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[>] New Analysis Casts Doubt On 'Biosignatures' Found On Planet K2-18b
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2025-04-26 14:22:01


Initial claims that life-associated gases were detected on exoplanet K2-18b are being challenged, with independent reanalysis by Jake Taylor suggesting the data is too noisy to support such conclusions and that stronger, model-independent evidence is needed. NPR reports: Rather than seeing a bump or a wiggle that indicated a signal, "the data is consistent with a flat line," says Taylor, adding that more observations from the telescope are needed to know what can be reliably said about this planet's atmosphere. "If we want to claim biosignatures, we need to be extremely sure."

What this new work shows is that "the strength of the evidence depends on the nitty gritty details of how we interpret the data, and that doesn't pass the bar for me for a convincing detection," says Laura Kreidberg, an expert on the atmospheres of distant planets at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany who didn't work on the original research team or this new analysis.

She explains that astronomers can make a lot of different choices when analyzing data; for example, they can make different assumptions about the physics and chemistry at play. "Ideally, for a robust detection, we want it to be model-independent," she says -- that is, they want the signal to show up even if the underlying assumptions change from one analysis to another. But that wasn't the case here.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/229213/new-analysis-casts-doubt-on-biosignatures-found-on-planet-k2-18b?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] MinC - похожее на Cygwin окружение для Windows с утилитами из OpenBSD
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-26 13:44:02


Проектом MinC (MinC Is Not Cygwin) развивается минималистичное ядро (занимает 285Kb) и инструментарий на базе MinGW, позволяющие пересобирать и запускать типовые утилиты OpenBSD в Windows по аналогии с тем, как пакет Cygwin позволяет использовать в Windows утилиты GNU. Код проекта написан на языке Си и распространяется под лицензией BSD. Поддерживается работа в версиях Windows, начиная с Windows XP и заканчивая Windows 11.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63143

[>] В KDE улучшена поддержка Wayland и внесены изменения в интерфейс
lor.opennet
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2025-04-26 11:44:03


Нейт Грэм (Nate Graham), разработчик, занимающийся контролем качества в проекте KDE, опубликовал очередной отчёт о разработке KDE. Среди изменений, развиваемых для выпуска KDE Plasma 6.4.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63142

[>] China Shares Rare Moon Rocks With US
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2025-04-26 11:22:02


Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from the BBC: China will let scientists from six countries, including the U.S., examine the rocks it collected from the Moon -- a scientific collaboration that comes as the two countries remain locked in a bitter trade war. Two NASA-funded U.S. institutions have been granted access to the lunar samples collected by the Chang'e-5 mission in 2020, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Thursday. CNSA chief Shan Zhongde said that the samples were "a shared treasure for all humanity," local media reported.

Chinese researchers have not been able to access NASA's Moon samples because of restrictions imposed by U.S. lawmakers on the space agency's collaboration with China. Under the 2011 law, Nasa is banned from collaboration with China or any Chinese-owned companies unless it is specifically authorized by Congress. But John Logsdon, the former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, told BBC Newshour that the latest exchange of Moon rocks have "very little to do with politics." While there are controls on space technology, the examination of lunar samples had "nothing of military significance," he said. "It's international cooperation in science which is the norm."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/224229/china-shares-rare-moon-rocks-with-us?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] STATS 2025-04-25
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2025-04-26 11:11:01


TOP10 VISITORS:

[1] 45.135.180.x point=195 web=0 up=16.3MB (27%) <--- yesterlink (8/hr)
[2] 37.252.14.x point=127 web=0 up=15.6MB (26%) <--- ake (5/hr)
[3] TikTok point=1 web=1051 up=12.7MB (21%) <--- TikTok
[4] PetalBot point=54 web=884 up=5.2MB (8%) <--- PetalBot (2/hr)
[5] Facebook point=0 web=218 up=1.9MB (3%)
[6] Google point=4 web=372 up=1.7MB (2%) <--- Google
[7] 24.130.121.x point=17 web=5 up=1.4MB (2%) <--- spnet (1/hr)
[8] 217.114.158.x point=22 web=0 up=0.8MB (1%) <--- fox (1/hr)
[9] Amazon point=0 web=96 up=0.7MB (1%)
[10] 47.128.121.x point=0 web=89 up=0.5MB (<1%)

TOTAL TRAFFIC: 59MB

[>] Netflix Introduces a New Kind of Subtitles For the Non-Hearing Impaired
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2025-04-26 08:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Multiple studies and investigations have found that about half of American households watch TV and movies with subtitles on, but only a relatively small portion of those include someone with a hearing disability. That's because of the trouble many people have understanding dialogue in modern viewing situations, and Netflix has now introduced a subtitles option to help.

The closed captioning we've all been using for years includes not only the words the people on-screen are saying, but additional information needed by the hard of hearing, including character names, music cues ("dramatic music intensifies") and sound effects ("loud explosion"). For those who just wanted to make sure they didn't miss a word here and there, the frequent descriptions of sound effects and music could be distracting. This new format omits those extras, just including the spoken words and nothing else -- even in the same language as the spoken dialogue. The feature will be available in new Netflix original programming, starting with the new season of You in multiple languages. Netflix says it's looking at bringing the option to older titles in the library (including those not produced by Netflix) in the future.

Traditional closed captions are still available, of course. Those are labeled "English CC" whereas this new option is simply labeled "English" (or whatever your preferred language is).

[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2159253/netflix-introduces-a-new-kind-of-subtitles-for-the-non-hearing-impaired?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Apple TV+ Is 'Worst Marketer In the Universe,' Says Producer
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2025-04-26 08:22:01


TV producer Alex Berger criticized Apple TV+ as "the worst marketer in the universe" for failing to promote his French-language show La Maison, despite its success in Europe. Berger said he initially partnered with Apple out of hope, but ultimately felt they undermined their own content by not supporting it properly. 9to5Mac reports: Rafa Sales Ross at Variety recently interviewed TV producer Alex Berger, who made La Maison for Apple TV+. That partnership is apparently not one he intends to repeat: "Marketing makes a show," he emphasized. "Apple, for example, is probably the worst marketer in the universe -- the best for iPhones, the worst for television. They don't do marketing, and it was an issue for us with 'La Maison.' We did a great show that had an amazing success in France and other places in Europe, but they never promoted it. It drove me crazy."

