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Showing posts from February, 2023

US-based MKS Instruments, a little-known but key chip equipment supplier, says a "ransomware event" on "production-related systems" will cause delays into March (Financial Times)

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Financial Times : US-based MKS Instruments, a little-known but key chip equipment supplier, says a “ransomware event” on “production-related systems” will cause delays into March   —  US-based MKS Instruments says attack would cost at least $200mn in lost or delayed sales from Techmeme https://ift.tt/j7dgLvr via IFTTT

Dish confirms ransomware attack allowed hackers to steal personal data

U.S. satellite television provider Dish confirmed that a ransomware is to blame for an ongoing outage and warned that intruders exfiltrated data from its systems. The multiday outage , which began last Thursday and was confirmed by Dish on Monday, is affecting Dish’s main website, apps, and customer support systems, along with the company’s Sling TV streaming and wireless services. Now, in a public filing published Tuesday, first spotted by Bleeping Computer , Dish said it had “determined that the outage was due to a cyber-security incident and notified appropriate law enforcement authorities.” Dish initially blamed the outage on “internal systems issues.” The company goes on to say that the filing relates to expectations “regarding its ability to contain, assess and remediate the ransomware attack and the impact of the ransomware attack on the corporation’s employees, customers, business, operations or financial results.” Dish said in the filing that the attackers extracted “cert

TECNO MegaBook S1 2023 announced with horsepower upgrade

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Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority TECNO has launched the Megabook S1 2023 at MWC. The laptop is mostly identical to its predecessor save for an upgraded Intel chip. TECNO is a recent entrant into the laptop space, with its Megabook T1 and S1 launching in the second half of 2022. Now, the company has refreshed the latter model at MWC 2023 . from Android Authority https://ift.tt/3rKWGlD via IFTTT

Three separate SIM-swapping gangs claimed on Telegram throughout 2022 that they had successfully phished staff at T-Mobile, far more often than other carriers (Brian Krebs/Krebs on Security)

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Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security : Three separate SIM-swapping gangs claimed on Telegram throughout 2022 that they had successfully phished staff at T-Mobile, far more often than other carriers   —  Three different cybercriminal groups claimed access to internal networks at communications giant T-Mobile in more than 100 separate … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/1Ojp0MG via IFTTT

TechCrunch+ roundup: Using predictive LTV, Boston VC survey, active learning for ML teams

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Last fall, Voyantis CEO Ido Wiesenberg shared a TC+ post with several tactics for reducing customer acquisition costs via predictive modeling. In a follow-up, he explains how to use predictive lifetime value (LTV) to create “more targeted, effective acquisition strategies that focus on acquiring and retaining customers.” Adding predictive LTV to decision flows does more than just identify lucrative customers early in the sales cycle — you can also use it to set performance targets and help teams adjust campaign budgets midstream. Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription “Not using predictive LTV to inform decisions is like going on a hike, not knowing where it will end and how hard it will be,” writes Wiesenberg, who says combining CAC with predictive LTV optimization balances risk and growth. This post includes real-life examples of predictive LTV decisions that can help generate h

Tesla’s next factory will be in Mexico, president confirms

Tesla plans to build a new factory in Monterrey, Mexico, the country’s president said Tuesday confirming speculation that the automaker would set up shop there. Notably, Tesla has agreed to use recycled water, addressing a major environmental concern in northern Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said. Tesla will share more information about the new factory during its investor day event scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, said López Obrador who is also known as ALMO. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected present the long-awaited and often teased Master Plan 3 during the company’s investor day that will be held at the company’s Gigafactory Texas located near Austin. Investors will be able to see its production line and discuss with its leadership team topics like the company’s long-term expansion plans, generation 3 platform and capital allocation, according to the company . Tesla has several factories in the United States, including in Fremont, California, where vehicles are

DoJ accuses Google of deleting chats in its antitrust investigation, similar to Fortnite’s case

In a new filing late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Google “routinely destroyed” an entire category of written communications in its antitrust investigation against the company. The communications — chat messages between Google employees — were deleted over the course of several years, the DoJ stated. A similar issue had been brought up by Epic Games in its ongoing trial which involves the Fortnite maker accusing Google of anticompetitive conduct with regard to its Play Store and rules over in-app purchases. This latest claim, however, has to do with the Justice Department’s antitrust suit filed in 2020 against Google for monopolizing the search and advertising market. In it, the DoJ states that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure should have required Google to stop its practice of auto-deleting chat histories as soon as it anticipated the coming litigation back in mid-2019. But Google did not, the government claims. Instead, Google employees continued to be

Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple has restarted work on an iPhone SE 4 with a 6.1" OLED screen and an Apple-designed 5G modem; Ross Young: China's BOE will supply the display (Joe Rossignol/MacRumors)

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Joe Rossignol / MacRumors : Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple has restarted work on an iPhone SE 4 with a 6.1" OLED screen and an Apple-designed 5G modem; Ross Young: China's BOE will supply the display   —  Apple has restarted development of a fourth-generation iPhone SE with a 6.1-inch OLED display and an Apple-designed 5G chip … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/93dvaM5 via IFTTT

Reddit now lets you search comments within a post

Reddit announced today that users can now search comments within a post on desktop, iOS and Android. With this latest update, you no longer have to “Cmd-F” or “Ctrl-F” on a post page, as you can now search comment threads without having to expand them. The feature lets you quickly find the information you’re looking for on a specific post, the company says. Last year, Reddit released the ability to search comments across the platform with the addition of a “comments” tab in the search bar, but you still weren’t able to search comments within a post. Based on user feedback, Reddit is now rolling out this new change. Reddit says it’s made several improvements to its search functionality over the past few months. In October, the company introduced text search within images, which means that users gained the ability to search for their favorite memes that have text in them. In addition, Reddit says its subreddit search algorithm has been enhanced to surface more relevant subreddits fo

Record-low price on the SKAGEN Falster Gen 6, and more fitness tracker deals

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Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority A fitness tracker is one of the most helpful gadgets when it comes to getting in shape. It won’t magically make you fit, but it can keep you on top of your fitness goals and stay motivated. Some manufacturers even offer fitness trackers just for kids . We’ve gathered deals from all of the major players, and you can check out our favorites below. There’s quite a lot of overlap between smartwatches and fitness trackers these days. If you’re looking first and foremost for smartwatch functionality, you might prefer to peruse our list of the best smartwatch deals available right now. from Android Authority https://ift.tt/YmzX6VD via IFTTT

VSCO is growing into a legit social network for photographers

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Four years after the dawn of the VSCO Girl , VSCO wants you to know that it’s very much alive. Photographers and other aesthetically-inclined creators still flock to the app’s suite of tools , which imbue the editing process with joy while still providing the creative control that visual artists value. If you wouldn’t be caught dead using Mayfair, you’re probably already familiar with VSCO’s vast palette of lush, film-inspired filters. That deep collection of photo filters coupled with the app’s serene, vibes-above-all design make it a natural digital studio space for creators who still care a lot about the look and feel of what they post. “They can be authentic, they can explore their creativity; increasingly, they can connect with others and build community around that and really pursue whatever goals and aspirations they have,” VSCO President Eric Wittman told TechCrunch. As social media trends toward the casual and chaotic, VSCO warriors everywhere are still meticulously white

Some experts, particularly those advocating for "ethical AI" or "responsible AI", say Microsoft and OpenAI's new Bing experiment is dangerous for the public (Wall Street Journal)

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Wall Street Journal : Some experts, particularly those advocating for “ethical AI” or “responsible AI”, say Microsoft and OpenAI's new Bing experiment is dangerous for the public   —  Even the people behind new artificial intelligence systems say their buzzy products are ‘somewhat broken.’ They're relying on us to fix them. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/n2Qd9eu via IFTTT

Lenovo launches a slew of laptops, including one made out of food

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Lenovo launched over a dozen laptops at MWC 2023. Of them, the Z13 is the most unique, with a cover made of flaxseed scraps. There are also Chromebooks, a new tiny-in-one, and a new high-tier support service. Mobile World Congress 2023 is officially on, and Lenovo is pulling out all the stops. The company launched over a dozen laptops in its Z, X, T, E, and L lines. It also launched a new tiny-in-one and a new service that promises the highest level of support from the company. There’s a lot to get through, so let’s dive in. from Android Authority https://ift.tt/pCh3yb7 via IFTTT

