Amazon Set To Launch First Operational Satellites For Project Kuiper Network
Amazon and United Launch Alliance will launch 27 full-scale satellites on April 9 as part of Amazon’s Project Kuiper, marking the company’s first major step toward building a global satellite internet network to rival SpaceX’s Starlink. GeekWire reports: ULA said the three-hour window for the Atlas V rocket’s liftoff from … ⌘ Read more

Vibe Coded AI App Generates Recipes With Very Few Guardrails
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: A “vibe coded” AI app developed by entrepreneur and Y Combinator group partner Tom Blomfield has generated recipes that gave users instruction on how to make “Cyanide Ice Cream,” “Thick White Cum Soup,” and “Uranium Bomb,” using those actual substances as ingredients. Vibe coding, in case you are unfami … ⌘ Read more

Open-Source Tool Designed To Throttle PC and Server Performance Based On Electricity Pricing
Robotics and machine learning engineer Naveen Kul developed WattWise, a lightweight open-source CLI tool that monitors power usage via smart plugs and throttles system performance based on electricity pricing and peak hours. Tom’s Hardware reports: The simple program, called WattWise, ca … ⌘ Read more

NaNoWriMo To Close After 20 Years
NaNoWriMo, the nonprofit behind the annual novel-writing challenge, is shutting down after 20 years but will keep its websites online temporarily so users can retrieve their content. The Guardian reports: A 27-minute YouTube video posted the same day by the organization’s interim executive director Kilby Blades explained that it had to close due to ongoing financial problems, which were compounded by reputat … ⌘ Read more

Five VPN Apps In the App Store Had Links To Chinese Military
A joint investigation found that at least five popular VPN apps on the App Store and Google Play have ties to Qihoo 360, a Chinese company with military links. Apple has since removed two of the apps but has not confirmed the status of the remaining three, which 9to5Mac notes have “racked up more than a million downloads.” The five apps in question are Tu … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Launches an AI Chatbot Plan For Colleges and Universities
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Anthropic announced on Wednesday that it’s launching a new Claude for Education tier, an answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu plan. The new tier is aimed at higher education, and gives students, faculty, and other staff access to Anthropic’s AI chatbot, Claude, with a few additional capabilities … ⌘ Read more

India Set For $100 Billion Startup IPO Surge By 2027
According to Bloomberg, India is set for a surge in tech startup IPOs valued at around $100 billion by 2027, with major players like Flipkart, PhonePe, and Oyo preparing to go public. From a report: A report from Indian investment bank The Rainmaker Group suggests that the new wave of IPO hopefuls is in a stronger financial position than their predecessors. Many of the startu … ⌘ Read more

Bill Gates Celebrates Microsoft’s 50th By Releasing Altair BASIC Source Code
To mark Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, Bill Gates has released the original Altair BASIC source code he co-wrote with Paul Allen, calling it the “coolest code” he’s ever written and a symbol of the company’s humble beginnings. Thurrott reports: “Before there was Office or Windows 95 or Xbox or AI, there was Altair BASIC,” Bill Ga … ⌘ Read more

Vast Pedophile Network Shut Down In Europol’s Largest CSAM Operation
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Europol has shut down one of the largest dark web pedophile networks in the world, prompting dozens of arrests worldwide and threatening that more are to follow. Launched in 2021, KidFlix allowed users to join for free to preview low-quality videos depicting child sex abuse materials (C … ⌘ Read more

Global Scam Industry Evolving at ‘Unprecedented Scale’ Despite Recent Crackdown
Online scam operations across Southeast Asia are rapidly adapting to recent crackdowns, adopting AI and expanding globally despite the release of 7,000 trafficking victims from compounds along the Myanmar-Thailand border, experts say. These releases represent just a fraction of an estimated 100,000 people trapped in faci … ⌘ Read more

European Commission Takes Aim At End-to-End Encryption and Proposes Europol Become an EU FBI
The European Commission has announced its intention to join the ongoing debate about lawful access to data and end-to-end encryption while unveiling a new internal security strategy aimed to address ongoing threats. From a report: ProtectEU, as the strategy has been named, describes the genera … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Urges Businesses To Abandon Office Perpetual Licenses
Microsoft is pushing businesses to shift away from perpetual Office licenses to Microsoft 365 subscriptions, citing collaboration limitations and rising IT costs associated with standalone software. “You may have started noticing limitations,” Microsoft says in a post. “Your apps are stuck on your desktop, limiting productivity anytime you’re away fr … ⌘ Read more

Cybersecurity Professor Faced China Funding Inquiry Before Disappearing
The FBI searched two homes of Indiana University Bloomington data privacy professor Xiaofeng Wang last week, following months of university inquiries into whether he received unreported research funding from China, WIRED reported Wednesday.

