Month: May 2024
Christie’s Auction House Hacked, Sensitive Data from 500,000 Customers Stolen
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Alpacas in Idaho test positive for H5N1 bird flu in another world first
The alpacas were known to be in close contact with infected birds.
Enlarge / Suri alpacas on a farm in Pennsylvania. (credit: Getty | Susan L. Angstadt)
Four backyard alpacas in southern Idaho have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, marking the first time bird flu has been detected in members of the fleecy camelid family, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
On Tuesday, the USDA announced that the agency’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the infection on a farm in Jerome County on May 16. While the infections are a first for the spitting llama relatives, the USDA said they weren’t particularly surprising. The alpacas were in close contact with HPAI-infected poultry on the farm, which were “depopulated” this month. Of 18 alpacas on the affected farm, only four were found to be infected. There were no deaths documented, according to a report the USDA submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Genomic sequencing indicates that the H5N1 virus infecting the alpacas (B3.13) matches both the virus currently circulating among US dairy cows and the virus that infected birds on the farm.
Google is killing off the messaging service inside Google Maps
Google Maps has had its own chat platform since 2018, but it’s shutting down in July.
Whether you want to call it “Google Business Messaging” or “Google Business Profile Chat,” the chat buttons in Google Maps and Search are going away. [credit:
Google ]
Google is killing off a messaging service! This one is the odd “Google Business Messaging” service—basically an instant messaging client that is built into Google Maps. If you looked up a participating business in Google Maps or Google Search on a phone, the main row of buttons in the place card would read something like “Call,” “Chat,” “Directions,” and “Website.” That “Chat” button is the service we’re talking about. It would launch a full messaging interface inside the Google Maps app, and businesses were expected to use it for customer service purposes. Google’s deeply dysfunctional messaging strategy might lead people to joke about a theoretical “Google Maps Messaging” service, but it already exists and has existed for years, and now it’s being shut down.
Google kills product
Google is killing off the messaging service inside Google Maps
Google kills “One” VPN service, says “people simply weren’t using it”
Google Podcasts shuts down tomorrow, April 2
Google’s phone app no longer searches Google Maps
Google will no longer back up the Internet: Cached webpages are dead
Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz was the first to spot the shutdown emails being sent out to participating businesses. Google has two different support articles up for a shutdown of both “Google Business Profile Chat” and “Google Business Messages,” which appear to just be the same thing with different names. On July 15, 2024, the ability to start a new chat will be disabled, and on July 31, 2024, both services will be shut down. Google is letting businesses download past chat conversations via Google Takeout.
Google’s Maps messaging service was Google Messaging Service No. 16 in our giant History of Google Messaging article. The feature has undergone many changes, so it’s a bit hard to follow. The Google Maps Messaging button launched in 2017, when it would have been called “Google My Business Chat.” This wasn’t quite its own service yet—the messaging button would either launch your SMS app or boot into another dead Google messaging product, Google Allo!
Two Samsung workers were exposed to radiation, nuclear commission says
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Samsung is under investigation after two employees were hospitalized following exposure to X-rays on May 27th, South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) announced. The exposure took place at Samsung’s Giheung chip plant, about 25 miles south of Seoul, writes CNBC.
The two employees were exposed while using a machine that blasts materials with X-rays in order to analyze them. Both showed “abnormal symptoms” due to radiation exposure on their fingers, the NSSC writes in its release. The agency says their blood tests came back normal, but it plans to conduct follow-up testing. Use of the machine has apparently been suspended, and the agency says it plans to figure out exactly how much radiation they were exposed to.
Samsung said the employees “experienced accidental exposures to X-rays on their hands,” in a statement to CNBC. It further told the outlet that it’s supporting the employees’ treatment and is cooperating with authorities. Meanwhile, the NSSC says it will take further measures if it finds that Samsung has violated any safety laws.
It’s not the first time Samsung has been implicated in its employees’ radiation exposure. The South Korean government linked the cancer that took the life of one of the company’s former employees in 2012 with radiation and chemical exposure during her time at one of its factories. The company apologized to workers who’d developed cancer in its factories and set up a fund to compensate them, as well as families of deceased former employees, in 2015.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Samsung is under investigation after two employees were hospitalized following exposure to X-rays on May 27th, South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) announced. The exposure took place at Samsung’s Giheung chip plant, about 25 miles south of Seoul, writes CNBC.