Asked why, while believing Apple TV+ to lack in marketing efforts, did he decide to take "La Maison" to the streamer, Berger said simply: "Hope. We had hope." "Apple TV+ had never done a show in France and never really done a show in Europe," adds the producer. "'Slow Horses' started [things] in the U.K., but it was with the U.S.. I was hoping I would change them. We got very frustrated and just thought at one point that they were shooting themselves in the foot, and why? "La Maison faced the additional challenge of being a French-language series, at the time one of the only non-English shows on the streamer," notes 9to5Mac's Ryan Christoffel. "So it had an uphill battle already, making Apple's marketing struggles even more of a problem."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2155205/apple-tv-is-worst-marketer-in-the-universe-says-producer?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] World's Biggest Zipper Maker Is Developing a Self-Propelled Zipper
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2025-04-26 08:22:01


YKK, the world's largest zipper maker, has unveiled a prototype self-propelled zipper that uses a motorized worm gear to zip itself closed at the push of a button. It currently relies on a wired remote and external power, and can zip spans up to 16 feet in under a minute. The Verge reports: Although some recent zipper innovations, such as Under Armour's one-handed MagZip upgrade, are designed to improve accessibility and make zippers easier to use for those with limited mobility, YKK envisions more industrial use cases for its prototype. As demonstrated in a video recently shared on the company's YouTube channel, the self-propelled zipper is seen connecting a pair of 16-foot-tall membranes in about 40 seconds. Zipping them together manually would require the use of a ladder or other machinery.

In another video, the prototype is used to quickly connect a pair of 13-foot-wide temporary shelters standing over eight feet tall, taking about 50 seconds to progress from one side to the other. [...] In addition to miniaturizing the tech and adding a battery, YKK would also need to develop some safety mechanisms before its self-propelled zipper could ever reach consumers' clothing, ensuring there's nothing that might get stuck.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2148256/worlds-biggest-zipper-maker-is-developing-a-self-propelled-zipper?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Devs Sound Alarm After Microsoft Subtracts C/C++ Extension From VS Code Forks
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2025-04-26 08:22:01


Some developers are "crying foul" after Microsoft's C/C++ extension for Visual Studio Code stopped working with VS Code derivatives like VS Codium and Cursor, reports The Register. The move has prompted Cursor to transition to open-source alternatives, while some developers are calling for a regulatory investigation into Microsoft's alleged anti-competitive behavior. From the report: In early April, programmers using VS Codium, an open-source fork of Microsoft's MIT-licensed VS Code, and Cursor, a commercial AI code assistant built from the VS Code codebase, noticed that the C/C++ extension stopped working. The extension adds C/C++ language support, such as Intellisense code completion and debugging, to VS Code. The removal of these capabilities from competing tools breaks developer workflows, hobbles the editor, and arguably hinders competition. The breaking change appears to have occurred with the release of v1.24.5 on April 3, 2025.

Following the April update, attempts to install the C/C++ extension outside of VS Code generate this error message: "The C/C++ extension may be used only with Microsoft Visual Studio, Visual Studio for Mac, Visual Studio Code, Azure DevOps, Team Foundation Server, and successor Microsoft products and services to develop and test your applications." Microsoft has forbidden the use of its extensions outside of its own software products since at least September 2020, when the current licensing terms were published. But it hasn't enforced those terms in its C/C++ extension with an environment check in its binaries until now. [...]

Developers discussing the issue in Cursor's GitHub repo have noted that Microsoft recently rolled out a competing AI software agent capability, dubbed Agent Mode, within its Copilot software. One such developer who contacted us anonymously told The Register they sent a letter about the situation to the US Federal Trade Commission, asking them to probe Microsoft for unfair competition -- alleging self-preferencing, bundling Copilot without a removal option, and blocking rivals like Cursor to lock users into its AI ecosystem.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2139216/devs-sound-alarm-after-microsoft-subtracts-cc-extension-from-vs-code-forks?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Comcast President Bemoans Broadband Customer Losses: 'We Are Not Winning'
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2025-04-26 04:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Comcast executives apparently realized something that customers have known and complained about for years: The Internet provider's prices aren't transparent enough and rise too frequently. This might not have mattered much to cable executives as long as the total number of subscribers met their targets. But after reporting a net loss of 183,000 residential broadband customers in Q1 2025, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said the company isn't "winning in the marketplace" during an earnings call today. The Q1 2025 customer loss was over three times larger than the net loss in Q1 2024.

While customers often have few viable options for broadband and the availability of alternatives varies widely by location, Comcast faces competition from fiber and fixed wireless ISPs. "In this intensely competitive environment, we are not winning in the marketplace in a way that is commensurate with the strength of the network and connectivity products that I just described," Cavanagh said. "[Cable division CEO] Dave [Watson] and his team have worked hard to understand the reasons for this disconnect and have identified two primary causes. One is price transparency and predictability and the other is the level of ease of doing business with us. The good news is that both are fixable and we are already underway with execution plans to address these challenges." [...]

Cavanagh said that Comcast plans to make changes in marketing and operations "with the highest urgency." This means that "we are simplifying our pricing construct to make our price-to-value proposition clearer to consumers across all broadband segments," he said. Comcast last week announced a five-year price guarantee for broadband customers who sign up for a new package. Comcast said customers will get a "simple monthly price starting as low as $55 per month," without having to enter a contract, giving them "freedom and flexibility to cancel at any time without penalty." The five-year guarantee also comes with one year of Xfinity Mobile at no charge, Comcast said. [...] Additional offers are in the works, Cavanagh said. "We are not done. Providing more value to our customers with less complexity and friction is a top priority and you will see our go-to-market approach continue to evolve over the coming months," he said. Comcast investors shouldn't expect an immediate turnaround, though. "We anticipate that it will take several quarters for our new approach to gain traction and impact the business in a meaningful way," Cavanagh said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2129256/comcast-president-bemoans-broadband-customer-losses-we-are-not-winning?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] DoorDash Makes $3.6 Billion Offer For Deliveroo
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2025-04-26 03:22:01


DoorDash has sent a proposal to buy the British meal delivery company Deliveroo for $3.6 billion. "The current offer marks the first formal approach since the last report in the summer," notes Reuters. From the report: The deal is expected to face no regulatory hurdles, as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence, creating a highly complementary footprint - other competitors might encounter more antitrust issues, the source said. Last year, Reuters reported DoorDash had shown interest in a takeover of Deliveroo, but a source said talks ended after disagreements on valuation.