Wang, who leads the Center for Distributed Confidential Computing established with a $3 mill … ⌘ Read more

AI Masters Minecraft: DeepMind Program Finds Diamonds Without Being Taught
An AI system has for the first time figured out how to collect diamonds in the hugely popular video game Minecraft – a difficult task requiring multiple steps – without being shown how to play. Its creators say the system, called Dreamer, is a step towards machines that can generalize knowledge learned in one domain to new situati … ⌘ Read more

Amazon Said To Make a Bid To Buy TikTok in the US
An anonymous reader shares a report: Amazon has put in a last-minute bid to acquire all of TikTok, the popular video app, as it approaches an April deadline to be separated from its Chinese owner or face a ban in the United States, according to three people familiar with the bid.

Various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seri … ⌘ Read more

95% of Code Will Be AI-Generated Within Five Years, Microsoft CTO Says
Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott has predicted that AI will generate 95% of code within five years. Speaking on the 20VC podcast, Scott said AI would not replace software engineers but transform their role. “It doesn’t mean that the AI is doing the software engineering job…. authorship is still going to be human,” … ⌘ Read more

Alleged Deel Spy Confesses To Coordinating with Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz
Newcomer: Keith O’Brien, the man who allegedly spied for Deel while working at Rippling, is apparently clearing his conscience, according to a sworn Irish affidavit. O’Brien says in the affidavit that Deel paid him to spy on Rippling and that he coordinated directly with Deel’s CEO, Alex Bouaziz.

For some background, Alex Bouaziz is Dee … ⌘ Read more

Lawmakers Propose Cap on Credit Card Interest Rates
Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Anna Paulina Luna introduced bipartisan legislation in March to cap credit card interest rates at 10% annually as Americans’ debt hits record levels. “Credit cards with high interest rates regularly trap working people in endless cycles of debt,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.

Credit card debt has reached $1.2 trillion in … ⌘ Read more

Nintendo Switch 2 Arrives on June 5, Priced at $450
Nintendo’s Switch 2, priced at $450, launches June 5 with a 7.9-inch LCD screen offering 1080p resolution, HDR support, and 120Hz refresh capability. The device maintains the original Switch’s 13.99mm thickness while increasing internal storage to 256GB from the previous 32GB.

The console outputs at 4K/60fps when docked, with the dock featuring a built-in cooling fan. Two … ⌘ Read more

Zelle Is Shutting Down Its App
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Zelle is shutting down its stand-alone app on Tuesday, according to a company blog post. This news might be alarming if you’re one of the over 150 million customers in the U.S. who use Zelle for person-to-person payments. But only about 2% of transactions take place via Zelle’s app, which is why the company is discontinuing its stand-alone app.

Most consumers … ⌘ Read more

Brain Interface Speaks Your Thoughts In Near Real-time
Longtime Slashdot reader backslashdot writes: Commentary, video, and a publication in this week’s Nature Neuroscience herald a significant advance in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, enabling speech by decoding electrical activity in the brain’s sensorimotor cortex in real-time. Researchers from UC Berkeley and UCSF employed deep learning recurrent neur … ⌘ Read more

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals That Most Galaxies Rotate Clockwise
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that a surprising majority of galaxies rotate clockwise, challenging the long-held belief in a directionally uniform universe; this anomaly could suggest either our universe originated inside a rotating black hole or that astronomers have been misinterpreting the universe’s expansion due … ⌘ Read more

Why Watts Should Replace mAh as Essential Spec for Mobile Devices
Tech manufacturers continue misleading consumers with impressive-sounding but less useful specs like milliamp-hours and megahertz, while hiding the one measurement that matters most: watts. The Verge argues that the watt provides the clearest picture of a device’s true capabilities by showing how much power courses through chips and how quickly … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Accused of Training GPT-4o on Unlicensed O’Reilly Books
A new paper [PDF] from the AI Disclosures Project claims OpenAI likely trained its GPT-4o model on paywalled O’Reilly Media books without a licensing agreement. The nonprofit organization, co-founded by O’Reilly Media CEO Tim O’Reilly himself, used a method called DE-COP to detect copyrighted content in language model training data.

