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How Nintendo's Legal Team Destroyed Atari Games Through Courtroom Strategy
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2025-04-17 14:22:01


Nintendo's lawyers systematically dismantled Atari Games in a landmark 1989 legal battle that reshaped the gaming industry, killing off the Tengen brand until its surprise resurrection recently.

When Atari Games (operating as Tengen) attempted to circumvent Nintendo's control by reverse-engineering the NES security system, Nintendo's legal team discovered a fatal flaw in their rival's approach: Atari had fraudulently obtained Nintendo's proprietary code from the Copyright Office by falsely claiming they were defendants in a nonexistent lawsuit. ... [ Read it >> ]

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LG TVs' Integrated Ads Get More Personal With Tech That Analyzes Viewer Emotions
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2025-04-17 11:22:01


LG is partnering with Zenapse to integrate AI-driven emotional intelligence into its smart TVs, enabling hyper-targeted ads based on viewers' psychological traits, emotions, and behaviors. Ars Technica reports: The upcoming advertising approach comes via a multi-year licensing deal with Zenapse, a company describing itself as a software-as-a-service marketing platform that can drive advertiser sales "with AI-powered emotional intelligence." LG will use Zenapse's technology to divide webOS users into hyper-specific market segments that are supposed to be more informative to advertisers. LG Ad Solutions, LG's advertising business, announced the partnership on Tuesday.... [ Read it >> ]

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Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet
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2025-04-17 09:22:01


Astronomers have detected what may be the strongest evidence yet of extraterrestrial life on K2-18b, a massive exoplanet orbiting a star 120 light-years from Earth. The research team, led by Cambridge astronomer Nikku Madhusudhan, published their findings today in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. ... [ Read it >> ]

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'We Are Not Programmed to Die,' Says Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan
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2025-04-17 08:22:01


In a recent interview with Wired, Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan discusses his book Why We Die, in which he argues that death is not genetically programmed but rather a consequence of evolution favoring reproduction over longevity. Here are some of the most thought-provoking excerpts: ... [ Read it >> ]

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Microsoft Confirms Classic Outlook CPU Usage Spikes, Offers No Fix
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2025-04-17 07:22:01


Microsoft has acknowledged that Classic Outlook can mysteriously transform into a system resource hog, causing CPU usage spikes between 30-50% and significantly increasing power consumption on both Windows 10 and 11 systems.

Users first reported the issue in November 2024, but Microsoft only confirmed the problem this week, offering little resolution beyond stating that "the Outlook Team is investigating this issue." The company's sole workaround involves forcing a switch to the Semi-Annual Channel update through registry edits -- an approach many enterprise environments will likely avoid. Microsoft hasn't announced a definitive end date for Classic Outlook, but the company continues pushing users toward its New Outlook client despite its incomplete feature set.... [ Read it >> ]

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Harvard's RoboBee Masters Landing, Paving Way For Agricultural Pollination
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2025-04-17 06:22:01


After more than a decade of development, Harvard's insect-sized flying robot, RoboBee, has successfully learned to land using dragonfly-inspired legs and improved flight controls. The researchers see RoboBee as a potential substitute for endangered bees, assisting in the pollination of plants. From a report: RoboBee is a micro flying robot that Harvard has been developing since 2013. As the name suggests, it is the size of a bee, capable of flying like a bee and hovering in mid-air. Its wings are 3 cm long and it weighs only 0.08 g. The weight was reduced by using light piezoelectric elements instead of motors. Piezoelectric elements change shape when an electric current flows through them. The researchers were able to make RoboBee flap its wings 120 times per second by turning the current on and off, which is similar to actual insects.... [ Read it >> ]

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Researchers Grow Record-sized Lab Meat
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2025-04-17 05:22:01


Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created what they believe is the largest single piece of lab-grown meat to date: a chicken nugget-sized chunk measuring 7 centimeters long, 4 centimeters wide, and 2.25 centimeters thick, weighing 11 grams. The breakthrough, reported today in Trends in Biotechnology, uses an artificial circulatory system to overcome a fundamental limitation in cultured meat production. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Discord Begins Testing Facial Recognition Scans For Age Verification
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2025-04-17 05:22:01