A deal between the two firms would help DoorDash solidify its footprint in Europe, after the U.S. meal delivery group's 2021 purchase of Finland-based rival Wolt Enterprises in an all-stock deal valued at about $8 billion.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2125224/doordash-makes-36-billion-offer-for-deliveroo?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Google Is Killing Software Support For Early Nest Thermostats
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2025-04-26 03:22:01


Google announced it will end software updates and remote control support for the first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats (plus the 2014 European model) starting October 25th. "You will no longer be able to control them remotely from your phone or with
Google Assistant, but can still adjust the temperature and modify schedules directly on the thermostat," the company wrote in a Friday blog post. The Verge reports: In other significant news, Google is flatly stating that it has no plans to release additional Nest thermostats in Europe. "Heating systems in Europe are unique and have a variety of hardware and software requirements that make it challenging to build for the diverse set of homes," the company said. "The Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen, 2015) and Nest Thermostat E (2018) will continue to be sold in Europe while current supplies last." [...]

In a clear attempt to ease customer anger, Google is offering a $130 discount on the fourth-gen Nest Learning Thermostat in the US, $160 off the same device in Canada, and 50 percent savings on the Tado Smart Thermostat X in Europe since the Nest lineup will soon be gone. The original Nest thermostats were released while the company was an independent brand under the leadership of former Apple executive Tony Fadell. Google acquired Nest in 2014 for $3.2 billion.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2052237/google-is-killing-software-support-for-early-nest-thermostats?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Government Censorship Comes To Bluesky
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2025-04-26 02:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Government censorship has found its way to Bluesky, but there's currently a loophole thanks to how the social network is structured. Earlier this month, Bluesky restricted access to 72 accounts in Turkey at the request of Turkish governmental authorities, according to a recent report by the Freedom of Expression Association. As a result, people in Turkey can no longer see these accounts, and their reach is limited. The report indicates that 59 Bluesky accounts were blocked on the grounds of protecting "national security and public order." Bluesky also made another 13 accounts and at least one post invisible from Turkey.

Given that many Turkish users migrated from X to Bluesky in the hopes of fleeing government censorship, Bluesky's bowing to the Turkish government's demands has raised questions among the community as to whether the social network is as open and decentralized as it claims to be. (Or whether it's "just like Twitter" after all.) However, Bluesky's technical underpinnings currently make bypassing these blocks easier than it would be on a network like X -- even if it's not quite as open as the alternative social network Mastodon, another decentralized X rival.

A Mastodon user could move their account around to different servers to avoid censorship targeted at the original Mastodon instance (server) where they first made posts that attracted the censors. Users on the official Bluesky app can configure their moderation settings but have no way to opt out of the moderation service Bluesky provides. This includes its use of geographic labelers, like the newly added Turkish moderation labeler that handles the censorship of accounts mandated by the Turkish government. (Laurens Hof has a great breakdown of how this all works in more technical detail here on The Fediverse Report.) Simply put, if you're on the official Bluesky app and Bluesky (the company) agrees to censor something in your region, there's no way to opt out of this to see the hidden posts or accounts. Other third-party Bluesky apps, which make up the larger open social web known as the Atmosphere, don't have to follow these same rules. At least, not for now.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/2049213/government-censorship-comes-to-bluesky?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Top Colleges Are Too Costly Even for Parents Making $300,000
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2025-04-26 02:22:01


Families earning $300,000 annually -- placing them among America's highest earners -- are increasingly finding themselves unable to afford elite college tuition without taking on substantial debt. Bloomberg's analysis of financial aid data from 50 selective colleges reveals households earning between $100,000 and $300,000 occupy a precarious middle ground: too affluent for meaningful aid but insufficiently wealthy to absorb annual costs approaching $100,000.

The squeeze begins around $150,000 income, where families typically contribute 20% ($30,000) annually toward tuition. At $270,000 income, expected contributions reach $61,000 per year. Most institutions eliminate financial aid entirely at approximately $400,000 income. Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania recently expanded free tuition thresholds to $200,000, acknowledging this middle-class pressure. The changes take effect for 2025-26.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1931247/top-colleges-are-too-costly-even-for-parents-making-300000?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Microsoft Launches Windows Recall After Year-Long Delay
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2025-04-26 01:22:01


Microsoft has finally released Windows Recall to the general public, nearly a year after first announcing the controversial feature. Available exclusively on Copilot+ PCs, Recall continuously captures screenshots of user activity, storing them in a searchable database with extracted text. The feature's original launch was derailed by significant security concerns, as critics noted anyone with access to a Recall database could potentially view nearly everything done on the device.

Microsoft's revamped version addresses these issues with improved security protections, better content filtering for sensitive information, and crucially, making Recall opt-in rather than opt-out. The rollout includes two additional Copilot+ features: an improved Search function with natural language understanding, and "Click to Do," which enables text copying from images and quick summarization of on-screen content.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1830232/microsoft-launches-windows-recall-after-year-long-delay?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Intel's AI PC Chips Aren't Selling Well
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2025-04-26 00:22:01


Intel is grappling with an unexpected market shift as customers eschew its new AI-focused processors for cheaper previous-generation chips. The company revealed during its recent earnings call that demand for older Raptor Lake processors has surged while its newer, more expensive Lunar Lake and Meteor Lake AI PC chips struggle to gain traction.

