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Maryland Becomes First State To Pass Bill Banning 'Surveillance Pricing'

Slashdot - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 11:00am
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Denver7: Maryland is poised to become the first state in the country to ban "surveillance pricing." The practice refers to companies using a shopper's personal data, such as browsing history, location, or purchasing behavior, to tailor prices to individual customers. The Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, passed this month and sent to the governor for a signature, would prohibit food retailers and third-party delivery services from using the practice. Violations would be treated as deceptive trade practices under state law, with potential fines and lawsuits. While Consumer Reports called the move "encouraging," it warned that the final version contains "loopholes" that don't fully protect consumers. Some of the exemptions noted in the report include "applying the ban only to the use of personal data to set higher prices without establishing a baseline or standard price; exempting pricing tied to loyalty or membership programs, even if prices are higher; and exempting pricing linked to subscriptions or subscription-based services."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Lady Oyster opening oyster bar in Bath

Portland Press Herald Business - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 10:40am
The Parlor launches May 2 with a 4-seat space where customers can order oyster flights.

Ofcom investigating Telegram over child sexual abuse material concerns

BBC Tech News - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 9:59am
The popular messaging service told the BBC in a statement it "categorically denies Ofcom's accusations".

How will Apple change under 'product guy' John Ternus?

BBC Tech News - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 9:35am
How Ternus responds to challenges facing Apple will go a long way to deciding the tech giant's future, writes Zoe Kleinman.

The 10 Best Electrolyte Powders (We Tested Nearly 20)

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 9:33am
Get those lost minerals back with the help of our top electrolyte powders, tablets, drops, and chews for athletes, partiers, and everyone in between.

Cloud business Wasabi gets $250M in debt to fund expansion

Mass High Tech News - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 9:28am
In 2021, Wasabi CEO David Friend told the Business Journal he expected to make more debt financing deals for Wasabi, as the cloud business presented to lenders the same reassuring qualities of real estate.

Best Gaming Laptops (2026): Razer, Asus, Dell, and More

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 7:30am
You don’t want any old gaming laptop. Here’s my take on which to get based on hundreds of hours of testing.

Amazon To Invest Up To Another $25 Billion In Anthropic

Slashdot - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 7:00am
Amazon is expanding its Anthropic partnership with a deal to invest up to another $25 billion, while Anthropic commits to spending more than $100 billion on AWS infrastructure over the next decade to power Claude. "Anthropic's commitment to run its large language models on AWS Trainium for the next decade reflects the progress we've made together on custom silicon, as we continue delivering the technology and infrastructure our customers need to build with generative AI," Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. CNBC reports: Amazon's investment includes $5 billion into Anthropic now, with up to $20 billion in the future tied to "certain commercial milestones," according to a release. The initial investment is at Anthropic's latest valuation of $380 billion. Anthropic said in the release that it will bring nearly 1 gigawatt total of Trainium2 and Trainium3 capacity online by the end of the year. With all of the major hyperscalers competing to build out AI capacity as quickly as possible, Amazon said in February that it expects to shell out roughly $200 billion this year on capital expenditures, mostly on AI infrastructure.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

H2O Audio Tri Run Workout Headphones Review: A Little Underwhelming

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 6:30am
H2O Audio’s stab at a sub-$100 pair of bone-conduction workout headphones just misses the mark.

iPhone Video Shows 'Earthset' From Space

Slashdot - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 3:00am
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman posted an out-of-this-world iPhone video on Sunday, showing Earth disappear behind the Moon at 8x zoom. "I could barely see the Moon through the docking hatch window but the iPhone was the perfect size to catch the view," said Wiseman, noting that this video is "uncropped, uncut with 8x zoom" and "quite comparable to the view of the human eye." The New York Times says the video marks the first time an "Earthset" has been captured on video. "We've seen our fair share of remarkable images and videos from NASA's Artemis II mission around the Moon. Some of those were even captured on iPhone," notes 9to5Mac. "But Reid Wiseman, astronaut and commander for the Artemis II mission, just posted a new video that might take the crown for the most impressive yet."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

New era as Apple names new boss to replace Tim Cook after 15 years

BBC Tech News - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 1:57am
Ternus will take over running the technology giant in September as Cook steps up to become executive chairman.

The newest contract risk for businesses is quickly emerging — and the stakes are high

Mass High Tech News - Tue, 04/21/2026 - 1:25am
Experts say traditional business contracts are no longer suitable. Here's what's changing and what business owners need to change.

PlayStation To Require Age Verification For Messages and Voice Chat

Slashdot - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 11:30pm
A new email from Sony says that PlayStation will require players to verify their age later this year to keep using communication features like messages and voice chat. Insider-Gaming reports: The initiative comes from the goal of providing "safe, age-appropriate experiences for players and families while respecting their privacy" and providing "meaningful control over their gaming experiences." The age-verification process will be implemented globally, and players will need to verify their age to continue using PlayStation communication services, such as messages and voice chat. If the player opts not to verify their age, they can still use other services, such as games, trophies, and the store. Only the communication experience will be affected if you choose not to verify your age. PlayStation didn't provide a date for when players will need to begin the verification process.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The 'dumb machine' promising a clean energy breakthrough

BBC Tech News - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 7:09pm
A stellarator is difficult to build, but could it be the best way to make fusion energy work?