The two employees were exposed while using a machine that blasts materials with X-rays in order to analyze them. Both showed “abnormal symptoms” due to radiation exposure on their fingers, the NSSC writes in its release. The agency says their blood tests came back normal, but it plans to conduct follow-up testing. Use of the machine has apparently been suspended, and the agency says it plans to figure out exactly how much radiation they were exposed to.
Samsung said the employees “experienced accidental exposures to X-rays on their hands,” in a statement to CNBC. It further told the outlet that it’s supporting the employees’ treatment and is cooperating with authorities. Meanwhile, the NSSC says it will take further measures if it finds that Samsung has violated any safety laws.
It’s not the first time Samsung has been implicated in its employees’ radiation exposure. The South Korean government linked the cancer that took the life of one of the company’s former employees in 2012 with radiation and chemical exposure during her time at one of its factories. The company apologized to workers who’d developed cancer in its factories and set up a fund to compensate them, as well as families of deceased former employees, in 2015.
Discord’s turning the focus back to games with a new redesign
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Discord wants to steer its app back to gaming, and it’s rolling out an app redesign to help make that happen. The new look features reworked group messages, voice chats, video calls, and more.
In a message to users, Discord CEO Jason Citron says the company realized it needs to narrow its focus from “broadly being a community-centric chat app” to a service that “helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.” The company now wants to make it easier to connect before, during, or after playing a game.
This year, Discord will make some changes to the app that will let users reach their conversations faster, as well as improve the reliability of its voice, video, and streaming technology. The company also plans to bring more of Discord’s features to a broader range of devices.
By turning its attention back to gaming, Discord is reversing the plan it set in motion in 2020. As the covid pandemic increased the need for messaging platforms like Discord, the company wanted to become a more general chat app that allowed users to “spend quality time with people, whether catching up, learning something, or sharing ideas.”
A lot has changed since then. Discord laid off 17 percent of its staff after growing its headcount too quickly. Citron was also one of the five CEOs who testified in front of the Senate over concerns about child safety. Lawmakers are currently pushing for legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms like Discord to roll out measures to protect kids.
During an interview on Decoder in April, Citron hinted at turning the company’s attention back toward gaming. “Going forward, we are very focused on gaming as our core use case — group chat around gaming,” Citron said at the time, adding that 95 percent of its users play games.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Discord wants to steer its app back to gaming, and it’s rolling out an app redesign to help make that happen. The new look features reworked group messages, voice chats, video calls, and more.
In a message to users, Discord CEO Jason Citron says the company realized it needs to narrow its focus from “broadly being a community-centric chat app” to a service that “helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.” The company now wants to make it easier to connect before, during, or after playing a game.
This year, Discord will make some changes to the app that will let users reach their conversations faster, as well as improve the reliability of its voice, video, and streaming technology. The company also plans to bring more of Discord’s features to a broader range of devices.
By turning its attention back to gaming, Discord is reversing the plan it set in motion in 2020. As the covid pandemic increased the need for messaging platforms like Discord, the company wanted to become a more general chat app that allowed users to “spend quality time with people, whether catching up, learning something, or sharing ideas.”
A lot has changed since then. Discord laid off 17 percent of its staff after growing its headcount too quickly. Citron was also one of the five CEOs who testified in front of the Senate over concerns about child safety. Lawmakers are currently pushing for legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms like Discord to roll out measures to protect kids.
During an interview on Decoder in April, Citron hinted at turning the company’s attention back toward gaming. “Going forward, we are very focused on gaming as our core use case — group chat around gaming,” Citron said at the time, adding that 95 percent of its users play games.