This surprising trend, first reported by Tom's Hardware, has created a production capacity shortage for Intel's 'Intel 7' process node that will "persist for the foreseeable future," despite the fact that current-generation chips utilize TSMC's newer nodes. "Customers are demanding system price points that consumers really want," explained Intel executive Michelle Johnston Holthaus, noting that economic concerns and tariffs have affected inventory decisions.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1844209/intels-ai-pc-chips-arent-selling-well?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Релиз набора компиляторов GCC 15
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 23:44:03


После года разработки опубликован релиз свободного набора компиляторов GCC 15.1, первый значительный выпуск в новой ветке GCC 15.x. В соответствии со схемой нумерации выпусков, версия 15.0 использовалась в процессе разработки, а незадолго до выхода GCC 15.1 уже ответвилась ветка GCC 16.0, на базе которой будет сформирован следующий значительный релиз GCC 16.1.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63141

[>] How Democrats and Republicans Cite Science
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2025-04-25 23:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a Nature story: The United States is known for the deep polarization between its two major political parties -- the right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats. Now an analysis of hundreds of thousands of policy documents reveals striking differences in partisan policymakers' use of the scientific literature, with Democratic-led congressional committees and left-wing think tanks more likely to cite research papers than their right-wing counterparts. The analysis also shows that Democrats and left-leaning think tanks are more likely to cite high-impact research, and that the two political sides rarely cite the same studies or even the same topics.

"There are striking differences in amount, content and character of the science cited by partisan policymakers," says Alexander Furnas, a political scientist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and a co-author of the analysis, published in Science on 24 April. The researchers used the government-policy database Overton to assemble around 50,000 policy documents produced by US congressional committees in 1995-2021 and around 200,000 reports from 121 ideologically driven US think tanks over a similar period. These documents contained 424,000 scientific references.

A statistical analysis revealed that congressional reports are now more likely to cite science papers than before. But, in each two-year congressional cycle, documents from committees under Democratic control had a higher probability of citing research papers, and the gap between the two parties has increased. Overall, documents from Democratic-controlled committees were nearly 1.8 times more likely to cite science than were reports from Republican-led ones. The differences were starkest for reports produced by partisan think tanks, which the researchers say are "key resources for partisan policymakers." Left-leaning think tanks were 5 times more likely to cite science than right-leaning ones. And there was little overlap between the science referenced by the two sides: just 5-6% of studies were cited by both groups.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://politics.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1854224/how-democrats-and-republicans-cite-science?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Swiss National Bank Chairman Rebuffs Bitcoin as Reserve Asset
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2025-04-25 23:22:01


The head of the Swiss National Bank said on Friday that cryptocurrencies failed to meet the institution's currency reserve standards, rebuffing calls by crypto advocates that it hold bitcoin as a hedge against growing global economic risks. From a report: Cryptocurrency campaigners are ramping up pressure on the SNB to buy bitcoin, arguing that the economic turmoil triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs made it more important for the central bank to diversify its reserves. They have launched a referendum campaign to change the Swiss constitution and require the SNB to hold bitcoin in its reserves alongside gold. SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel, however, rejected the idea at the central bank's shareholder meeting in Bern.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1818257/swiss-national-bank-chairman-rebuffs-bitcoin-as-reserve-asset?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Microsoft's Big AI Hire Can't Match OpenAI
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2025-04-25 22:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a report: At Microsoft's annual executive huddle last month, the company's chief financial officer, Amy Hood, put up a slide that charted the number of users for its Copilot consumer AI tool over the past year. It was essentially a flat line, showing around 20 million weekly users. On the same slide was another line showing ChatGPT's growth over the same period, arching ever upward toward 400 million weekly users.

OpenAI's iconic chatbot was soaring, while Microsoft's best hope for a mass-adoption AI tool was idling. It was a sobering chart for Microsoft's consumer AI team and the man who's been leading it for the past year, Mustafa Suleyman. Microsoft brought Suleyman aboard in March of 2024, along with much of the talent at his struggling AI startup Inflection, in return for a $650 million licensing fee that made Inflection's investors whole, and then some.

[...] Yet from the very start, people inside the company told me they were skeptical. Many outsiders have struggled to make an impact or even survive at Microsoft, a company that's full of lifers who cut their tech teeth in a different era. My skeptical sources noted Suleyman's previous run at a big company hadn't gone well, with Google stripping him of some management responsibilities following complaints of how he treated staff, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time. There was also much eye-rolling at the fact that Suleyman was given the title of CEO of Microsoft AI. That designation is typically reserved for the top executive at companies it acquires and lets operate semi-autonomously, such as LinkedIn or Github.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/186205/microsofts-big-ai-hire-cant-match-openai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Microsoft To Kill Windows Maps App in July
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2025-04-25 22:22:01


Microsoft will remove its Maps app from the Microsoft Store in July 2025, delivering an "update" that renders the application completely nonfunctional. Following the cutoff, users won't be able to reinstall the app even if previously downloaded, according to a Microsoft support document. While the app will retain personal data like saved navigation routes and map URLs, this information will become unusable after the deprecation.

The Maps application, a remnant from the Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile era, will disappear completely while Bing Maps will continue functioning as a web service through bing.com/maps. Microsoft hasn't provided specific reasoning for the decision to sunset the desktop application, which has existed as an increasingly anachronistic holdover from Microsoft's abandoned mobile platform efforts.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1726238/microsoft-to-kill-windows-maps-app-in-july?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] The 'You Wouldn't Steal a Car' Campaign Used a Pirated Font
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robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 21:22:01


The iconic "You Wouldn't Steal a Car" anti-piracy campaign, which dramatically equated digital piracy with physical theft, appears to have used a pirated font in its own materials. New evidence indicates the campaign utilized "XBAND Rough," a free clone of the commercial "FF Confidential" font, which requires a license.

TorrentFreak independently confirmed campaign materials from 2005 embedded the XBAND Rough font rather than the original created by Just Van Rossum in 1992. Researchers discovered the font in PDF files hosted on the campaign's official website. Van Rossum, FF Confidential's creator, called the revelation "hilarious" when informed by TorrentFreak. "I knew my font was used for the campaign and that a pirated clone named XBand-Rough existed. I did not know that the campaign used XBand-Rough," he said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/166214/the-you-wouldnt-steal-a-car-campaign-used-a-pirated-font?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] YC Partner Argues Most AI Apps Are Currently 'Horseless Carriages'
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 20:22:01


Pete Koomen, a Y Combinator partner, argues that current AI applications often fail by unnecessarily constraining their underlying models, much like early automobiles that mimicked horse-drawn carriages rather than reimagining transportation. In his detailed critique, Koomen uses Gmail's AI email draft feature as a prime example. The tool generates formal, generic emails that don't match users' actual writing styles, often producing drafts longer than what users would naturally write.