Researchers ana … ⌘ Read more

Cheap TVs’ Incessant Advertising Reaches Troubling New Lows
An anonymous reader quotes an op-ed from Ars Technica’s Scharon Harding: TVs offer us an escape from the real world. After a long day, sometimes there’s nothing more relaxing than turning on your TV, tuning into your favorite program, and unplugging from the realities around you. But what happens when divisive, potentially offensive messaging infil … ⌘ Read more

Nuclear Is Now ‘Clean Energy’ In Colorado
With the signing of HB25-1040 on Monday, Colorado now defines nuclear as a “clean energy resource” since it doesn’t release large amounts of climate-warming emissions. “The category was previously reserved for renewables like wind, solar and geothermal, which don’t carry the radioactive stigma that’s hobbled fission power plants following disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima,” notes Color … ⌘ Read more

Substack Says It’ll Legally Defend Writers ‘Targeted By the Government’
Substack has announced it will legally support foreign writers lawfully residing in the U.S. who face government targeting over their published work, partnering with the nonprofit FIRE to expand its existing Defender program. The Verge reports: In their announcement, Substack and FIRE mention the international Tufts University student … ⌘ Read more

Stablecoin Issuer Circle Files For IPO
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has filed for an IPO aiming for a $5 billion valuation. It marks the company’s second attempt at going public amid renewed momentum in the crypto sector and signs of recovery in tech IPO markets. CNBC reports: A prior merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) collapsed in late 2022 amid regulatory challenges. Since then, Circle has made strategi … ⌘ Read more

YouTube Could Be Worth $550 Billion as Analyst Crowns Platform ‘New King of All Media’
MoffettNathanson has crowned YouTube the “New King of All Media” as the Alphabet-owned video platform has become a major force in Hollywood, dominating time spent watching TV. From a report: The firm estimates that YouTube as a standalone business could be worth as much as $550 billion – or nearly 30% of … ⌘ Read more

Mozilla To Launch ‘Thunderbird Pro’ Paid Services
Mozilla plans to introduce a suite of paid professional services for its open-source Thunderbird email client, transforming the application into a comprehensive communication platform. Dubbed “Thunderbird Pro,” the package aims to compete with established ecosystems like Gmail and Office 365 while maintaining Mozilla’s commitment to open-source software.

The Pro tier will incl … ⌘ Read more

Donkey Kong Champion Wins Defamation Case Against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: A professional YouTuber in Queensland has been ordered to pay $350,000 plus interest and costs to the former world record score holder for Donkey Kong, after the Brisbane district court found the YouTuber had defamed him “recklessly” with false claims of a link … ⌘ Read more

FTC Says 23andMe Purchaser Must Uphold Existing Privacy Policy For Data Handling
The FTC has warned that any buyer of 23andMe must honor the company’s current privacy policy, which ensures consumers retain control over their genetic data and can delete it at will. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson emphasized that such promises must be upheld, given the uniquely sensitive and immutable nature of genetic … ⌘ Read more

Arkansas Social Media Age Verification Law Blocked By Federal Judge
A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ Social Media Safety Act, ruling it unconstitutional for broadly restricting both adult and minor speech and imposing vague requirements on platforms. Engadget reports: In a ruling (PDF), Judge Timothy Brooks said that the law, known as Act 689 (PDF), was overly broad. “Act 689 is a content-based restric … ⌘ Read more

MCP: the New ‘USB-C For AI’ That’s Bringing Fierce Rivals Together
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: What does it take to get OpenAI and Anthropic – two competitors in the AI assistant market – to get along? Despite a fundamental difference in direction that led Anthropic’s founders to quit OpenAI in 2020 and later create the Claude AI assistant, a shared technical hurdle has now brought them to … ⌘ Read more

Larry Fink Says Bitcoin Could Replace the Dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency Because of National Debt
With America’s national debt sitting comfortably over the $36.2 trillion mark, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is warning the burden could one day be the reason the dollar is dethroned as the reserve currency of the world.
From a report: He argues that decentralized currencies … ⌘ Read more

DeepMind is Holding Back Release of AI Research To Give Google an Edge
Google’s AI arm DeepMind has been holding back the release of its world-renowned research, as it seeks to retain a competitive edge in the race to dominate the burgeoning AI industry. From a report: The group, led by Nobel Prize-winner Sir Demis Hassabis, has introduced a tougher vetting process and more bureaucracy that made it harde … ⌘ Read more

Study Reveals Why Credit Card Interest Rates Remain Stubbornly High
Credit card interest rates, which averaged 23% in 2023, are significantly higher than any other major loan product primarily due to non-diversifiable default risk and banks’ market power, according to research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The comprehensive study, which analyzed 330 million monthly credit card accounts … ⌘ Read more

