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Carmakers Chose To Cheat To Sell Cars Rather Than Comply With Emissions Law, 'Dieselgate' Trial Told

Slashdot.org - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 14:33
Car manufacturers decided they would rather cheat to prioritise "customer convenience" and sell cars than comply with the law on deadly pollutants, the first day of the largest group action trial in English legal history has been told. From a report: More than a decade after the original "dieselgate" scandal broke, lawyers representing 1.6 million diesel car owners in the UK argue that manufacturers deliberately installed software to rig emissions tests. They allege the "prohibited defeat devices" could detect when the cars were under test conditions and ensure that harmful NOx emissions were kept within legal limits, duping regulators and drivers. Should the claim be upheld, estimated damages could exceed $8 billion. The three-month hearing that opened at London's high court on Monday will focus on vehicles sold by five manufacturers -- Mercedes, Ford, Renault, Nissan and Peugeot/Citroen -- from 2009. In "real world" conditions, when driven on the road, lawyers argue, the cars produced much higher levels of emissions. The judgment on the five lead defendants will also bind other manufacturers including Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall/Opel, Volkswagen/Porsche, BMW, FCA/Suzuki, Volvo, Hyundai-Kia, Toyota and Mazda, whose cases are not being heard to reduce the case time and costs.

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TP-Link Makes History With First Successful Wi-Fi 8 Connection

Slashdot.org - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 13:13
BrianFagioli writes: TP-Link has officially achieved the first successful Wi-Fi 8 connection using a prototype device built through an industry collaboration. The company confirmed that both the beacon and data throughput worked, marking a real-world validation of next-generation wireless tech. It's an early glimpse of what the next leap in speed and reliability could look like, even as the Wi-Fi 8 standard itself remains under development. The Verge adds: Like its predecessor, Wi-Fi 8 will utilize 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands with a theoretical maximum channel bandwidth of 320MHz and peak data rate of 23Gbps, but aims to improve real-world performance and connection reliability. The goal is to provide better performance in environments with low signal, or under high network loads, where an increasing number of devices are sharing the same connection.

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New AI-powered features help you connect with web content in Search and Discover.New AI-powered features help you connect with web content in Search and Discover.

GoogleBlog - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 13:00
We’re introducing two new AI-powered features in Search and Discover to help you connect with fresh content and links from across the web.
Categories: Technology

China Is Shipping More Open AI Models Than US Rivals as Tech Competition Shifts

Slashdot.org - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 12:22
Chinese companies now produce most of the world's freely available AI models. DeepSeek leads Hugging Face in popularity. Chinese firms like Alibaba receive higher ratings than OpenAI and Meta on LMArena. The site uses blind tests to measure user preferences. Chinese developers ship open models more frequently than American rivals. Irene Solaiman is chief policy officer at Hugging Face. She said Chinese companies build their user base by shipping frequently and quickly. American companies like OpenAI and Google keep their best models proprietary. Meta once led in open AI models. Mark Zuckerberg argued last year that the world would benefit if AI companies shared their technology freely. He pledged Meta would release its AI openly. The company has since become more cautious. Zuckerberg wrote in a new essay that Meta might need to keep the best models for itself.

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Three New California Laws Target Tech Companies' Interactions with Children

Slashdot.org - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:40
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills on Monday that establish the nation's most comprehensive framework for regulating how technology companies interact with minors. AB 56 requires social media platforms to display health warnings to users under 18. A child must view a skippable ten-second warning upon logging on each day. An unskippable thirty-second warning must appear if a child spends more than three hours on a platform. That warning repeats after each additional hour. The warnings must state that social media "can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents." Minnesota passed a similar law in July. SB 243 makes California the first state to regulate AI companion chatbots. The law takes effect January 1, 2026. Companies must implement age verification and disclose that interactions are artificially generated. Chatbots cannot represent themselves as healthcare professionals. Companies must offer break reminders to minors and prevent them from viewing sexually explicit images. The legislation gained momentum after teenager Adam Raine died by suicide following conversations with OpenAI's ChatGPT. A Colorado family filed suit against Character AI after their daughter's suicide following problematic conversations with the company's chatbots. AB 1043 requires device-makers like Apple and Google to collect birth dates when parents set up devices for children. Device-makers must group users into four age brackets and share this information with apps. Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Snap supported the bill. The Motion Picture Association opposed it.