The critical flaw, according to Koomen, is that users cannot customize the system prompt -- the instructions that tell the AI how to behave. "When an LLM agent is acting on my behalf I should be allowed to teach it how to do that by editing the System Prompt," Koomen writes. Koomen suggests AI is actually better at reading and transforming text than generating it. His vision for truly useful AI email tools involves automating mundane work -- categorizing, prioritizing, and drafting contextual replies based on personalized rules -- rather than simply generating content from scratch. The essay argues that developers should build "agent builders" instead of agents, allowing users to teach AI systems their preferences and patterns.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1545223/yc-partner-argues-most-ai-apps-are-currently-horseless-carriages?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Apple Aims To Source All US iPhones From India in Pivot Away From China
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 20:22:01


Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India [alternative source] as soon as next year, according to Financial Times, which cites people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump's trade war forces the tech giant to pivot away from China. From the report: The push builds on Apple's strategy to diversify its supply chain but goes further and faster than investors appreciate, with a goal to source from India the entirety of the more than 60 million iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of 2026.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1514234/apple-aims-to-source-all-us-iphones-from-india-in-pivot-away-from-china?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Federal Reserve, FDIC Pull Statements on Crypto
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 19:22:01


The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have withdrawn several statements regarding banks' crypto-related activities in an effort to support innovation and clarify current policies. From a report: Two joint statements from 2023 on liquidity and other risks regarding banks' crypto-related activities were pulled on Thursday, the FDIC said. The move aims to clarify that banking organizations may engage in crypto activities so long as they are consistent with current laws and regulations. Banks may also provide products and services to people and firms engaged in crypto-related activities, the FDIC said. Providing more clarity on banks' crypto activities in the coming weeks and months is being considered, the agencies said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1443253/federal-reserve-fdic-pull-statements-on-crypto?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Yahoo Wants To Buy Chrome
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 18:22:01


Legacy search brand Yahoo has been working on its own web browser prototype, and says it would like to buy Google's Chrome if the company is forced by a court to sell it. From a report: The information came out during the fourth day of the Justice Department's remedies trial to rectify Google's search monopoly. The DOJ has -- among other proposals -- requested Judge Amit Mehta break up Google by requiring it sell its Chrome browser, which the agency says is a key distribution channel for its popular search engine that's amassed too much power for anyone else to compete. Yahoo isn't the only company interested in buying Chrome. While DuckDuckGo's CEO said they wouldn't be able to afford it, witnesses from Perplexity and OpenAI both expressed interest in the popular browser on the stand this week. Yahoo obviously isn't worth Chrome's estimated price tag of tens of billions of dollars. So the company is saying that its owner, the hedge fund giant Apollo, will help bankroll the purchase should the opportunity present itself.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1354237/yahoo-wants-to-buy-chrome?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Perplexity CEO Says Its Browser Will Track Everything Users Do Online To Sell Ads
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 17:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said this week on the TBPN podcast that one reason Perplexity is building its own browser is to collect data on everything users do outside of its own app. This so it can sell premium ads. "That's kind of one of the other reasons we wanted to build a browser, is we want to get data even outside the app to better understand you," Srinivas said. "Because some of the prompts that people do in these AIs is purely work-related. It's not like that's personal."

And work-related queries won't help the AI company build an accurate-enough dossier. "On the other hand, what are the things you're buying; which hotels are you going [to]; which restaurants are you going to; what are you spending time browsing, tells us so much more about you," he explained. Srinivas believes that Perplexity's browser users will be fine with such tracking because the ads should be more relevant to them. "We plan to use all the context to build a better user profile and, maybe you know, through our discover feed we could show some ads there," he said. The browser, named Comet, suffered setbacks but is on track to be launched in May, Srinivas said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/044215/perplexity-ceo-says-its-browser-will-track-everything-users-do-online-to-sell-ads?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Intel Says Employees Must Return To the Office 4 Days a Week
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 14:22:01


New Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has mandated that employees return to the office four days a week starting September 1 to boost collaboration and decision-making. Tan also signaled upcoming job cuts and organizational changes, including a flatter management structure and fewer meetings. "When we spend time together in person, it fosters more engaging and productive discussion and debate," Tan wrote in a note to employees posted on Intel's website Thursday. "It drives better and faster decision-making. And it strengthens our connection with colleagues." Oregon Live reports: Intel factory workers and many researchers are already on site every day, in cleanrooms and labs. But Intel has thousands of employees in corporate roles who have spent at least part of their time working from home since the pandemic. The company adopted a "hybrid-first" approach in 2021, allowing most employees the flexibility to work from home much of the time. More recently, it sought to have workers on site about three days a week.

"Adherence to this policy has been uneven at best," Tan said Thursday. "I strongly believe that our sites need to be vibrant hubs of collaboration that reflect our culture in action." Intel is Oregon's largest corporate employer, with 20,000 employees in the state, so bringing workers back to the office will have a big impact and could set a benchmark for other organizations. [...] On Thursday, Tan said he wants fewer and smaller meetings to free up employees to do their work. He also told employees to expect "several months" of job cuts, but Tan didn't specify how many positions he plans to eliminate.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/0359228/intel-says-employees-must-return-to-the-office-4-days-a-week?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] В Microsoft C/C++ Extension включена блокировка работы в форках VS Code
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 13:44:03


Компания Microsoft внесла в бинарные сборки расширения Microsoft C/C++ Extension (ms-vscode.cpptools) изменение, блокирующее работу в форках открытого редактора кода VS Code (Visual Studio Code). Расширение является проприетарным и используется для добавление в VS Code поддержки языков C/C++. После обновления до версии 1.24.5 пользователи редакторов VS Codium и Cursor, основанных на коде VS Code, столкнулись с невозможностью дальнейшего использования дополнения от Microsoft.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63139

[>] Охват IPv6 в Азиатско-Тихоокеанском регионе достиг 50%
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 11:44:02


Регистратор APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) объявил о достижении 50% охвата IPv6 в Азиатско-Тихоокеанском регионе. Рубеж достигнут спустя 25 лет после начала внедрения IPv6 организацией APNIC. Степень внедрения IPv6 у других регистраторов: ARIN (Северная Америка) - 52%, LACNIC (Латинская Америка) - 39%, RIPE (Европа, Ближний Восток и Центральная Азия) - 28, AFRINIC (Африка) - 4%.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63133

[>] Sydney Radio Station Secretly Used AI-Generated Host For 6 Months Without Disclosure
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 11:22:01


The Sydney-based CADA station secretly used an AI-generated host named "Thy" for its weekday shows over six months without disclosure. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: After initial questioning from Stephanie Coombes in The Carpet newsletter, it was revealed that the station used ElevenLabs -- a generative AI audio platform that transforms text into speech -- to create Thy, whose likeness and voice were cloned from a real employee in the ARN finance team. The Australian Communications and Media Authority said there were currently no specific restrictions on the use of AI in broadcast content, and no obligation to disclose its use.