Mistral Releases Codestral, Its First Generative AI Model For Code
Mistral, the French AI startup backed by Microsoft and valued at $6 billion, has released its first generative AI model for coding, dubbed Codestral. From a report: Codestral, like other code-generating models, is designed to help developers write and interact with code. It was trained on over 80 programming languages, including Python, Java, C++ and JavaScript, explains Mistral in a blog post. Codestral can complete coding functions, write tests and “fill in” partial code, as well as answer questions about a codebase in English. Mistral describes the model as “open,” but that’s up for debate. The startup’s license prohibits the use of Codestral and its outputs for any commercial activities. There’s a carve-out for “development,” but even that has caveats: the license goes on to explicitly ban “any internal usage by employees in the context of the company’s business activities.” The reason could be that Codestral was trained partly on copyrighted content. Codestral might not be worth the trouble, in any case. At 22 billion parameters, the model requires a beefy PC in order to run.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Mistral, the French AI startup backed by Microsoft and valued at $6 billion, has released its first generative AI model for coding, dubbed Codestral. From a report: Codestral, like other code-generating models, is designed to help developers write and interact with code. It was trained on over 80 programming languages, including Python, Java, C++ and JavaScript, explains Mistral in a blog post. Codestral can complete coding functions, write tests and “fill in” partial code, as well as answer questions about a codebase in English. Mistral describes the model as “open,” but that’s up for debate. The startup’s license prohibits the use of Codestral and its outputs for any commercial activities. There’s a carve-out for “development,” but even that has caveats: the license goes on to explicitly ban “any internal usage by employees in the context of the company’s business activities.” The reason could be that Codestral was trained partly on copyrighted content. Codestral might not be worth the trouble, in any case. At 22 billion parameters, the model requires a beefy PC in order to run.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Get Up to $80 Off the M2 iPad Air With Amazon’s New Discounts
Apple’s M2 iPad Air models are less than a month old, and Amazon has up to $80 off select models this week. We’re tracking deals across the entire Wi-Fi M2 iPad Air lineup, although the steepest discounts will be found on 13-inch models.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
The cheapest model is the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch iPad Air for $569.00, down from $599.00. You’ll also find deals on the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models below, all of which are in stock on Amazon with delivery dates as soon as the end of the week for Prime members.
$30 OFFM2 11-inch iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $569.00
$40 OFFM2 11-inch iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $659.00
$20 OFFM2 11-inch iPad Air (512GB Wi-Fi) for $879.00
$65 OFFM2 11-inch iPad Air (1TB Wi-Fi) for $1,034.00
The 13-inch M2 iPad Air models start at $754.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $799.00. Similar to the 11-inch devices, all Wi-Fi models are on sale this week, and for the larger display iPad Airs these discounts reach up to $80 off original prices.
$45 OFFM2 13-inch iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $754.00
$50 OFFM2 13-inch iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $849.00
$65 OFFM2 13-inch iPad Air (512GB Wi-Fi) for $1,034.00
$80 OFFM2 13-inch iPad Air (1TB Wi-Fi) for $1,219.00
The iPad Air is Apple’s middle-tier iPad model, equipped with an LCD Liquid Retina display, True Tone support, four unique color options, Touch ID, relocated front-facing camera, and two new size options with the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes.
Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.Related Roundup: Apple DealsThis article, “Get Up to $80 Off the M2 iPad Air With Amazon’s New Discounts” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple’s M2 iPad Air models are less than a month old, and Amazon has up to $80 off select models this week. We’re tracking deals across the entire Wi-Fi M2 iPad Air lineup, although the steepest discounts will be found on 13-inch models.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
The cheapest model is the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch iPad Air for $569.00, down from $599.00. You’ll also find deals on the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models below, all of which are in stock on Amazon with delivery dates as soon as the end of the week for Prime members.
The 13-inch M2 iPad Air models start at $754.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $799.00. Similar to the 11-inch devices, all Wi-Fi models are on sale this week, and for the larger display iPad Airs these discounts reach up to $80 off original prices.
The iPad Air is Apple’s middle-tier iPad model, equipped with an LCD Liquid Retina display, True Tone support, four unique color options, Touch ID, relocated front-facing camera, and two new size options with the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes.
Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
This article, “Get Up to $80 Off the M2 iPad Air With Amazon’s New Discounts” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
Google accused of secretly tracking drivers with disabilities
Google recklessly violated privacy laws to spike ad profits, lawsuit says.
Enlarge (credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete | Moment)
Google needs to pump the brakes when it comes to tracking sensitive information shared with DMV sites, a new lawsuit suggests.
Filing a proposed class-action suit in California, Katherine Wilson has accused Google of using Google Analytics and DoubleClick trackers on the California DMV site to unlawfully obtain information about her personal disability without her consent.
This, Wilson argued, violated the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), as well as the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), and impacted perhaps millions of drivers who had no way of knowing Google was collecting sensitive information shared only for DMV purposes.