers and China-focused national security analysts that they could have a hidden backdoor that would allow China's government to stealthily decrypt Western agencies' secrets. And while no such backdoor has been found, security researchers warn that if one did exist, it would be virtually impossible to detect it. "If a company is on the Entity List with a specific warning like this one, it's because the US government says this company is actively supporting another country's military development," says Dakota Cary, a China-focused research fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington, DC-based think tank. "It's saying you should not be purchasing from them, not just because the money you're spending is going to a company that will use those proceeds in the furtherance of another country's military objectives, but because you can't trust the product." [...] The mere fact that so many Western government agencies are buying products that include chips sold by the subsidiary of a company on the Commerce Department's trade restrictions list points to the complexities of navigating the computing hardware supply chain, says the Atlantic Council's Cary. "At minimum, it's a real oversight. Organizations that should be prioritizing this level of security are apparently not able to do so, or are making mistakes that have allowed for these products to get into their environments," he says. "It seems very significant. And it's probably not a one-off mistake."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Security Expert Defeats Lenovo Laptop BIOS Password With a Screwdriver
Cybersecurity experts at CyberCX have demonstrated a simple method for consistently accessing older BIOS-locked laptops by shorting pins on the EEPROM chip with a screwdriver, enabling full access to the BIOS settings and bypassing the password. Tom's Hardware reports: Before we go further, it is worth pointing out that CyberCX's BIOS password bypass demonstration was done on several Lenovo laptops that it had retired from service. The blog shows that the easily reproducible bypass is viable on the Lenovo ThinkPad L440 (launched Q4 2013) and the Lenovo ThinkPad X230 (launched Q3 2012). Other laptop and desktop models and brands that have a separate EEPROM chip where passwords are stored may be similarly vulnerable. [...] From reading various documentation and research articles, CyberCX knew that it needed to follow the following process on its BIOS-locked Lenovo laptops: Locate the correct EEPROM chip; Locate the SCL and SDA pins; and Short the SCL and SDA pins at the right time. Checking likely looking chips on the mainboard and looking up series numbers eventually lead to being able to target the correct EEPROM. In the case of the ThinkPad L440, the chip is marked L08-1 X (this may not always be the case). An embedded video in the CyberCX blog post shows just how easy this 'hack' is to do. Shorting the L08-1 X chip pins requires something as simple as a screwdriver tip being held between two of the chip legs. Then, once you enter the BIOS, you should find that all configuration options are open to be changed. There is said to be some timing needed, but the timing isn't so tight, so there is some latitude. You can watch the video for a bit of 'technique.' CyberCX includes some quite in-depth analysis of how its BIOS hack works and explains that you can't just short the EEPROM chips straight away as you turn the machine on (hence the need for timing). Some readers may be wondering about their own laptops or BIOS-locked machines they have seen on eBay and so on. CyberCX says that some modern machines with the BIOS and EEPROM packages in one Surface Mount Device (SMD) would be more difficult to hack in this way, requiring an "off-chip attack." The cyber security firm also says that some motherboard and system makers do indeed already use an integrated SMD. Those particularly worried about their data, rather than their system, should implement "full disk encryption [to] prevent an attacker from obtaining data from the laptop's drive," says the security outfit.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
M2 Max Is Basically An M1 Ultra, and M2 Ultra Nearly Doubles the Performance
The new Mac Studio started shipping to customers this week, giving product reviewers a chance to test Apple's "most capable chip ever." According to new benchmarks by YouTuber Luke Miani, the M2 Ultra features nearly double the GPU performance of last year's M1 Ultra, with notable performance improvements in other areas. 