Tag: News

Traditional barcodes are set to be replaced by next-generation QR-style codes by 2027, offering enhanced functionality such as embedding sell-by dates, allergens, and recycling information. The Guardian reports: Tesco has started using them on some products, and other trials have suggested that waste of perishable food such as poultry can be cut by embedding sell-by dates in the new QR-style codes, allowing for more dynamic discounting. QR (quick response) codes will allow customers to instantly access more information about the product, including how to recycle batteries, clothes and building materials when tougher environmental regulations bite. But they will also put a greater demand on the world's cloud computing resources, where the extra data they contain will be stored -- meaning a potentially greater carbon footprint. The first barcode was read in an Ohio supermarket in June 1974 when a packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum was rung up. It was devised by Joe Woodland, an inventor

In a press release today, Apple said their TV Plus subscription service will be free this weekend (January 3 through January 5). From the press release: Apple TV+ is ringing in the New Year by offering an all-access pass to customers all around the world. Enjoy Apple TV+ for free the first weekend of 2025 (January 3 through January 5), Apple TV+ will be free on any device where Apple TV+ is available. All you need is an Apple ID to see what all the buzz is about. "A full weekend may be enough to binge some of Apple's top shows, including Severance, which has its hotly anticipated season 2 launching on January 17th," notes The Verge's Umar Shakir. "The free days could also help potential subscribers get a taste of Apple's eclectic mix of sci-fi shows, such as the space race drama For All Mankind, postapocalyptic thriller Silo, and the Godzilla serial Monarch: Legacy of Monsters."

Americans check their phones an average of 205 times a day, a 42.3% increase from last year. Millennials are leading the charts in frequency, attachment, and anxiety over phone use, while Gen Z spends the most time daily on their devices at over six hours. PCMag reports: There's a good chance that you're currently reading this article on your phone. If you're like one of the Americans surveyed by Reviews.org, this is one of 205 times today that you'll be checking the device in your hand. To spare you opening the calculator app, that's about once every five minutes you are awake or two and a half full months out of your year. That's an alarming 42.3% rise from last year when the reviews company asked the same question and found people checked their phones 144 times per day. Some of the ways they spend those 205 moments are: - 80.6% check their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up - 65.7% use their phone on the toilet - 53.7% have texted someone in the same room - 38.1% use

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month and stole documents from its workstations, according to a letter to lawmakers that was provided to Reuters on Monday. The hackers compromised a third-party cybersecurity service provider and were able to access unclassified documents, the letter said, calling it a "major incident." According to the letter, hackers "gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users. With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able override the service's security, remotely access certain Treasury DO user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users." After being alerted by cybersecurity provider BeyondTrust, the Treasury Department said it was working with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Crypto News: Power providers in the Siberian crypto mining hotspot of Irkutsk have discovered an illegal mining "farm" operating on their own property. The Irkutsk Region Prosecutor-General's Office posted on VK, explaining that an unnamed Irkutsk-based "electric grid supply organization" was "found illegally providing a plot of land" to crypto miners. The prosecutors explained that the state had set aside the plot to help provide "public utilities." Instead, however, the unnamed company leased the land to crypto miners, who built a "mining farm" on the property. The office said that it had fined the power provider 330 thousand rubles (over $3,120) and censured the firm. Prosecutors have also opened an administrative case against the power company. The report notes that Siberia's cheap electricity and cold winters have attracted crypto miners, causing grid instability and power outages in regions like Irkutsk. "Miners favor the low operating c

South Korean officials said Monday they will conduct safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's airlines, as they struggle to determine what caused a plane crash that killed 179 people a day earlier. From a report: Sunday's crash, the country's worst aviation disaster in decades, triggered an outpouring of national sympathy. Many people worry how effectively the South Korean government will handle the disaster as it grapples with a leadership vacuum following the recent successive impeachments of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's top two officials, amid political tumult caused by Yoon's brief imposition of martial law earlier this month. New acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday presided over a task force meeting on the crash and instructed authorities to conduct an emergency review of the country's aircraft operation systems. "The essence of a responsible response would be renovating the aviation safety systems

German electric air taxi company Volocopter has filed for bankruptcy protection, the latest in a string of similar startups to hit financial turbulence. From a report: Volocopter is one of the more well-funded electric air taxi startups, having raised hundreds of millions of dollars over nearly a decade with backing from major automakers like Germany's Mercedes-Benz and China's Geely.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has warned employees the company faces critical challenges in 2025 as it races to catch up in AI amid rising competition and regulatory scrutiny. "The stakes are high," Pichai said at a strategy meeting, details of which were reported by CNBC. "I think it's really important we internalize the urgency of this moment, and need to move faster as a company. The stakes are high. These are disruptive moments. In 2025, we need to be relentlessly focused on unlocking the benefits of this technology and solve real user problems." The meeting revealed employee concerns about ChatGPT "becoming synonymous to AI the same way Google is to search." In response, DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis outlined plans to "turbo charge" Google's Gemini app, which executives hope will become their next product to reach 500 million users. Pichai showed a chart positioning Gemini 1.5 ahead of OpenAI's GPT, though he expects "some back and forth" in 2025. The report adds: [Pichai] ackno

Nvidia has completed its acquisition of Run:ai, a provider of GPU cloud orchestration software for AI workloads, and announced plans to open-source the platform. The deal, valued at $700 million, brings the Israel-based startup under Nvidia's umbrella after their collaboration since 2020. Run:ai's software helps enterprises manage and schedule Nvidia GPU resources for AI applications across cloud and on-premises environments. Founded in 2018, the company's platform currently supports only Nvidia GPUs, but open-sourcing will enable expansion to other AI ecosystems, according to founders Omri Geller and Ronen Dar. The acquisition strengthens Nvidia's software portfolio as the company, now valued at $3.56 trillion, expands beyond its core graphics chip business into AI infrastructure management.

Speaking of robots, Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University researchers say they trained robots to perform surgical tasks autonomously using video learning, marking a breakthrough in robotic surgery capabilities. The robots successfully manipulated needles, tied knots, and sutured wounds independently, demonstrating ability to correct errors like dropped needles without human input. Testing has advanced to full surgeries on animal cadavers. Researchers aim to address a projected U.S. surgeon shortage of 10,000-20,000 by 2036. The technology builds on decades of robot-assisted surgery, which recorded 876,000 procedures in 2020.