Microsoft Azure expands its telco solutions

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New smartphones may get most of the headlines at MWC, but at its core, the annual trade show is still a telco event. It’s maybe no surprise then that the large cloud providers, who are all vying for the lucrative telco market, also made a few announcements ahead of the event. AWS jumped ahead of its competitors by announcing its news a week early and today, it’s Microsoft’s turn. The new features the company today announced for telco’s using its Azure cloud services focus on four areas: network transformation, automation and AI, network-aware applications and what Microsoft calls “ubiquitous computing from cloud to edge.” “The future hyperscale cloud is going to look a lot different than the cloud we have today,” Jason Zander, Microsoft’s EVP for Strategic Missions and Tech, told me. “Our expectation is that it’s going to expand; it will be a highly distributed fabric; it’s going to span from 5G to space. That future — this intelligent cloud, this intelligent edge — has to be powered

Reports: 50+ Twitter staff were laid off over the weekend, including Twitter's product lead Esther Crawford, and Revue founder Martijn de Kuijper (Emma Roth/The Verge)

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Emma Roth / The Verge : Reports: 50+ Twitter staff were laid off over the weekend, including Twitter's product lead Esther Crawford, and Revue founder Martijn de Kuijper   —  Crawford headed up various projects at Twitter, including the company's Blue with verification subscription as well as Twitter's forthcoming payments platform. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/jKd0CWg via IFTTT

More layoffs at Twitter, and loyalist Esther Crawford isn’t spared

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Twitter has laid off at least another 50 employees, according to a report from The Information and posts on social media from former workers. And apparently not even Elon Musk loyalist Esther Crawford, the chief executive of Twitter payments who oversaw the company’s Twitter Blue verification subscription, was spared, according to Platformer’s Zoë Schiffer . Alex Heath of The Verge also confirmed that Crawford and most of the remaining product team were laid off this weekend, leading many to speculate that Musk is cleaning house to redecorate with a new regime. Recall that Crawford had been swept up by Musk’s hardcore takeover of Twitter last year, even boasting on the platform about sleeping at the office to handle round-the-clock demands from her new boss. When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork https://t.co/UBGKYPilbD — Esther Crawford (@esthercrawford) November 2, 2022   The layoffs came this weekend after Twi

Source: Esther Crawford, who became one of the most influential leaders at Twitter after Musk's takeover, is out as Director of Product Management (Zoë Schiffer/@zoeschiffer)

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Zoë Schiffer / @zoeschiffer : Source: Esther Crawford, who became one of the most influential leaders at Twitter after Musk's takeover, is out as Director of Product Management   —  Just got confirmation that Esther Crawford, chief executive of Twitter Payments, is out. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/TtpOo2l via IFTTT

Sources: Sequoia resigned from Citizen's board, after the startup offered a "pay to play" deal obliging existing investors to participate in a new funding round (Tabby Kinder/Financial Times)

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Tabby Kinder / Financial Times : Sources: Sequoia resigned from Citizen's board, after the startup offered a “pay to play” deal obliging existing investors to participate in a new funding round   —  Investor abandons start-up over fundraising that has massively diluted its shareholding, as Silicon Valley VCs re-evaluate deals from Techmeme https://ift.tt/SPBOVQ7 via IFTTT

Experts caution the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles is driving militaries in Ukraine and beyond toward automation, creating a dangerous slippery slope (Morgan Meaker/Wired)

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Morgan Meaker / Wired : Experts caution the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles is driving militaries in Ukraine and beyond toward automation, creating a dangerous slippery slope   —  Drones that can find their own targets already exist, making machine-versus-machine conflict just a software update away. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/fM5A93d via IFTTT

This Week in Apps: Meta’s paid verifications, Instagram’s founders’ new app and Spotify’s AI DJ

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Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app economy in 2023 hit a few snags, as consumer spending last year dropped for the first time by 2% to $167 billion , according to data.ai’s “State of Mobile” report. However, downloads are continuing to grow, up 11% year-over-year in 2022 to reach 255 billion. Consumers are also spending more time in mobile apps than ever before. On Android devices alone, hours spent in 2022 grew 9%, reaching 4.1 trillion. This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and much more. Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters Top Stories Meta starts selling blue badges…but also security and customer service Image Credits: Bloomberg /