Shameless Plug

FBI Warned Agents It Believes Phone Logs Hacked Last Year Published on January 18, 2025 at 02:12AM An anonymous reader shares a report: FBI leaders have warned that they believe hackers who broke into AT&T's system last year stole months of their agents' call and text logs, setting off a race within the bureau to protect the identities of confidential informants, a document reviewed by Bloomberg News shows. FBI officials told agents across the country that details about their use on the telecom carrier's network were believed to be among the billions of records stolen, according to the document and interviews with a current and a former law enforcement official. They asked not to be named to discuss sensitive information. Data from all FBI devices under the bureau's AT&T service for public safety agencies were presumed taken, the document shows. The cache of hacked AT&T records didn't reveal the substance of communications but, according to the documen...

Sony Cancels Two More PlayStation Projects in Broader Retreat Published on January 18, 2025 at 01:32AM Sony's PlayStation has canceled previously unannounced games at two of its top subsidiaries, the company said. From a report: The games, at Oregon-based Bend Studio and Texas-based Bluepoint Games, were both "live service" projects designed to draw recurring revenue from players. A company spokesperson confirmed the cancellations. In a statement, the spokesperson said the two games were canceled "following a recent review" and that PlayStation will continue making both online and single-player games. Neither studio will be shuttered. "Bend and Bluepoint are highly accomplished teams who are valued members of the PlayStation Studios family, and we are working closely with each studio to determine what are the next projects," the spokesperson said. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft Begins Forcing Windows 24H2 Updates on PCs Published on January 18, 2025 at 12:51AM Microsoft began mandatory rollouts of the Windows 11 2024 Update (24H2) for eligible devices running Home and Pro editions, the company announced on its Windows 11 issues page. The update, which Microsoft describes as a "full code swap," requires longer installation times, with users reporting processes exceeding an hour. While users can briefly postpone the installation, the company is now pushing updates to mainstream users not managed by IT departments. The 24H2 update introduces USB4's 80Gbps support, Bluetooth LE Audio for hearing aids, and enhanced Energy Saver controls. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

CEO of Chinese Smartphone Brand Honor Resigns Due To Personal Reasons Published on January 18, 2025 at 12:11AM George Zhao, the chief executive of Chinese smartphone firm Honor, has resigned from his position due to personal reasons, the company said on Friday. CNBC: "The company and the Board of Directors sincerely appreciate Mr Zhao's outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure," Honor said in a statement. Jian Li, who's been at Honor for four years in various senior management positions, will succeed Zhao as CEO. In an internal memo posted by Chinese media and confirmed as accurate by an Honor spokesperson, Zhao said he was stepping down due to health reasons and planned to rest, recover and spend more time with his family. [...] Honor's market share in China has risen from 9.8% in 2020 to over 15% in 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. Outside of China, Honor's market share hit 2.3% in 2024, compared to under 1% in 2020. Read more ...

PC Gaming Has Been Outperforming Console For Years, Report Finds Published on January 17, 2025 at 05:20AM A recent 200-page report published by Epyllion reveals that PC gaming has been outperforming consoles over the last decade, "breezing past console platforms and generating more content spending and revenue," reports Insider Gaming. From the report: One slide revealed that since 2011, PC's content spend has dominated 'living room' console revenue by more than 65%, and it has earned 225% more than 'combined console' spend. That's a total of $30 billion if you want to put a number on it. Those numbers exclude hardware and accessories. The report also showed that mobile gaming is leagues ahead of both PC and console platforms, representing the number one money maker in the games industry. This stat has been recorded despite an $18 billion increase in spending on console platforms in 2024 compared to 2011. That 75% increase is still trumped by content...

Apple Pulls AI-Generated Notifications For News After Generating Fake Headlines Published on January 17, 2025 at 04:40AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: Apple is temporarily pulling its newly introduced artificial intelligence feature that summarizes news notifications after it repeatedly sent users error-filled headlines, sparking backlash from a news organization and press freedom groups. The rare reversal from the iPhone maker on its heavily marketed Apple Intelligence feature comes after the technology produced misleading or altogether false summaries of news headlines that appear almost identical to regular push notifications. On Thursday, Apple deployed a beta software update to developers that disabled the AI feature for news and entertainment headlines, which it plans to later roll out to all users while it works to improve the AI feature. The company plans to re-enable the feature in a future update. As part of the update, the company said the Apple Intelligenc...

Blue Origins' New Glenn Rocket Reaches Orbit Published on January 17, 2025 at 03:20AM Longtime Slashdot reader timeOday shares a report from the New York Times: At 2:03 a.m. Eastern time, seven powerful engines ignited at the base of a 320-foot-tall rocket named New Glenn. The flames illuminated night into day at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket, barely moving at first, nudged upward and then accelerated in an arc over the Atlantic Ocean, lit up in blue, the color of combustion of the rocket's methane fuel. Thirteen minutes later, the second stage of New Glenn reached orbit. The launch was a major success for Blue Origin, Mr. Bezos' rocket company. The upward flight appeared almost flawless, but Blue Origin's stretch goal of landing the booster stage on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean failed. As planned, the booster fired three of its engines to slow down, but then the stream of data stopped, indicating that the booster had been lost. "We...