Discord has begun testing age verification via facial scans or ID uploads for users in the UK and Australia seeking access to sensitive content. "The chat app's new process has been described as an 'experiment,' and comes in response to laws passed in those countries that place guardrails on youth access to online platforms," reports Gizmodo. From the report: Users may be asked to verify their age when encountering content that has been flagged by Discord's systems as being sensitive in nature, or when they change their settings to enable access to sensitive content. The app will ask users to scan their face through a computer or smartphone webcam; alternatively, they can scan a driver's license or other form of ID. "We're currently running tests in select regions to age-gate access to certain spaces or user settings," a spokesperson for Discord said in a statement. "The information shared to power the age verification method is only used for the one-time age verification process and is not stored by Discord or our vendor. For Face Scan, the solution our vendor uses operates on-device, which means there is no collection of any biometric information when you scan your face. For ID verification, the scan of your ID is deleted upon verification."... [ Read it >> ]

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Following Layoffs, Automattic Employees Discover Leak-Catching Watermarks
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2025-04-17 04:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: As part of the company's months-long obsession with catching employees leaking internal developments to the press, staff at Wordpress parent company Automattic recently noticed individually-unique watermarks on internal sites, according to employees who spoke to 404 Media. Automattic added the watermarks to an internal employee communications platform called P2. P2 is a WordPress product other workplaces can also use. There are hundreds of P2 sites across teams at Automattic alone; many are team-specific, but some are company-wide for announcements. The watermarks in Automattic's P2 instance are nearly invisible, rendered as a pattern overlaid on the site's white page backgrounds. Zooming in or manually changing the background color reveals the pattern. If, for example, a journalist published a screenshot leaked to them that was taken from P2, Automattic could theoretically identify the employee who shared it.... [ Read it >> ]

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First Global Pandemic Treaty Agreed - Without the US
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2025-04-17 03:22:01


For the first time -- and despite fears that it might never happen -- nations have agreed a series of measures to prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics. Nature: The terms of the first global pandemic accord were still being hashed out at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, up until the early hours of 16 April. "This is a definitive moment in the history of global health," says Lawrence Gostin, a specialist in health law and policy at Georgetown University in Washington DC, who followed the negotiations closely. The accord "sets out some very important norms to keep the world safe," he says. ... [ Read it >> ]

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The Last RadioShack In Maryland Is Closing Its Doors
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2025-04-17 03:22:01


After over 40 years in operation, the last RadioShack store in Maryland is closing. Store manager Cindy Henning, who worked there for three decades, reflected on the joy of helping customers and the legacy left by late owner Michael King: Henning told WTOP she's going to miss it dearly. She's worked there for three decades. "We would have a lot of fun. That was half of our day was to have fun with people and show them how electronics work," Henning said. It was owned and operated by longtime local resident Michael King, who passed away at the end of January at the age of 79. His son Edward has taken over as owner. "It's the end of an era," he said.... [ Read it >> ]

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OpenAI In Talks To Buy Windsurf For About $3 Billion
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2025-04-17 02:22:01


According to Bloomberg (paywalled), OpenAI is in talks to buy AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf for about $3 billion. "The deal would be OpenAI's largest to date, the terms of which have not yet been finalized," notes Reuters. From a report: Windsurf was in talks with investors such as Kleiner Perkins and General Catalyst to raise funding at a $3 billion valuation, the report added. It closed a $150 million funding round led by General Catalyst last year, valuing it at $1.25 billion.... [ Read it >> ]

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Google Used AI To Suspend Over 39 Million Ad Accounts Suspected of Fraud
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2025-04-17 01:22:02


An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Google on Wednesday said it suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts on its platform in 2024 -- more than triple the number from the previous year -- in its latest crackdown on ad fraud. By leveraging large language models (LLMs) and using signals such as business impersonation and illegitimate payment details, the search giant said it could suspend a "vast majority" of ad accounts before they ever served an ad.... [ Read it >> ]

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OpenAI Debuts Codex CLI, an Open Source Coding Tool For Terminals
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2025-04-17 01:22:02


OpenAI has released Codex CLI, an open-source coding agent that runs locally in users' terminal software. Announced alongside the company's new o3 and o4-mini models, Codex CLI directly connects OpenAI's AI systems with local code and computing tasks, enabling them to write and manipulate code on users' machines. ... [ Read it >> ]

