Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the something's-out-there department: Astronomers may have found the best candidate yet for the elusive Planet Nine: a mysterious object in infrared sky surveys taken 23 years apart that appears to be more massive than Neptune and about 700 times farther from the sun than Earth. Space.com reports: [A] team led by astronomer Terry Long Phan of the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan has delved into the archives of two far-infrared all-sky surveys in search of Planet Nine -- and incredibly, they have found something that could possibly be Planet Nine. The Infrared Astronomy Satellite, IRAS, launched in 1983 and surveyed the universe for almost a year before being decommissioned. Then, in 2006, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched AKARI, another infrared astronomy satellite that was active between 2006 and 2011. Phan's team were looking for objects that appeared in IRAS's database, then appeared to have moved by the time AKARI took a look. The amount of movement on the sky would be tiny -- about three arcminutes per year at a distance of approximately 700 astronomical units (AU). One arcminute is 1/60 of an angular degree.

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the after-decades-of-hype department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: Driverless trucks are officially running their first regular long-haul routes, making roundtrips between Dallas and Houston. On Thursday, autonomous trucking firm Aurora announced it launched commercial service in Texas under its first customers, Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines, which delivers time- and temperature-sensitive freight. Both companies conducted test runs with Aurora, including safety drivers to monitor the self-driving technology dubbed "Aurora Driver." Aurora's new commercial service will no longer have safety drivers.

"We founded Aurora to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly, said Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of Aurora, in a release on Thursday. "Now, we are the first company to successfully and safely operate a commercial driverless trucking service on public roads." The trucks are equipped with computers and sensors that can see the length of over four football fields. In four years of practice hauls the trucks' technology has delivered over 10,000 customer loads. As of Thursday, the company's self-driving tech has completed over 1,200 miles without a human in the truck. Aurora is starting with a single self-driving truck and plans to add more by the end of 2025.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the playing-catch-up department: Microsoft has appointed a Deputy CISO for Europe to address growing regulatory pressure and reassure EU leaders about its cybersecurity commitment. "The move also highlights strong fears from European IT execs and government officials that the Trump administration may exert significant influence on cybersecurity companies," reports CSO Online. From the report: Who that Deputy CISO will ultimately be is unclear. Wednesday's statement simply said that Microsoft CISO Igor Tsyganskiy is "appointing a new Deputy CISO for Europe as part of the Microsoft Cybersecurity Governance Council," but the phrasing made it unclear when that would happen. However, Tsyganskiy made a separate announcement on LinkedIn that he has given the role to current Deputy CISO Ann Johnson. But he then said that Johnson, who is based at Microsoft's head office in Redmond, Washington, will hold that post "temporarily."

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Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


Via several retailers from Singapore and Malaysia, we have images and information about the new Official Transformers Age Of The Primes Magnets Campaign By Hasbro Asia. Spend a minimum of $120 SGD (about $92.00 USD) in a single receipt in store and redeem an exclusive Transformers: Age of the Primes Character Magnet while supplies last. The 13 Primes will be released, and the first ones are Megatronus The Fallen, Prima Prime and Solus Prime. But there’s more! A special Magnetic Showcase Frame will also be available in the future for purchases over $300 SGD (about $231.04 USD). According » Continue Reading.

The post Official Transformers Age Of The Primes Magnets Campaign By Hasbro Singapore appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the next-on-the-list department: The U.S. government is seeking to break up Google's advertising technology business after a judge ruled the company holds an illegal monopoly over ad tools for publishers, marking the second such antitrust case following a similar request to divest Chrome. The Guardian reports: "We have a defendant who has found ways to defy" the law, US government lawyer Julia Tarver Wood told a federal court in Virginia, as she urged the judge to dismiss Google's assurance that it would change its behavior. "Leaving a recidivist monopolist" intact was not appropriate to solve the issue, she added. [...] The US government specifically alleged that Google controls the market for publishing banner ads on websites, including those of many creators and small news providers.

The hearing in a Virginia courtroom was scheduled to plan out the second phase of the trial, set for September, in which the parties will argue over how to fix the ad market to satisfy the judge's ruling. The plaintiffs argued in the first phase of the trial last year that the vast majority of websites use Google ad software products which, combined, leave no way for publishers to escape Google's advertising technology and pricing.

The district court judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with most of that reasoning, ruling last month that Google built an illegal monopoly over ad software and tools used by publishers, but partially dismissed the argument related to tools used by advertisers. The US government said it would use the trial to recommend that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations, as Google could not be trusted to change its ways. "Behavioral remedies are not sufficient because you can't prevent Google from finding a new way to dominate," Tarver Wood said.

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Posted by Randall Munroe from XKCD
Unstoppable force-carrying particles can't interact with immovable matter by definition.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the cease-and-desist department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Temu has said it will stop selling goods imported from China in the US directly to customers from its platform. The online marketplace said sales would now be handled by "locally based sellers," with orders fulfilled from within the country. The move comes as a duty-free rule for low-value packages is closed.