An ARN spokesperson said the company was exploring how new technology could enhance the listener experience. "We've been trialling AI audio tools on CADA, using the voice of Thy, an ARN team member. This is a space being explored by broadcasters globally, and the trial has offered valuable insights." However, it has also "reinforced the power of real personalities in driving compelling content," the spokesperson added.

The Australian Financial Review reported that Workdays with Thy has been broadcast on CADA since November, and was reported to have reached at least 72,000 people in last month's ratings. Vice president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, Teresa Lim, said CADA's failure to disclose its use of AI reinforces how necessary legislation around AI labelling has become. "AI can be such a powerful and positive tool in broadcasting if there are correct safeguards in place," she said. "Authenticity and truth are so important for broadcast media. The public deserves to know what the source is of what's being broadcast ... We need to have these discussions now before AI becomes so advanced that it's too difficult to regulate."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://radio.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/0355222/sydney-radio-station-secretly-used-ai-generated-host-for-6-months-without-disclosure?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] STATS 2025-04-24
spnet.stats
root(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 11:11:01


TOP10 VISITORS:

[1] TikTok point=0 web=1428 up=19.8MB (27%)
[2] 45.135.180.x point=220 web=0 up=18.3MB (25%) <--- yesterlink (9/hr)
[3] 37.252.14.x point=119 web=0 up=14.6MB (20%) <--- ake (5/hr)
[4] PetalBot point=69 web=1040 up=6.2MB (8%) <--- PetalBot (3/hr)
[5] 24.130.121.x point=43 web=11 up=4.6MB (6%) <--- spnet (2/hr)
[6] Facebook point=0 web=327 up=3.4MB (4%)
[7] Google point=6 web=283 up=1.5MB (2%) <--- Google
[8] Amazon point=0 web=135 up=1.0MB (1%)
[9] 217.114.158.x point=25 web=0 up=0.9MB (1%) <--- fox (1/hr)
[10] 47.128.121.x point=0 web=102 up=0.6MB (<1%)

TOTAL TRAFFIC: 72MB

[>] Подведены итоги выборов лидера проекта Debian
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 09:44:03


Объявлены результаты ежегодных выборов лидера проекта Debian. В голосовании приняли участие 387 разработчиков, что составляет 35.1% от всех участников, имеющих право голоса (в прошлом году явка составила 35.8%, в позапрошлом 28%, исторический максимум в 2000 году - 62.25%, минимум в 2016 году - 27.56%). В этом году в выборах участвовали четыре кандидата на пост лидера. Победу одержал Андреас Тилле (Andreas Tille), который был переизбран на второй срок.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63137

[>] Air Pollution Still Plagues Nearly Half of Americans
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 08:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Air in the U.S. has gotten cleaner for decades, adding years to people's lives and preventing millions of asthma attacks, but nearly half of Americans still live with unhealthy air pollution, a new report finds. The report comes as the Trump administration is considering rolling back some key air quality regulations. Air quality across the country has improved dramatically since regulations like the Clean Air Act were put in place in the 1970s to govern sources of pollution like coal-fired power plants and emissions from diesel trucks. Despite that progress, the air is still unhealthy and polluted in many parts of the country. In 2023, nearly half of the country's inhabitants -- 156 million people -- lived in places heavy in smog or soot pollution that harms their lungs, hearts, and brains, according to the newest edition of the American Lung Association's State of the Air report.

"Both these types of pollution cause people to die. They shorten life expectancy and drive increases in asthma rates," says Mary Rice, a pulmonologist at Harvard University. Pollution levels vary widely across the country, the report finds, with the worst soot pollution, averaged over the whole year, centered on California cities like Fresno and Bakersfield. Ozone pollution is highest in the Los Angeles region. Phoenix, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas, also rank in the top 10 most smog-heavy cities. Nationwide, people of color are about twice as likely to live somewhere with high soot and ozone pollution as white Americans. "The Clean Air Act is one of the greatest success stories in our country," says Rice. NPR notes that the law requires the EPA to revisit the science every five years, reassessing what health researchers have learned about the risks of breathing in poor air and adjusting the regulations accordingly.

"So the air quality standards have kept pace with the science over time, and levels of fine particulate matter have declined over the last 50-plus years," Rice says. "As a result, life expectancy is longer, and asthma rates have gone down." [...] "We are best equipped to protect our health when we have all the information, like weather and air quality," she says.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2122224/air-pollution-still-plagues-nearly-half-of-americans?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Waymo Reports 250,000 Paid Robotaxi Rides Per Week In US
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 06:22:01


Waymo is now providing over 250,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the U.S., up from 200,000 in February, as it expands into cities like Austin and grows partnerships with Uber and automakers. CNBC reports: "We can't possibly do it all ourselves," said Pichai on a call with analysts for Alphabet's first-quarter earnings. Pichai noted that Waymo has not entirely defined its long-term business model, and there is "future optionality around personal ownership" of vehicles equipped with Waymo's self-driving technology. The company is also exploring the ways it can scale up its operations, he said.