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OpenAI Unveils o3 and o4-mini Models
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2025-04-17 00:22:02


OpenAI has released two new AI models that can "think with images" during their reasoning process. The o3 and o4-mini models represent a significant advancement in visual perception, enabling them to manipulate images -- cropping, zooming, and rotating -- as part of their analytical process. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Trump Administration Plans To End the IRS Direct File Program for Free Tax Filing
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2025-04-16 23:22:01


The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRSâ(TM) Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, AP reported Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the decision. From the report: The program developed during Joe Biden's presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy, fast and economical. But Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use.... [ Read it >> ]

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Google To Phase Out Country Code Top-level Domains
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2025-04-16 21:22:01


Google has announced that it will begin phasing out country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as google.ng and google.com.br, redirecting all traffic to google.com. The change comes after improvements in Google's localization capabilities rendered these separate domains unnecessary. ... [ Read it >> ]

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AI-generated Music Accounts For 18% of All Tracks Uploaded To Deezer
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2025-04-16 21:22:01


About 18% of songs uploaded to Deezer are fully generated by AI, the French streaming platform said on Wednesday, underscoring the technology's growing use amid copyright risks and concerns about fair payouts to artists. From a report: Deezer said more than 20,000 AI-generated tracks are uploaded on its platform each day, which is nearly twice the number reported four months ago. "AI-generated content continues to flood streaming platforms like Deezer and we see no sign of it slowing down," said Aurelien Herault, the company's innovation chief.... [ Read it >> ]

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Companies Are Slashing Their SaaS Spends, UBS Says
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2025-04-16 20:22:01


Enterprise software optimization is accelerating as companies face potential budget freezes in 2025, according to new research from UBS reviewed by Slashdot. Following discussions with two leading SaaSOps vendors, analysts report that 21% of organizations cut their SaaS spend last year, with a staggering 30% of existing licenses sitting unused. ... [ Read it >> ]

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CISA Extends Funding To Ensure 'No Lapse in Critical CVE Services'
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2025-04-16 19:22:01


CISA says the U.S. government has extended funding to ensure no continuity issues with the critical Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program. From a report: "The CVE Program is invaluable to cyber community and a priority of CISA," the U.S. cybersecurity agency told BleepingComputer. "Last night, CISA executed the option period on the contract to ensure there will be no lapse in critical CVE services. We appreciate our partners' and stakeholders' patience." ... [ Read it >> ]

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Immigrant Founders Are the Norm in Key US AI Firms: Study
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2025-04-16 18:22:02


More than half of the top privately held AI companies based in the U.S. have at least one immigrant founder, according to an analysis from the Institute for Progress. From the report: The IFP analysis of the top AI-related startups in the Forbes AI 2025 list found that 25 -- or 60% -- of the 42 companies based in the U.S. were founded or co-founded by immigrants. The founders of those companies "hail from 25 countries, with India leading (nine founders), followed by China (eight founders) and then France (three founders). Australia, the U.K., Canada, Israel, Romania, and Chile all have two founders each." ... [ Read it >> ]

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Figma Confidentailly Files For IPO After Adobe Deal Collapses
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2025-04-16 17:22:02


Figma has confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC, marking a major move more than a year after scrapping its $20 billion acquisition deal with Adobe due to regulatory pushback. CNBC reports: Figma's software is popular among designers inside companies who need to collaborate on prototypes for websites and apps. The company was valued at $12.5 billion in a 2024 tender offer. "There are two paths that venture-funded startups go down," Dylan Field, Figma's co-founder and CEO, said in an interview with The Verge last year. "You either get acquired or you go public. And we explored thoroughly the acquisition route."... [ Read it >> ]

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Cybersecurity World On Edge As CVE Program Prepares To Go Dark
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2025-04-16 14:22:01


The CVE and CWE programs are at risk of shutdown as MITRE's DHS contract expires on April 16, 2025, with no confirmed renewal. Without continued funding, the ability to standardize, track, and respond to software vulnerabilities could collapse, leaving the cybersecurity community scrambling in a fragmented and dangerously opaque environment. Forbes reports: "Failure to renew MITRE's contract for the CVE program, seemingly set to expire on April 16, 2025, risks significant disruption," said Jason Soroko, Senior Fellow at Sectigo. "A service break would likely degrade national vulnerability databases and advisories. This lapse could negatively affect tool vendors, incident response operations, and critical infrastructure broadly. MITRE emphasizes its continued commitment but warns of these potential impacts if the contracting pathway is not maintained."... [ Read it >> ]