Mobile Phones To Be Banned In Schools In England Under New Plans

Slashdot - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 7:00pm
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: A ban on mobile phones in schools in England is to be introduced by the government to ensure that "critical safeguarding legislation" is passed. The government will table an amendment to the children's wellbeing and schools bill in the House of Lords after the bill was held up by peers on opposition benches. It will make existing guidance on mobile phone bans in schools statutory, a move that ministers have resisted until now. The government had consistently argued that the vast majority of schools had already banned mobile phones, and that there was no need to add a legal requirement. They finally capitulated, however, describing it as "a pragmatic measure" to get the bill through. [...] The bill is regarded by many as the biggest piece of child protection legislation in decades and includes proposals for a compulsory register for children who are not in school, a crackdown on profiteering in children's social care, and a "single unique identifier" to help agencies track a child's welfare.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Stepping Down

Slashdot - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 6:05pm
Apple announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO in September after 15 years in the role, handing the job to hardware chief John Ternus. Longtime Slashdot reader sinij shares the news from MarketWatch: Cook leaves an impressive legacy after growing the company to a $4 trillion market capitalization from just $300 billion 15 years ago. Over Cook's 15-year tenure as CEO, Apple's stock has risen 1,932%, beating the S&P 500's 504% increase, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That places Apple's stock as the 38th best-performing member of the index over that period of time. Cook had big shoes to fill, replacing Apple's iconic founder, Steve Jobs, as CEO. Cook's successor, John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, will need to guide Apple's through uncharted waters as the company navigates its artificial-intelligence transition and supply-chain constraints. Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman. "It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world," said Cook. "John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future. I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman." As for Ternus' replacement, the role of Chief Hardware Officer will be awarded to Apple executive Johny Srouji. "Srouji, who most recently served as senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, will assume an expanded role leading Hardware Engineering, which John Ternus most recently oversaw, as well as the hardware technologies organization," said Apple in a press release.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Best Kitchen Composters and Food Recyclers (2026)

Wired Top Stories - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 5:38pm
Responsibly dispose of your food scraps with one of these indoor, (mostly) odor-free, WIRED-tested devices.

Former Palantir Employee Running For Congress Unveils 'AI Dividend' Plan

Slashdot - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 5:00pm
Alex Bores, a former Palantir employee and current Democratic House candidate in New York, is proposing an "AI dividend" that would send direct payments to Americans if AI drives major job losses. "At its core, the AI Dividend is simple: if AI dramatically increases productivity and concentrates wealth, the American people have a stake in those gains," a memo on the policy reads. Axios reports: The dividend would fund direct payments to Americans. It would also be invested into workforce training and education, as well as government capacity to "govern AI safely and fund independent oversight," per the plan memo. "You don't take out fire insurance because you expect your house to burn down -- you have insurance in case something goes awry," Bores told Axios in an interview. "Here we have, for the first time, a technology where the makers of the technology are explicitly saying that their goal is to replace all human labor." "The fact that they've put it out there means government needs to take it seriously." [...] The proposal would be funded through: - A token tax, described in the memo as a "modest tax on AI consumption" - Equity participation in frontier AI firms - Changes to the tax code that would reduce incentives to invest in AI "when it leads to less work" "If [AI companies] they can support this plan, that would show that they actually believe in what they're putting out there," Bores said. "If they're not doing it, then I think it shows that they're really putting window dressing out there." Further reading: Palantir Posts Bond Villain Manifesto On X

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Deezer Says 44% of Songs Uploaded To Its Platform Daily Are AI-Generated

Slashdot - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 4:00pm
Deezer says AI-generated songs now make up 44% of all new uploads to its platform, with nearly 75,000 arriving each day and more than two million per month. The company notes that consumption of these tracks is still very low, "between 1-3% of the total streams," and 85% are flagged as fraudulent. TechCrunch reports: The latest figure from Deezer highlights a continuous surge in AI-generated music uploads to the platform. Deezer reported receiving around 60,000 AI tracks per day in January, up from 50,000 in November, 30,000 in September, and just 10,000 in January 2025, when it first launched its AI-music detection tool. Songs tagged as AI-generated on Deezer are automatically removed from algorithmic recommendations and not included in editorial playlists. The company announced today that it will no longer store hi-res versions of AI tracks. "AI-generated music is now far from a marginal phenomenon and as daily deliveries keep increasing, we hope the whole music ecosystem will join us in taking action to help safeguard artists' rights and promote transparency for fans," said Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier in a press release. "Thanks to our technology and the proactive measures we put in place more than a year ago, we have shown that it's possible to reduce AI-related fraud and payment dilution in streaming to a minimum."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Maine fishermen net federal status as ‘farmers of the sea’

Portland Press Herald Business - Mon, 04/20/2026 - 3:56pm
The launch of a seafood office in the US Department of Agriculture signals a shift in national food policy, allowing fishing families to tap into the same safety nets offered to traditional farmers.

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