The 250,000 paid rides per week are up from 200,000 in February, before Waymo opened in Austin and expanded in the San Francisco Bay Area in March. Waymo, which is part of Alphabet's Other Bets segment, is already running its commercial, driverless ride-hailing services in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin regions.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2311230/waymo-reports-250000-paid-robotaxi-rides-per-week-in-us?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] US Agency To Ease Self-Driving Vehicle Deployment Hurdles, Retain Reporting Rules
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 06:22:01


The Trump administration introduced a new framework to expedite self-driving vehicle deployment by reducing regulatory hurdles, while maintaining mandatory safety incident reporting. NHTSA is also expanding its exemption program, allowing domestically produced autonomous vehicles lacking traditional safety controls to operate on U.S. roads. Reuters reports: The Trump administration said Thursday it aims to speed up the deployment of self-driving vehicles but will maintain rules requiring reporting of safety incidents involving advanced vehicles. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday released a new framework to boost autonomous vehicles. "This administration understands that we're in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn't be higher," Duffy said. "Our new framework will slash red tape."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will expand a program to exempt some self-driving vehicles from all safety requirements and will streamline but continue its requirement that vehicles equipped with certain advanced driver assistance systems or self-driving systems report safety incidents. NHTSA is expanding its Automated Vehicle Exemption Program to now include domestically produced vehicles that will allow companies to operate non-compliant imported vehicles on U.S. roads. It is currently only open to foreign assembled models.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2116216/us-agency-to-ease-self-driving-vehicle-deployment-hurdles-retain-reporting-rules?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] You'll Soon Manage a Team of AI Agents, Says Microsoft's Work Trend Report
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 05:22:02


ZipNada shares a report from ZDNet: Microsoft's latest research identifies a new type of organization known as the Frontier Firm, where on-demand intelligence requirements are managed by hybrid teams of AI agents and humans. The report identified real productivity gains from implementing AI into organizations, with one of the biggest being filling the capacity gap -- as many as 80% of the global workforce, both employees and leaders, report having too much work to do, but not enough time or energy to do it. ... According to the report, business leaders need to separate knowledge workers from knowledge work, acknowledging that humans who can complete higher-level tasks, such as creativity and judgment, should not be stuck answering emails. Rather, in the same way working professionals say they send emails or create pivot tables, soon they will be able to say they create and manage agents -- and Frontier Firms are showing the potential possibilities of this approach. ... "Everyone will need to manage agents," said Cambron. "I think it's exciting to me to think that, you know, with agents, every early-career person will be able to experience management from day one, from their first job."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/214248/youll-soon-manage-a-team-of-ai-agents-says-microsofts-work-trend-report?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Employee Monitoring App Leaks 21 Million Screenshots In Real Time
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 04:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Cybernews: Researchers at Cybernews have uncovered a major privacy breach involving WorkComposer, a workplace surveillance app used by over 200,000 people across countless companies. The app, designed to track productivity by logging activity and snapping regular screenshots of employees' screens, left over 21 million images exposed in an unsecured Amazon S3 bucket, broadcasting how workers go about their day frame by frame. The leaked data is extremely sensitive, as millions of screenshots from employees' devices could not only expose full-screen captures of emails, internal chats, and confidential business documents, but also contain login pages, credentials, API keys, and other sensitive information that could be exploited to attack businesses worldwide. After the company was contacted, access to the unsecured database was secured. An official comment has yet to be received.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2057241/employee-monitoring-app-leaks-21-million-screenshots-in-real-time?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Microsoft Brings Native PyTorch Arm Support To Windows Devices
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 04:22:01


Microsoft has announced native PyTorch support for Windows on Arm devices with the release of PyTorch 2.7, making it significantly easier for developers to build and run machine learning models directly on Arm-powered Windows machines. This eliminates the need for manual compilation and opens up performance gains for AI tasks like image classification, NLP, and generative AI. Neowin reports: With the release of PyTorch 2.7, native Arm builds for Windows on Arm are now readily available for Python 3.12. This means developers can simply install PyTorch using a standard package manager like pip.

According to Microsoft: "This unlocks the potential to leverage the full performance of Arm64 architecture on Windows devices, like Copilot+ PCs, for machine learning experimentation, providing a robust platform for developers and researchers to innovate and refine their models."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2050230/microsoft-brings-native-pytorch-arm-support-to-windows-devices?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] AMD Publishes Open-Source GIM Driver For GPU Virtualization, Radeon 'In The Roadmap'
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 03:22:02


AMD has open-sourced its "GPU-IOV Module" for enabling SR-IOV-based virtualization on Instinct accelerators using the Linux kernel and KVM hypervisor, with features like GPU scheduling and VF/PF management. Notably, AMD plans to extend this virtualization support to client Radeon GPUs. Phoronix reports: The AMD GPU-IOV Module is for the Linux kernel and for providing SR-IOV based hardware virtualization in conjunction with the KVM hypervisor. GIM provides the GPU IOV virtualization, virtual function (VF) configuration and enablement, GPU scheduling for world switch, hang detection and FLR reset, and PF/VF handshake capabilities. Initially the AMD GIM driver is for the Instinct MI300X hardware and tested atop Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with ROCm 6.4. Those interested can find the AMD GIM code currently via GitHub. It's not laid out in the repository or any other public communications I've seen what any upstreaming plans are for this GIM driver to get it into the mainline Linux kernel.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2044227/amd-publishes-open-source-gim-driver-for-gpu-virtualization-radeon-in-the-roadmap?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] New Android Spyware Is Targeting Russian Military Personnel On the Front Lines
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 02:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Russian military personnel are being targeted with recently discovered Android malware that steals their contacts and tracks their location. The malware is hidden inside a modified app for Alpine Quest mapping software, which is used by, among others, hunters, athletes, and Russian personnel stationed in the war zone in Ukraine. The app displays various topographical maps for use online and offline. The trojanized Alpine Quest app is being pushed on a dedicated Telegram channel and in unofficial Android app repositories. The chief selling point of the trojanized app is that it provides a free version of Alpine Quest Pro, which is usually available only to paying users.

The malicious module is named Android.Spy.1292.origin. In a blog post, researchers at Russia-based security firm Dr.Web wrote: "Because Android.Spy.1292.origin is embedded into a copy of the genuine app, it looks and operates as the original, which allows it to stay undetected and execute malicious tasks for longer periods of time. Each time it is launched, the trojan collects and sends the following data to the C&C server:
- the user's mobile phone number and their accounts; - contacts from the phonebook; - the current date; - the current geolocation; - information about the files stored on the device; - the app's version."