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Limited Edition of Doom Includes Game Box That, Itself, Plays Doom
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2025-04-16 11:22:01


Limited Run Games is releasing physical editions of Doom and Doom II, including a $666 "Will it Run Edition" that features a literal game box capable of playing Doom. Engadget reports: It costs $666, which is a nod to the devilish source material, and is being kept to a limited run of 666 copies. It comes with the aforementioned screen-enabled game box that runs Doom, but that's just the beginning. The combo pack ships with the soundtrack on cassette, a certificate of authenticity and a trading card park with five cards.... [ Read it >> ]

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Older People Who Use Smartphones 'Have Lower Rates of Cognitive Decline'
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2025-04-16 08:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Fears that smartphones, tablets and other devices could drive dementia in later life have been challenged by research that found lower rates of cognitive decline in older people who used the technology. An analysis of published studies that looked at technology use and mental skills in more than 400,000 older adults found that over-50s who routinely used digital devices had lower rates of cognitive decline than those who used them less. It is unclear whether the technology staves off mental decline, or whether people with better cognitive skills simply use them more, but the scientists say the findings question the claim that screen time drives what has been called "digital dementia".... [ Read it >> ]

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Free Wi-Fi Is On Its Way To American Airlines
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2025-04-16 06:22:01


American Airlines announced today that it will add free in-flight Wi-Fi starting in 2026. However, Axios notes you'll need to be an AAdvantage member (American's loyalty program) to access it. From the report: American is partnering with AT&T to introduce free WiFi in January. It will be available on about 90% of the airlines' fleet, which will be planes equipped with Viasat and Intelsat high-speed satellite connectivity, per a press release. More than 500 of the airlines regional planes are expected to have high-speed WiFi capabilities by the end of the year.... [ Read it >> ]

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Gemini App Rolling Out Veo 2 Video Generation For Advanced Users
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2025-04-16 05:22:01


Google is rolling out Veo 2 video generation in the Gemini app for Advanced subscribers, allowing users to create eight-second, 720p cinematic-style videos from text prompts. 9to5Google reports: Announced at the end of last year, Veo 2 touts "fluid character movement, lifelike scenes, and finer visual details across diverse subjects and styles," as well as "cinematic realism," thanks to an understanding of real-world physics and human motion. In Gemini, Veo 2 can create eight-second video clips at 720p resolution. Specifically, you'll get an MP4 download in a 16:9 landscape format. There's also the ability to share via a g.co/gemini/share/ link. To enter your prompt, select Veo 2 from the model dropdown on the web and mobile apps. Just describe the scene you want to create: "The more detailed your description, the more control you have over the final video." It takes 1-2 minutes for the clip to generate. [...]... [ Read it >> ]

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4chan Has Been Down Since Monday Night After 'Pretty Comprehensive Own'
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2025-04-16 04:22:01


4chan was reportedly hacked Monday night, with rival imageboard Soyjack Party claiming responsibility and sharing screenshots suggesting deep access to 4chan's databases and admin tools. Ars Technica reports: Security researcher Kevin Beaumont described the hack as "a pretty comprehensive own" that included "SQL databases, source, and shell access." 404Media reports that the site used an outdated version of PHP that could have been used to gain access, including the phpMyAdmin tool, a common attack vector that is frequently patched for security vulnerabilities. Ars staffers pointed to the presence of long-deprecated and removed functions like mysql_real_escape_string in the screenshots as possible signs of an old, unpatched PHP version. In other words, there's a possibility that the hackers have gained pretty deep access to all of 4chan's data, including site source code and user data.... [ Read it >> ]

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Insurance Firm Lemonade Says API Glitch Exposed Some Driver's License Numbers
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2025-04-16 04:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from SecurityWeek: Insurance firm Lemonade is notifying roughly 190,000 individuals that their driver's license numbers were likely exposed due to a technical glitch. Copies of the notification letter that were submitted to regulators in several states show that the incident involved an online application that enables individuals to obtain car insurance quotes and purchase policies. According to the company, a vulnerability in the car insurance quote flow resulted in the exposure of certain driver's license numbers for identifiable individuals. The vulnerability has been addressed, Lemonade says.... [ Read it >> ]