9to5Mac reports: While the M1 Max and M1 Ultra are blazing fast, the difference between the two wasn't as notable as some expected. In many tasks, the much cheaper M1 Max wasn't too far off from the top-end M1 Ultra variant, especially in video editing, photo editing, and 3D rendering. Despite the M1 Ultra literally being 2 M1 Max's fused, the performance was never doubled. For the M2 series, Apple has made some significant changes under the hood, especially in GPU scaling. In Luke's testing, he found that in some GPU heavy applications, like Blender 3D and 3DMark, the M2 Ultra was sometimes precisely twice the performance of M2 Max -- perfect GPU scaling! In Final Cut Pro exports, it nearly doubled again. He also found that the M2 Ultra doubled the GPU performance of the M1 Ultra in these same benchmarks -- a genuinely remarkable year-over-year upgrade. The reason for the massive performance improvement is that Apple added a memory controller chip to the M2 generation that balances the load between all of M2 Ultra's cores -- M1 Ultra required the ram to be maxed out before using all cores. M1 Ultra was very good at doing many tasks simultaneously but struggled to do one task, such as benchmarking or rendering, faster than the M1 Max. With M2 Ultra, because of this new memory controller, Apple can now achieve the same incredible performance without the memory buffer needing to be maxed out. It's important to note that some applications cannot take advantage of the M2 Ultra fully, and in non-optimized applications, you should not expect double the performance. Despite this incredible efficiency and performance, the better deal might be the M2 Max. In Luke's testing, the M2 Max performed very similarly or outperformed last year's M1 Ultra. In Blender, Final Cut Pro, 3DMark, and Rise of the Tomb Raider, the M2 Max consistently performed the same or better than the M1 Ultra. Instead of finding an M1 Ultra on eBay, it might be best to save money and get the M2 Max if you're planning on doing tasks that heavily utilize the GPU. While the GPU performance is similar, the M1 Ultra still has the advantage of far more CPU cores, and will outperform the M2 Max in CPU heavy workloads.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Xi Jinping Tells Bill Gates He Welcomes US AI Tech In China
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Bill Gates to discuss the global rise of artificial intelligence, expressing his support for U.S. companies bringing their AI technology to China. Reuters reports: Xi also discussed Microsoft's business development in China during their meeting in Beijing, one of the sources said. The comments on AI made at the meeting between Xi and Gates were not disclosed in reports of the meeting published by Chinese state media or in a Friday post by Gates reflecting on his China trip. Xi has previously said China needs to seize opportunities to use AI to drive economic development, but has also cautioned about its risks, with the country weighing up a new law on the technology as well as rules for generative AI.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iPhone Maker Foxconn To Switch To Cars As US-China Ties Sour
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: iPhone maker Foxconn is betting big on electric cars and redrawing some of its supply chains as it navigates a new era of icy Washington-Beijing relations. In an exclusive interview, chairman and boss Young Liu told the BBC what the future may hold for the Taiwanese firm. He said even as Foxconn shifts some supply chains away from China, electric vehicles (EVs) are what will drive its growth in the coming decades. As US-China tensions soar, Mr Liu said, Foxconn must prepare for the worst. "We hope peace and stability will be something the leaders of these two countries will keep in mind," 67-year-old Mr Liu told us, in his offices in Taipei, Taiwan's capital. "But as a business, as a CEO, I have to think about what if the worst case happens?" The scenarios could include attempts by Beijing to blockade Taiwan, which it claims as part of China, or worse, to invade the self-ruled island. Mr Liu said "business continuity planning" was already under way, and pointed out that some production lines, particularly those linked to "national security products" were already being moved from China to Mexico and Vietnam. He was likely to be referring to servers Foxconn makes that are used in data centers, and can contain sensitive information. [...] Foxconn's hopes to capture about 5% of the global electric vehicle market in the next few years -- an ambitious target given the firm has only made a handful of models so far. But it is a gamble that Mr Liu is confident will pay off. "It doesn't make sense for you to make [EVs] in one place, so regionalized production for cars is very natural," he added. Foxconn car factories will be based in Ohio in the US, in Thailand, Indonesia and perhaps even in India, he said. For now, the company will keep focusing on what it does best -- making electronic products for clients. But perhaps not too far in the future, Foxconn will do the same for clients with electric cars. Either way, with the foray into electric cars, Foxconn is diversifying not just production but also supply lines -- both of which, Mr Liu believes, hold the key to the company's future.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Microsoft Is No Longer Making New Games For the Xbox One
Microsoft says it is no longer making games for the Xbox One but will continue to support ongoing previous-generation titles like Minecraft and Halo Infinite. Engadget reports: "We've moved on to gen 9," Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty told Axios, referring to the Xbox Series X/S consoles. The company also makes its games for PC. This move had to happen at some point to avoid newer and more complex games being hamstrung by the hardware limitations of the decade-old Xbox One. Still, it'll be possible for those clinging onto an Xbox One to play Series X/S titles such as Starfield and Forza Motorsport through Xbox Cloud Gaming. "That's how we're going to maintain support," Booty said. The move away from Xbox One will free Microsoft's teams from the shackles of the previous generation. However, some third-party developers have raised concerns that the Xbox Series S, which is less powerful than the Series X, is holding them back too. Booty conceded that making sure games run well on the Series S requires "more work." Still, he noted Microsoft's studios (particularly those working on their second games for this generation of consoles) are now able to better optimize their projects for the Series S.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Daniel Ellsberg, Who Leaked the Pentagon Papers, Is Dead At 92
Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst who leaked what came to be known as the Pentagon Papers, died on Friday at the age of 92. The cause was pancreatic cancer. The New York Times reports: The disclosure of the Pentagon Papers -- 7,000 government pages of damning revelations about deceptions by successive presidents who exceeded their authority, bypassed Congress and misled the American people -- plunged a nation that was already wounded and divided by the war deeper into angry controversy. It led to illegal countermeasures by the White House to discredit Mr. Ellsberg, halt leaks of government information and attack perceived political enemies, forming a constellation of crimes known as the Watergate scandal that led to the disgrace and resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. And it set up a First Amendment confrontation between the Nixon administration and The New York Times, whose publication of the papers was denounced by the government as an act of espionage that jeopardized national security. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the freedom of the press. Mr. Ellsberg was charged with espionage, conspiracy and other crimes and tried in federal court in Los Angeles. But on the eve of jury deliberations, the judge threw out the case, citing government misconduct, including illegal wiretapping, a break-in at the office of Mr. Ellsberg's former psychiatrist and an offer by President Nixon to appoint the judge himself as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "The demystification and de-sanctification of the president has begun," Mr. Ellsberg said after being released. "It's like the defrocking of the Wizard of Oz." The story of Daniel Ellsberg in many ways mirrored the American experience in Vietnam, which began in the 1950s as a struggle to contain communism in Indochina and ended in 1975 with humiliating defeat in a corrosive war that killed more than 58,000 Americans and millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians. [...] Over the years, Ellsberg was mentioned on Slashdot several times. In late 2000, Ellsberg was mentioned in a story about Clinton's veto of what would have been a new law to prevent leaks of classified information. Ellsberg also expressed his support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2010 and called Edward Snowden the "greatest patriot whistleblower of our time." He was also featured in a Slashdot story for his view on the growing role of internet companies in the public sphere. In 2011, Ellsberg said companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter need to take a stand and push back on excessive requests for personal data.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Wargraphs, a Gaming Startup With Only One Employee and No Outside Funding, Sells For $54 Million
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Wargraphs, a one-man-band startup behind a popular companion app for League of Legends called Porofessor, which helps players track and improve their playing stats, is getting acquired for up to [$54 million], half up front and half based on meeting certain earnings and growth targets. MOBA Networks, a company founded out of Sweden that buys, grows and runs online gaming communities (MOBA is short for "multiplayer online battle arena"), is buying the startup and its existing products. The plan is to expand them to more markets, in particular across Asia, and to build analytics for more titles. I write "startup", but that might be with the loosest interpretation of the term. There is only a single employee, the mild-mannered Jean-Nicholas, and he has also entirely bootstrapped the business on his own. But that hasn't held him back. Wargraphs currently also builds analytics for Legends of Runeterra and Teamfight Tactics, but the League of Legends business has been its biggest it by far. Porofessor has had 10 million downloads of its app on Overwolf -- which is where Porofessor was built -- and more than 1.25 million daily active users if you combine traffic both from that platform and its own direct website. The company, such as it is, has been around for some 10 years, has pretty much always been profitable with revenues of 12.3 million euros in its last fiscal year. Jean-Nicholas told TechCrunch's Ingrid Lunden that he wants to build "a game" next. "Specifically, a card game that will compete against Hearthstone, coincidentally published by Activision Blizzard," writes Lunden. "He has no plans to raise outside funding for this, but he might hire an employee or two."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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