Temu, and rival Chinese retail giant Shein, had previously relied on the so-called "de minimis" exemption to sell and ship low-value items directly to the US without having to pay duties or import taxes. Temu said it had been actively recruiting US firms to join the platform. "All sales in the US are now handled by locally based sellers, with orders fulfilled from within the country. "The move is designed to help local merchants reach more customers and grow their businesses," it added.

Supporters of the de minimis loophole, which applied to parcels worth less than $800, argue it helped streamline the customs process. But both Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, said it damaged American businesses and was used to smuggle illegal goods, including drugs. In February, Trump briefly closed the loophole but the suspension was quickly paused as delivery services and customs agencies struggled to adjust. During the pause, the U.S. Postal Service even stopped accepting parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Upcoming Class Tuning With Weekly Maintenance - May 6

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

As the Season 2 continues, we’re monitoring class balance and making adjustments to specializations that become outliers in group content and in PvP. With scheduled weekly maintenance in each region, we’ll make the following changes.

Classes

Death Knight

Unholy

San’layn: Pact of the San’layn now stores 25% of all Shadow damage dealt into Blood Beast (was 50%).

Raise Abomination melee attack damage increased by 30%.

Army of the Damned Magus Frostbolt damage increased by 40%.

Demon Hunter

Havoc

All ability damage increased by 4%.

Aldrachi Reaver: Reaver’s Mark debuff application can no longer be parried.

Vengeance

Aldrachi Reaver: Reaver’s Mark debuff application can no longer be parried.

Druid

Guardian

All ability damage increased by 5%.

Feral

All ability and auto attack damage increased by 3%. Does not apply to PvP combat.

Evoker

Augmentation

Damage of all spells and abilities increased by 15%. Does not apply to PvP combat.

Mage

Frost

Spellslinger: Splinter damage increased by 10%.

Spellslinger: Controlled Instincts damage increased to 40% of Splinter damage (was 30%).

Spellslinger: Volatile Magic damage increased by 25%.

Paladin

Retribution

Blade of Justice damage increased by 80%. Does not apply to PvP combat.

Divine Arbiter damage increased by 50%. Does not apply to PvP combat

Final Verdict damage increased by 10%. Does not apply to PvP combat

Priest

Holy

All healing done increased by 4%. Not applied to PvP combat.

Warrior

Arms

Bladestorm damage increased by 30%. Does not apply to PvP combat

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the what-to-expect department: Uber is partnering with Chinese autonomous driving startup Momenta to launch robotaxi services outside the U.S. and China, starting in Europe in early 2026 with safety operators onboard. CNBC reports: Uber said the goal is to combine its global ridesharing network with Momenta's technology to deliver safe and efficient robotaxi services. "This collaboration brings together Uber's global ridesharing expertise and Momenta's AI-first autonomous driving technology, paving the way for a future where more riders around the world experience the benefits of reliable and affordable autonomous mobility," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the press release. Momenta CEO Xudong Cao said the arrangement "completes the key ecosystem needed to scale autonomous driving globally."

Momenta, based in Beijing, is a leading autonomous driving company known for its "two-leg" product strategy. It offers both Mpilot, a mass-production-ready assisted driving system, and MSD (Momenta Self-Driving), aimed at full autonomy. The company has years of experience operating autonomous vehicles in cities across China and has partnerships with large equipment manufacturers.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the what-gives department: Pinterest is facing widespread user backlash over abrupt account suspensions and pin removals, with many reporting no clear reason or warning before being locked out. The Verge reports: The r/Pinterest subreddit is also currently dominated by posts from confused users who claim their accounts have been suspended without evidence explaining how they violated the platform's guidelines. Users are also reporting they're experiencing an unusually high quantity of pins being deleted by Pinterest with absurd explanations, such as quilting magazines, cross-stitch art, and Minecraft bunk bed builds all being flagged for "adult content."

"We hear your concerns about recent account deactivations on Pinterest," the company said on X. "To ensure Pinterest remains a safe and positive platform, we continuously monitor for content that violates our Community Guidelines and accounts with violative content may be deactivated as a result." "Pinterest has long-established, public Community Guidelines that clearly outline what is and isn't allowed on the platform," Pinterest spokesperson Ivy Choi said in a statement to The Verge. "We're committed to building a safer and more positive platform, and enforce these policies rigorously and continuously. Users who believe their account may have been deactivated mistakenly may submit an appeal."

Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
I wanted to share this with you. The image above is a real screenshot of Fortnite featuring Darth Sidious aka the Emperor aka Sheev Palpatine from Star Wars holding an assault rifle. I thought you would want to see this, so I’m sharing it with you.

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Posted by Claire Jackson, John Walker, Kenneth Shepard, Zack Zwiezen, and Ethan Gach from Kotaku
It’s been a week, huh? It looks like we’ll be paying a whole lot more for consoles and games as well as reading and watching a whole lot less great gaming journalism, and on top of all that, GTA 6 isn’t even coming out this year!

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the four-year-investigations department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: A European Union privacy watchdog fined TikTok 530 million euros ($600 million) on Friday after a four-year investigation found that the video sharing app's data transfers to China put users at risk of spying, in breach of strict EU data privacy rules. Ireland's Data Protection Commission also sanctioned TikTok for not being transparent with users about where their personal data was being sent and ordered the company to comply with the rules within six months.