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Alamo Drafthouse Rejects Meta's Second-Screen Technology
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2025-04-16 03:22:01


Alamo Drafthouse will not implement Meta's new Movie Mate technology during the April 30 nationwide rerelease of Blumhouse's "M3GAN," Variety reports. The specialty theater chain confirmed it will maintain its strict no-phones policy despite Universal's promotion of the second-screen experience, with staff instructed to remove patrons attempting to access the feature during screenings. ... [ Read it >> ]

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China Outs US Hackers for Attack, a New Frontier in Spy Games
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2025-04-16 02:22:01


China's outing of alleged US National Security Agency hackers marks a major escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat between Chinese and American intelligence agencies, according to analysts. From a report: Chinese authorities Tuesday said three NSA employees hacked the Asian Winter Games held this year in Harbin, accusing them of targeting systems that held vast amounts of personal information on people involved in the event. The hacks "severely endangered the security of China's critical information infrastructure, national defense, finance, society, production, as well as citizens' personal information," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Canadian Math Prodigy Allegedly Stole $65 Million In Crypto
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2025-04-16 02:22:01


A Canadian math prodigy is accused of stealing over $65 million through complex exploits on decentralized finance platforms and is currently a fugitive from U.S. authorities. Despite facing criminal charges for fraud and money laundering, he has evaded capture by moving internationally, embracing the controversial "Code is Law" philosophy, and maintaining that his actions were legal under the platforms' open-source rules. The Globe and Mail reports: Andean Medjedovic was 18 years old when he made a decision that would irrevocably alter the course of his life. In the fall of 2021, shortly after completing a master's degree at the University of Waterloo, the math prodigy and cryptocurrency trader from Hamilton had conducted a complex series of transactions designed to exploit a vulnerability in the code of a decentralized finance platform. The maneuver had allegedly allowed him to siphon approximately $16.5-million in digital tokens out of two liquidity pools operated by the platform, Indexed Finance, according to a U.S. court document.... [ Read it >> ]

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Apple Says All Mac Minis With Intel Are Now Vintage
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2025-04-16 01:22:01


Apple has officially designated all Intel-based Mac minis as "vintage" or "obsolete," marking the end of an era. This means Apple no longer guarantees parts or service for these devices, as they've surpassed the 5- to 7-year support window. 9to5Mac reports: Apple periodically adds devices to its ever-growing list of vintage and obsolete products. That happened today, as spotted by MacRumors, with two noteworthy "vintage" additions: iPhone 6s and Mac mini (2018). The latter product is especially significant, because the 2018 Mac mini was the last remaining Intel model that was not yet labeled either vintage or obsolete.... [ Read it >> ]

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Figma Sent a Cease-and-Desist Letter To Lovable Over the Term 'Dev Mode'
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2025-04-16 00:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Figma has sent a cease-and-desist letter to popular no-code AI startup Lovable, Figma confirmed to TechCrunch. The letter tells Lovable to stop using the term "Dev Mode" for a new product feature. Figma, which also has a feature called Dev Mode, successfully trademarked that term last year, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. What's wild is that "dev mode" is a common term used in many products that cater to software programmers. It's like an edit mode. Software products from giant companies like Apple's iOS, Google's Chrome, Microsoft's Xbox have features formally called "developer mode" that then get nicknamed "dev mode" in reference materials.... [ Read it >> ]

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Uber Cofounder Kalanick Says AI Means Some Consultants Are in 'Big Trouble'
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2025-04-16 00:22:01


Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick thinks AI is about to shake up consulting -- and for "traditional" professionals, not in a good way. From a report: The former Uber CEO said consultants who mostly follow instructions or do repetitive tasks are at risk of being replaced by AI. "If you're a traditional consultant and you're just doing the thing, you're executing the thing, you're probably in some big trouble," he said. He joked about what that future of consultancy might look like: "Push a button. Get a consultant." ... [ Read it >> ]