If there are files of interest to the threat actors, they can update the app with a module that steals them. The threat actors behind Android.Spy.1292.origin are particularly interested in confidential documents sent over Telegram and WhatsApp. They also show interest in the file locLog, the location log created by Alpine Quest. The modular design of the app makes it possible for it to receive additional updates that expand its capabilities even further.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2039247/new-android-spyware-is-targeting-russian-military-personnel-on-the-front-lines?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] South Korea Says DeepSeek Transferred User Data, Prompts Without Consent
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 02:22:01


South Korea's data protection authority said on Thursday that Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek transferred user information and prompts without permission when the service was still available for download in the country's app market. From a report: The Personal Information Protection Commission said in a statement that Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co Ltd did not obtain user consent while transferring personal information to a number of companies in China and the United States at the time of its South Korean launch in January.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2021250/south-korea-says-deepseek-transferred-user-data-prompts-without-consent?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Apple To Strip Secret Robotics Unit From AI Chief Weeks After Moving Siri
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 01:22:02


An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple will remove its secret robotics unit from the command of its artificial intelligence chief, the latest shake-up in response to the company's AI struggles. Apple plans to relocate the robotics team from John Giannandrea's AI organization to the hardware division later this month, according to people with knowledge of the move.

That will place it under Senior Vice President John Ternus, who oversees hardware engineering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the change isn't public. The pending shift will mark the second major project to be removed from Giannandrea in the past month: The company stripped the flailing Siri voice assistant from his purview in March.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2025223/apple-to-strip-secret-robotics-unit-from-ai-chief-weeks-after-moving-siri?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Скрипт Archify для замены имеющегося дистрибутива на Arch Linux
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 00:44:03


Доступна первая версия скрипта Archify, позволяющего перейти на Arch Linux с других дистрибутивов, сохраняя пользователей, содержимое каталога /home и точки монтирования. Archify является ответвлением скрипта TurboArch, расширяющим его функциональность.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63132

[>] Выпуск встраиваемой СУБД libmdbx 0.13.6
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 00:44:03


Опубликован выпуск библиотеки libmdbx 0.13.6 (MDBX) с реализацией высокопроизводительной компактной встраиваемой базы данных класса ключ-значение. Код libmdbx распространяется под лицензией Apache 2.0. Поддерживаются все актуальные операционные системы и архитектуры, а также российский Эльбрус 2000. Для libmdbx предлагается развитое API для C++, а также поддерживаемые энтузиастами привязки к языкам Rust, Haskell, Python, NodeJS, Ruby, Go, Nim, Deno, Scala. Из проектов, использующих libmdbx, можно отметить Isar, Erigon и Reth, а также разработки компаний StarkWare и Positive Technologies.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63134

[>] India's Delhi Plans To Curb Gasoline Car Sales, Ban Gas-Guzzling Bikes To Shed Polluter Tag
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 00:22:01


India's capital New Delhi plans to limit gasoline and diesel-powered cars a family can buy as well as ban sales of fuel-guzzling motorbikes and scooters, according to a draft policy aimed at cleaning up one of the world's most polluted cities. From a report: The measures represent one of the most drastic steps the city has lined up to tackle pollution, which often forces local authorities to ban some construction, shut schools and disrupt flights in the city of more than 30 million people during the winter season.

Under Delhi's new electric vehicle policy, the city government will also waive some local taxes on the purchase of hybrids, putting them on par with concessions given to EVs, while imposing a new levy of 0.5 rupees ($0.0059) on every litre of petrol sales, according to the 74-page draft seen by Reuters. The primary objective "is to unlock the next phase of EV adoption, reduce air pollution and contribute to India's energy independence and net-zero targets," the draft stated.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/2014248/indias-delhi-plans-to-curb-gasoline-car-sales-ban-gas-guzzling-bikes-to-shed-polluter-tag?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] 11-Year-Old GTA V Dominated Twitch in 2024
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-25 00:22:01


Grand Theft Auto V topped Twitch viewership charts in 2024 with a staggering 1.4 billion hours watched, according to data released by the streaming platform. The 11-year-old game outperformed all competitors, including League of Legends, which also surpassed the billion-hour mark.

Competitive shooters filled the remaining top spots, with Valorant recording 804 million hours, Fortnite exceeding 500 million, and Call of Duty reaching 451 million hours watched. V-Tubers -- streamers using animated avatars instead of showing their faces -- saw viewership increase by 10% year-over-year, accumulating over a billion hours watched collectively.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/1935214/11-year-old-gta-v-dominated-twitch-in-2024?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Выпуск каталогизатора домашней библиотеки MyLibrary 4.0
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-24 23:44:03


Состоялся релиз каталогизатора домашней библиотеки MyLibrary 4.0. Код программы написан на языке программирования С++ и доступен (GitHub, GitFlic) под лицензией GPLv3. Графический интерфейс пользователя реализован с помощью библиотеки GTK4. Программа адаптирована для работы в операционных системах семейства Linux и Windows. Для пользователей Arch Linux в AUR доступен готовый сценарий сборки пакета. Для пользователей Windows доступен экспериментальный инсталлятор.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63135

[>] Прототип руткита для Linux, использующий io_uring для обхода анализаторов системных вызовов
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-24 23:44:03


Исследователи из компании ARMO продемонстрировали возможность создания руткитов, не использующих специфичные системные вызовы для выполнения типовых операций, таких как чтение/запись файлов и приём команд от внешнего сервера. Вместо системных вызовов для выполнения сетевых и файловых операций предложено использовать интерфейс асинхронного ввода/вывода io_uring, поддерживаемый начиная с ядра Linux 5.1.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63136

[>] Google AI Fabricates Explanations For Nonexistent Idioms
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-04-24 23:22:01


Google's search AI is confidently generating explanations for nonexistent idioms, once again revealing fundamental flaws in large language models. Users discovered that entering any made-up phrase plus "meaning" triggers AI Overviews that present fabricated etymologies with unwarranted authority.

When queried about phrases like "a loose dog won't surf," Google's system produces detailed, plausible-sounding explanations rather than acknowledging these expressions don't exist. The system occasionally includes reference links, further enhancing the false impression of legitimacy.

Computer scientist Ziang Xiao from Johns Hopkins University attributes this behavior to two key LLM characteristics: prediction-based text generation and people-pleasing tendencies. "The prediction of the next word is based on its vast training data," Xiao explained. "However, in many cases, the next coherent word does not lead us to the right answer."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/24/1853256/google-ai-fabricates-explanations-for-nonexistent-idioms?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.