The Irish national watchdog serves as TikTok's lead data privacy regulator in the 27-nation EU because the company's European headquarters is based in Dublin. "TikTok failed to verify, guarantee and demonstrate that the personal data of (European) users, remotely accessed by staff in China, was afforded a level of protection essentially equivalent to that guaranteed within the EU," Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said in a statement. The Irish watchdog said its investigation found that TikTok failed to address "potential access by Chinese authorities" to European users' personal data under Chinese laws on anti-terrorism, counterespionage, cybersecurity and national intelligence that were identified as "materially diverging" from EU standards. Grahn said TikTok has "has never received a request for European user data from the Chinese authorities, and has never provided European user data to them."

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Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
Across all of the Star Wars saga we’ve seen a whole lot of Stormtroopers. These armored soldiers are the Empire’s main fighting force and show up in just about every piece of Star Wars media out there, including games, books, comics, and of course movies. But they aren’t all the same. There are many variants of these…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the sky's-the-limit department: An anonymous reader shares a report: In the nearly two months since former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt acquired Relativity Space, the billionaire has not said much publicly about his plans for the launch company. However, his intentions for Relativity now appear to be increasingly clear: He wants to have the capability to launch a significant amount of computing infrastructure into space.

We know this because Schmidt appeared before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce during a hearing in April, speaking on the future of AI and US competitiveness. Among the topics raised then was the need for more electricity -- both renewable and non-renewable -- to power data centers that will facilitate the computing needs for AI development and applications. Schmidt noted that an average nuclear power plant in the United States generates 1 gigawatt of power.

"People are planning 10 gigawatt data centers," Schmidt said. "Gives you a sense of how big this crisis is. Many people think that the energy demand for our industry will go from 3 percent to 99 percent of total generation. One of the estimates that I think is most likely is that data centers will require an additional 29 gigawatts of power by 2027, and 67 more gigawatts by 2030. These things are industrial at a scale that I have never seen in my life."

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the good-thinking department: The UK financial regulator is preparing to ban retail investors from using borrowed funds such as credit card balances to invest in cryptocurrency as it seeks to overhaul supervision of the fast-growing digital assets market. The Guardian: The soaring values of virtual currencies such as bitcoin after Donald Trump's election have put pressure on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to take a tougher line while it also lays the groundwork for the industry to flourish in the UK.

According to a recent YouGov survey, the proportion of people in the UK using borrowed funds to make crypto purchases more than doubled from 6% in 2022 to 14% last year. Borrowing to fund investments, when asset values could change dramatically, meant consumers risked losing their entire investment and potentially other assets, such as their home. These characteristics closely resembled gambling, the Treasury committee found.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the stranger-things department: An anonymous reader shares a report: Pinterest is having some weird moderation issues. Reports of sweeping pin removals and account suspensions have appeared across social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X, with many users saying they received no warning or explanation about the ban before being locked out of their accounts.

The r/Pinterest subreddit is also currently dominated by posts from confused users who claim their accounts have been suspended without evidence explaining how they violated the platform's guidelines. Users are also reporting they're experiencing an unusually high quantity of pins being deleted by Pinterest with absurd explanations, such as quilting magazines, cross-stitch art, and Minecraft bunk bed builds all being flagged for "adult content."

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the shape-of-things-to-come department: An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple is teaming up with startup Anthropic on a new "vibe-coding" software platform that will use AI to write, edit and test code on behalf of programmers.

The system is a new version of Xcode, Apple's programming software, that will integrate Anthropic's Claude Sonnet model, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Apple will roll out the software internally and hasn't yet decided whether to launch it publicly, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiative hasn't been announced.

The work shows how Apple is using AI to improve its internal workflow, aiming to speed up and modernize product development. The approach is similar to one used by companies such as Windsurf and Cursor maker Anysphere, which offer advanced AI coding assistants popular with software developers. Further reading: 'Vibe Coding' is Letting 10 Engineers Do the Work of a Team of 50 To 100, Says YC CEO.

Posted by Justin Clark from Kotaku
Somehow, with all the other wild shit happening in the early going in Clair Obscur, a golem made of bits of wood and burlap sacks who beats people to death with his dead partner who’s a living paintbrush comes off as just another day at the office. Problem is, getting caught underestimating that thing is a quick and…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: The FDA has approved gene-edited pigs for human consumption, potentially marking the first major commercial application of CRISPR technology in the food chain. Created by British company Genus, these pigs have had their DNA modified to remove the receptor that the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus uses to enter cells, rendering them immune to 99% of known virus variants.

PRRS causes losses of approximately $300 million annually in the US alone by killing piglets and spreading rapidly through factory farms. According to Matt Culbertson, chief operating officer of Genus subsidiary Pig Improvement Company, the gene-edited pork could reach US markets sometime next year. Before launching sales to pig farms, Genus must secure regulatory approval in key export markets including Mexico, Canada, Japan, and China.