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You Should Still Learn To Code, Says GitHub CEO
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2025-04-15 23:22:02


You should still learn to code, says GitHub's CEO. And you should start as soon as possible. From a report: "I strongly believe that every kid, every child, should learn coding," Thomas Dohmke said in a recent podcast interview with EO. "We should actually teach them coding in school, in the same way that we teach them physics and geography and literacy and math and what-not." Coding, he added, is one such fundamental skill -- and the only reason it's not part of the curriculum is because it took "us too long to actually realize that." ... [ Read it >> ]

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Google DeepMind Is Hiring a 'Post-AGI' Research Scientist
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2025-04-15 22:22:02


An anonymous reader shares a report: None of the frontier AI research labs have presented any evidence that they are on the brink of achieving artificial general intelligence, no matter how they define that goal, but Google is already planning for a "Post-AGI" world by hiring a scientist for its DeepMind AI lab to research the "profound impact" that technology will have on society. ... [ Read it >> ]

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OpenAI is Building a Social Network
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2025-04-15 22:22:02


An anonymous reader shares a report: OpenAI is working on its own X-like social network, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. While the project is still in early stages, we're told there's an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT's image generation that has a social feed. CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, our sources say. It's unclear if OpenAI's plan is to release the social network as a separate app or integrate it into ChatGPT, which became the most downloaded app globally last month. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Android Phones Will Soon Reboot Themselves After Sitting Unused For 3 Days
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2025-04-15 21:22:02


An anonymous reader shares a report: A silent update rolling out to virtually all Android devices will make your phone more secure, and all you have to do is not touch it for a few days. The new feature implements auto-restart of a locked device, which will keep your personal data more secure. It's coming as part of a Google Play Services update, though, so there's nothing you can do to speed along the process. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Zuckerberg Had a 'Crazy Idea' in 2022 For Facebook - Purge All Users' Friends
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2025-04-15 20:22:01


Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered resetting all Facebook users' friend connections to boost the platform's declining relevance, according to internal emails revealed Monday in a landmark FTC antitrust trial. In a 2022 message to executives, Zuckerberg proposed "wiping everyone's graphs and having them start again," referring to users' friend networks. Facebook head Tom Alison questioned the idea's viability, citing Instagram's reliance on friend connections. Zuckerberg later testified that the plan was never implemented and that Facebook has "evolved" from its original purpose. ... [ Read it >> ]

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FCC Chairman Tells Europe To Choose Between US or Chinese Communications Tech
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2025-04-15 20:22:01


FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has issued a stark ultimatum to European allies, telling them to choose between US and Chinese communications technology. In an interview with Financial Times, Carr urged "allied western democracies" to "focus on the real long-term bogey: the rise of the Chinese Communist party." The warning comes as European governments question Starlink's reliability after Washington threatened to switch off its services in Ukraine. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Publishers and Law Professors Back Authors in Meta AI Copyright Battle
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2025-04-15 18:22:02


Publishers and law professors have filed amicus briefs supporting authors who sued Meta over its AI training practices, arguing that the company's use of "thousands of pirated books" fails to qualify as fair use under copyright law.

The filings [PDF] in California's Northern District federal court came from copyright law professors, the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), Copyright Alliance, and Association of American Publishers. The briefs counter earlier support for Meta from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and IP professors. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Hertz Says Customers' Personal Data, Driver's Licenses Stolen In Data Breach
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2025-04-15 17:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Car rental giant Hertz has begun notifying its customers of a data breach that included their personal information and driver's licenses. The rental company, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty brands, said in notices on its website that the breach relates to a cyberattack on one of its vendors between October 2024 and December 2024. The stolen data varies by region, but largely includes Hertz customer names, dates of birth, contact information, driver's licenses, payment card information, and workers' compensation claims. Hertz said a smaller number of customers had their Social Security numbers taken in the breach, along with other government-issued identification numbers. Notices on Hertz's websites disclosed the breach to customers in Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Hertz also disclosed the breach with several U.S. states, including California and Maine. Hertz said at least 3,400 customers in Maine were affected but did not list the total number of affected individuals, which is likely to be significantly higher. Emily Spencer, a spokesperson for Hertz, would not provide TechCrunch with a specific number of individuals affected by the breach but said it would be "inaccurate to say millions" of customers are affected. The company attributed the breach to a vendor, software maker Cleo, which last year was at the center of a mass-hacking campaign by a prolific Russia-linked ransomware gang.... [ Read it >> ]