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Does the Internet Have a Philly Accent? Why Too Much Time Online Can Make You 'Culturally Philadelphian.'

Slashdot.org - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:01
Philadelphia culture has become inescapable in certain corners of the internet. People who spend substantial time online report developing knowledge of the city's cultural touchstones and forming opinions about its regional debates despite minimal or no physical presence there, according to a new report. The phenomenon has prompted a theory: prolonged exposure to these digital spaces can make someone spiritually and culturally Philadelphian regardless of geography. Several factors explain Philadelphia's outsized online presence. The city is large but retains a small-town sensibility. Its residents wake earlier than West Coast users and can set the daily online agenda. Philadelphia sports teams have performed well for twenty-five years. The internet rewards visual absurdity and energetic presentation. Gritty functions as both hockey mascot and anti-fascist meme. The city's working-class union identity and reliably anti-Trump stance align with leftist online communities. The alternative explanation is simpler: Philadelphians believe their city dominates conversation and find confirming evidence everywhere they look. The internet may not have made Philadelphia bigger. It may have just made Philadelphians easier to find.

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Nano Banana is coming to Google Search, NotebookLM and Photos.Nano Banana is coming to Google Search, NotebookLM and Photos.Product Manager

GoogleBlog - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:00
Google is bringing AI image editing with Nano Banana to Search, NotebookLM and Photos.
Categories: Technology

How to edit images with Nano Banana in SearchHow to edit images with Nano Banana in SearchSenior Director, Product Management, Google Search

GoogleBlog - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:00
Here’s your guide for editing images in Search using Lens with Nano Banana.Here’s your guide for editing images in Search using Lens with Nano Banana.
Categories: Technology

Video Overviews on NotebookLM get a major upgrade with Nano BananaVideo Overviews on NotebookLM get a major upgrade with Nano BananaSoftware Engineer

GoogleBlog - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:00
NotebookLM's Video Overviews get an upgrade with visuals powered by Nano Banana and a new "Brief" format for quick summaries.NotebookLM's Video Overviews get an upgrade with visuals powered by Nano Banana and a new "Brief" format for quick summaries.
Categories: Technology

We’re improving navigation and introducing a new control for ads on Google Search.We’re improving navigation and introducing a new control for ads on Google Search.VP of Product Management and Data Science

GoogleBlog - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:00
Every day, billions of people turn to Google Search for information, and our goal is to help them find it seamlessly. To make navigation even easier, we’re updating how …
Categories: Technology

Discover Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)'s stunning new faces.Discover Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)'s stunning new faces.Interaction Designer, Google Home & Nest

GoogleBlog - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 11:00
Today we’re rolling out four new Farsight faces for your Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen), for custom looks that blend beautifully into your home.The highlight is a sp…
Categories: Technology

Earth's Climate Has Passed Its First Irreversible Tipping Point and Entered a 'New Reality'

Slashdot.org - Mon, 10/13/2025 - 10:22
Climate change has pushed warm-water coral reefs past a point of no return, marking the first time a major climate tipping point has been crossed, according to a report released on Sunday by an international team in advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30 in Brazil this November. From a report: Tipping points include global ice loss, Amazon rainforest loss, and the possible collapse of vital ocean currents. Once crossed, they will trigger self-perpetuating and irreversible changes that will lead to new and unpredictable climate conditions. But the new report also emphasizes progress on positive tipping points, such as the rapid rollout of green technologies. "We can now say that we have passed the first major climate tipping point," said Steve Smith, the Tipping Points Research Impact Fellow at the Global Systems Institute and Green Futures Solutions at the University of Exeter, during a media briefing on Tuesday. "But on the plus side," he added, "we've also passed at least one major positive tipping point in the energy system," referring to the maturation of solar and wind power technologies. The world is entering a "new reality" as global temperatures will inevitably overshoot the goal of staying within 1.5C of pre-industrial averages set by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, warns the Global Tipping Points Report 2025, the second iteration of a collaboration focused on key thresholds in Earth's climate system.

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