London Mayor Axes Cyber Crime Victim Support Line
London’s mayor has axed a cyber crime helpline for the victims of online abuse, triggering a backlash from campaigners who argue that women and girls will be left struggling to access vital support. From a report: The service, which was shut down on Tuesday, assisted victims of fraud, revenge porn and cyberstalking to protect their digital identity. During its 18-months of op … ⌘ Read more

Gmail is Making It Easier For Businesses To Send Encrypted Emails To Anyone
Google is rolling out a new encryption model for Gmail that allows enterprise users to send encrypted messages without requiring recipients to use custom software or exchange encryption certificates. The feature, launching in beta today, initially supports encrypted emails within the same organization, with plans to expand to … ⌘ Read more

Average Person Will Be 40% Poorer If World Warms By 4C, New Research Shows
Economic models have systematically underestimated how global heating will affect people’s wealth, according to a new study that finds 4C warming will make the average person 40% poorer – an almost four-fold increase on some estimates. The Guardian: The study by Australian scientists suggests average per person GDP across the gl … ⌘ Read more

Xiaomi EV Involved in First Fatal Autopilot Crash
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: China’s Xiaomi said on Tuesday that it was actively cooperating with police after a fatal accident involving a SU7 electric vehicle on March 29 and that it had handed over driving and system data. The incident marks the first major accident involving the SU7 sedan, which Xiaomi launched in March last year and since December ha … ⌘ Read more

Alan Turing Institute Plans Revamp in Face of Criticism and Technological Change
Britain’s flagship AI agency will slash the number of projects it backs and prioritize work on defense, environment and health as it seeks to respond to technological advances and criticism of its record. From a report: The Alan Turing Institute – named after the pioneering British computer scientist – will shut … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Will Begin Sweeping Offices For Hidden Devices
Anthropic said it will start sweeping physical offices for hidden devices as part of a ramped-up security effort as the AI race intensifies. From a report: The company, backed by Amazon and Google, published safety and security updates in a blog post on Monday, and said it also plans to establish an executive risk council and build an in-house security team. Ant … ⌘ Read more

First Flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum Rocket Lasted Just 40 Seconds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The first flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket didn’t last long on Sunday. The booster’s nine engines switched off as the rocket cartwheeled upside-down and fell a short distance from its Arctic launch pad in Norway, punctuating the abbreviated test flight with a spectacu … ⌘ Read more

‘There is No Vibe Engineering’
Software engineer Sergey Tselovalnikov weighs in on the new hype: The term caught on and Twitter quickly flooded with posts about how AI has radically transformed coding and will soon replace all software engineers. While AI undeniably impacts the way we write code, it hasn’t fundamentally changed our role as engineers. Allow me to explain.

[…] Vibe coding is interacting with the codebase via prompts. As … ⌘ Read more

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Says Company Will Spin Off Non-Core Units
Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan said the chipmaker will spin off assets that aren’t central to its mission and create new products including custom semiconductors to try to better align itself with customers. From a report: Intel needs to replace the engineering talent it has lost, improve its balance sheet and better attune manufacturing process … ⌘ Read more

UK’s GCHQ Intern Transferred Top Secret Files To His Phone
Bruce66423 shares a report from the BBC: A former GCHQ intern has admitted risking national security by taking top secret data home with him on his mobile phone. Hasaan Arshad, 25, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act on what would have been the first day of his trial at the Old Bailey in London. The charge related to committing an unauth … ⌘ Read more

Intel and Microsoft Staff Allegedly Lured To Work For Fake Chinese Company In Taiwan
Taiwanese authorities have accused 11 Chinese companies, including SMIC, of secretly setting up disguised entities in Taiwan to illegally recruit tech talent from firms like Intel and Microsoft. The Register reports: One of those companies is apparently called Yunhe Zhiwang (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd and dev … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Plans To Release a New ‘Open’ AI Language Model In the Coming Months
OpenAI plans to release a new open-weight language model – its first since GPT-2 – in the coming months and is seeking community feedback to shape its development. “That’s according to a feedback form the company published on its website Monday,” reports TechCrunch. “The form, which OpenAI is inviting ‘developers, researchers … ⌘ Read more

Google To Pay $100 Million To Settle 14-Year-Old Advertising Lawsuit
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Google has agreed to pay $100 million in cash to settle a long-running lawsuit claiming it overcharged advertisers by failing to provide promised discounts and charged for clicks on ads outside the geographic areas the advertisers targeted. A preliminary settlement of the 14-year-old class a … ⌘ Read more