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China Halts Rare Earth Exports Globally
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2025-04-15 14:22:01


Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares the news that China has halted all rare earth exports globally -- including to the U.S., Japan, and Germany. Fortune reports: After Trump unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, China retaliated on April 4 with its own duties as well as export controls on several rare earth minerals and magnets made from them. So far, those export controls have translated to a halt across the board, cutting off the U.S. and other countries, according to the New York Times. That's because any exports of the minerals and magnets now require special licenses, but Beijing has yet to fully establish a system for issuing them, the report said.... [ Read it >> ]

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CT Scans Projected to Result in 100,000 New Cancers in The US
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-15 11:22:02


A new study projects that CT scans conducted in 2023 may result in around 103,000 future cancer cases in the U.S. due to low-dose ionizing radiation. "[I]t would put CT scans on par with other significant risk factors for cancer, like alcohol consumption, at least at a population level," reports ScienceAlert. From the report: At an individual level, the theoretical chance of developing cancer from a CT scan is thought to be very minimal, if it exists at all, and patients should not be scared of undergoing these tests if they are deemed medically necessary. However, the number of CT examinations performed each year in the US has increased by more than 30 percent since 2007, and researchers suggest that unwarranted tests are exposing the population to unnecessary radiation. [...]... [ Read it >> ]

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Indian IT Faces Its Kodak Moment
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-15 09:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a report: Generative AI offers remarkable efficiency gains while presenting a profound challenge for the global IT services industry -- a sector concentrated in India and central to its export economy.

For decades, Indian technology firms thrived by deploying their engineering talent to serve primarily Western clients. Now they face a critical question. Will AI's productivity dividend translate into revenue growth? Or will fierce competition see these gains competed away through price reductions? ... [ Read it >> ]

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Chinese Robotaxis Have Government Black Boxes, Approach US Quality
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-15 08:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Forbes: Robotaxi development is speeding at a fast pace in China, but we don't hear much about it in the USA, where the news focuses mostly on Waymo, with a bit about Zoox, Motional, May, trucking projects and other domestic players. China has 4 main players with robotaxi service, dominated by Baidu (the Chinese Google.) A recent session at last week's Ride AI conference in Los Angeles revealed some details about the different regulatory regime in China, and featured a report from a Chinese-American YouTuber who has taken on a mission to ride in the different vehicles.... [ Read it >> ]

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Climate Crisis Has Tripled Length of Deadly Ocean Heatwaves, Study Finds
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-15 06:22:01


The climate crisis has tripled the length of ocean heatwaves, a study has found, supercharging deadly storms and destroying critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs. From a report: Half of the marine heatwaves since 2000 would not have happened without global heating, which is caused by burning fossil fuels. The heatwaves have not only become more frequent but also more intense: 1C warmer on average, but much hotter in some places, the scientists said. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Apple To Analyze User Data on Devices To Bolster AI Technology
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-15 05:22:01


Apple will begin analyzing data on customers' devices in a bid to improve its AI platform, a move designed to safeguard user information while still helping it catch up with AI rivals. From a report: Today, Apple typically trains AI models using synthetic data -- information that's meant to mimic real-world inputs without any personal details. But that synthetic information isn't always representative of actual customer data, making it harder for its AI systems to work properly. ... [ Read it >> ]

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Samsung Pauses One UI 7 Rollout Worldwide
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-15 04:22:01


Samsung has paused the global rollout of its One UI 7 update after a serious bug was reported that prevented some Galaxy S24 owners from unlocking their phones. The Verge reports: While the complaints seem to have specifically come from South Korean owners of Galaxy S24 series handsets, Samsung has played it safe and paused the rollout across all models worldwide. While some users will have already downloaded the update to One UI 7, using the app CheckFirm we've confirmed that the update is no longer listed on Samsung's servers as the latest firmware version across several Galaxy devices, with older patches appearing instead. Samsung hasn't confirmed the pause in the rollout, nor plans to issue a fix for users who have already downloaded the One UI 7 update. We've reached out to the company for comment.... [ Read it >> ]

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