UK targets “despicable individuals” who create AI sex deepfakes with new law
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)
On Tuesday, the UK government announced a new law targeting the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit deepfake images.
Russian space chief says new rocket will put Falcon 9 reuse to shame
Enlarge / Vladimir Putin meets with Roscosmos Director General Yuri Borisov on June 30, 2023. (credit: The Kremlin)
Russia's once-vaunted launch industry has been much in decline due to a combination of factors, including an aging fleet of rockets, a reduction in government investment, and the country's war in Ukraine driving away Western customers.
Why the US government’s overreliance on Microsoft is a big problem
Enlarge (credit: Joan Cros via Getty)
When Microsoft revealed in January that foreign government hackers had once again breached its systems, the news prompted another round of recriminations about the security posture of the world’s largest tech company.
NASA says it needs better ideas on how to return samples from Mars
Enlarge / NASA's existing plan for Mars Sample Return involves a large lander the size of a two-car garage, two helicopters, a two-stage bespoke rocket, a European-built Earth return vehicle, and the Perseverance rover already operating on the red planet.
Review: Pitch-perfect Renegade Nell is a gem of a series you won’t want to miss
Enlarge / A young prodigal tomboy returns home from war and finds herself framed for murder in Renegade Nell. (credit: Disney+)
Award-winning British TV writer Sally Wainwright is best known for the dramatic series Happy Valley (2014–2023) and Gentleman Jack (2019–2022), the latter produced jointly by BBC and HBO.
US woman arrested, accused of targeting young boys in $1.7M sextortion scheme
Enlarge (credit: vitapix | E+)
A 28-year-old Delaware woman, Hadja Kone, was arrested after cops linked her to an international sextortion scheme targeting thousands of victims—mostly young men and including some minors, the US Department of Justice announced Friday.
Alleged cryptojacking scheme consumed $3.5M of stolen computing to make just $1M
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Federal prosecutors indicted a Nebraska man on charges he perpetrated a cryptojacking scheme that defrauded two cloud providers—one based in Seattle and the other in Redmond, Washington—out of $3.5 million.
The Pixel 9 reportedly gears up for satellite SOS support
Enlarge / The smaller Pixel 9, with three cameras?! (credit: OnLeaks and 91 mobiles )
Google has been doing a lot of work in Android to support satellite-based messaging, and it sure would be nice if someone actually shipped some hardware it could use.
Judge halts Texas probe into Media Matters’ reporting on X
Enlarge / Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) meeting on February 23, 2024.
Song lyrics are getting more repetitive, angrier
Enlarge (credit: Henrik Sorensen)
From ‘80s new wave to ‘90s grunge to the latest pop single, music has changed a lot over the decades.
Apple removes the first iOS Game Boy emulator released under new App Store rules
Enlarge / Photos of iGBA that appeared on the App Store before the app was taken down. (credit: https://web.archive.org/web/20240413221558/https://apps.apple.com/us/app/igba-gba-gbc-retro-emulator/id6482993626)
Over the weekend, developer Mattia La Spina launched iGBA as one of the first retro game emulators legitimately available on the iOS App Store following Apple's rules change regarding such emulators earlier this month.
Tesla to lay off more than 10 percent of its workers as sales slow
Enlarge / Tesla's Shanghai factory in 2023. (credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Times are starting to get tough for Tesla. The electric vehicle automaker had been riding high, with quarter after quarter of successive growth and plenty of profits in the process.
Cybertruck owners allege pedal problem as Tesla suspends deliveries
Enlarge / The Cybertruck remains a divisive vehicle. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
Tesla's troubled Cybertruck appears to have hit yet another speed bump.
Framework’s software and firmware have been a mess, but it’s working on them
Enlarge / The Framework Laptop 13. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)
Since Framework showed off its first prototypes in February 2021, we've generally been fans of the company's modular, repairable, upgradeable laptops.
Sleeping more flushes junk out of the brain
Enlarge (credit: OsakaWayne Studios)
As if we didn’t have enough reasons to get at least eight hours of sleep, there is now one more.
Why do some people always get lost?
Enlarge / Scientists are homing in on how navigation skills develop. (credit: Knowable Magazine (CC BY-ND))
Like many of the researchers who study how people find their way from place to place, David Uttal is a poor navigator.
Change Healthcare faces another ransomware threat—and it looks credible
Enlarge (credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus)
For months, Change Healthcare has faced an immensely messy ransomware debacle that has left hundreds of pharmacies and medical practices across the United States unable to process claims.
How new tech is making geothermal energy a more versatile power source
Enlarge / The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station. Geothermal power has long been popular in volcanic countries like Iceland, where hot water bubbles from the ground.
US drug shortages reach record high with 323 meds now in short supply
Enlarge / Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Adderall XR brand medication arranged at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, in November 2023. (credit: Getty | George Frey)
Drug shortages in the US have reached an all-time high, with 323 active and ongoing shortages already tallied this year, according to data collected by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
“Highly capable” hackers root corporate networks by exploiting firewall 0-day
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)
Highly capable hackers are rooting multiple corporate networks by exploiting a maximum-severity zero-day vulnerability in a firewall product from Palo Alto Networks, researchers said Friday.
Words are flowing out like endless rain: Recapping a busy week of LLM news
Enlarge / An image of a boy amazed by flying letters. (credit: Getty Images)
Some weeks in AI news are eerily quiet, but during others, getting a grip on the week's events feels like trying to hold back the tide.
Google mocks Epic’s proposed reforms to end Android app market monopoly
Epic Games has filed a proposed injunction that would stop Google from restricting third-party app distribution outside Google Play Store on Android devices after proving that Google had an illegal monopoly in markets for Android app distribution.
The DiskMantler violently shakes hard drives for better rare-earth recovery
Enlarge / From magnets we came, to magnets we return. (credit: Garner Products)
There is the mental image that most people have of electronics recycling, and then there is the reality, which is shredding.
SpaceX’s most-flown reusable rocket will go for its 20th launch tonight
Enlarge / File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket rolling out of its hangar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Google kills “One” VPN service, says “people simply weren’t using it”
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)
Another day, another dead Google product. The Google One VPN service we complained about last week is headed to the chopping block.
“Ban Chinese electric vehicles now,” demands US senator
Enlarge / BYD electric cars stand at a BYD dealership on April 05, 2024, in Berlin, Germany. BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is a Chinese manufacturer that went from making solar panels to electric cars.
Nintendo targets Switch-emulation chat servers, decryption tools with DMCA
Enlarge / Is a name like "Suyu" ironic enough to avoid facing a lawsuit? (credit: Suyu)
Nintendo continues to use DMCA requests to halt projects it says aid in the piracy of Switch content.