Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission + - Why meetings can harm employee well-being (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: On average, managers spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Much of what happens in them is considered to be of low value, or even entirely counterproductive. The paradox is that bad meetings generate even more meetings in an attempt to repair the damage caused by previous ones.

A 2015 handbook laid the groundwork for the nascent field of "Meeting Science". Among other things, the research revealed that the real issue may not be the number of meetings, but rather how they are designed, the lack of clarity about their purpose, and the inequalities they (often unconsciously) reinforce.

Faced with what we call meeting madness, the solution is not to eliminate meetings altogether, but to design them better. It begins with a simple but often forgotten question: why are we meeting?

Submission + - SmartTube YouTube app for Android TV breached to push malicious update (bleepingcomputer.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The popular open-source SmartTube YouTube client for Android TV was compromised after an attacker gained access to the developer's signing keys, leading to a malicious update being pushed to users.

The compromise became known when multiple users reported that Play Protect, Android's built-in antivirus module, blocked SmartTube on their devices and warned them of a risk.

The developer of SmartTube, Yuriy Yuliskov, admitted that his digital keys were compromised late last week, leading to the injection of malware into the app.

Yuliskov revoked the old signature and said he would soon publish a new version with a separate app ID, urging users to move to that one instead.

SmartTube is one of the most widely downloaded third-party YouTube clients for Android TVs, Fire TV sticks, Android TV boxes, and similar devices.

Its popularity stems from the fact that it is free, can block ads, and performs well on underpowered devices.

A user who reverse-engineered the compromised SmartTube version number 30.51 found that it includes a hidden native library named libalphasdk.so [VirusTotal]. This library does not exist in the public source code, so it is being injected into release builds.

"Possibly a malware. This file is not part of my project or any SDK I use. Its presence in the APK is unexpected and suspicious. I recommend caution until its origin is verified," cautioned Yuliskov on a GitHub thread.

The library runs silently in the background without user interaction, fingerprints the host device, registers it with a remote backend, and periodically sends metrics and retrieves configuration via an encrypted communications channel.

All this happens without any visible indication to the user. While there's no evidence of malicious activity such as account theft or participation in DDoS botnets, the risk of enabling such activities at any time is high.

Submission + - Fidelity sues Broadcom, says cutoff of VMware software threatens major system fa (msn.com)

Submitted by Joe_Dragon
Joe_Dragon writes: Fidelity Technology Group, the tech arm of investment manager Fidelity, told a court in Suffolk County on Friday that Broadcom is about to pull the plug on software the company has used for years, causing huge system failures across all of its platforms.

The filing said the conflict began when Broadcom told Fidelity it would end its access to the VMware tools after January 21, a move Fidelity said could shut down trading, block customers from their accounts, and break the systems its workers use each day.

Fidelity said it filed the action because it believes Broadcom is ignoring a contract that came with VMware long before Broadcom bought the company.
Fidelity challenges Broadcom over VMware access

The lawsuit said VMware’s virtualization software has powered Fidelity’s virtual servers since 2005, and the company said it built most of its internal and customer-facing systems on top of that setup.

Fidelity said the software became central to how it handles account access, trade execution, and everyday service for its nearly 50 million customers.

Fidelity explained that this fight began in 2023 when Broadcom completed its purchase of VMware and changed the entire product lineup.

The filing said Broadcom took the older VMware tools and rebuilt them into new bundles that cost far more than the separate products Fidelity used for years.

Fidelity said that when it tried to renew its old subscription, Broadcom refused to honor the VMware contract. Fidelity said Broadcom pushed it to buy the new bundle instead of the tools it already used, which the company said would change its tech setup in a way that made no sense for its systems.

Fidelity argued that losing access on the date Broadcom first gave, December 22, would have made it impossible to keep its platforms running.

Fidelity’s filing said the company told the court it would need at least 18 to 24 months to move to a new setup because of how deeply VMware runs through its servers.

The filing said Broadcom later agreed to extend the cutoff to January 21, giving the judge time to hear the case. Fidelity said this delay helps only for now, because the threat to its operations still stands if access ends.

Submission + - Waymo found a shortcut (tmz.com)

Submitted by stabiesoft
stabiesoft writes: TMZ picks up some of the craziest stories. Here is one about a waymo driving thru a police standoff in LA with passengers inside. It appears they need to add "avoid crossfire" to the model. Quickest route is not always a good idea.

Submission + - An independent effort says AI is the secret to topple 2-party power in Congress (npr.org)

Submitted by Tony Isaac
Tony Isaac writes: The rise of AI assistants is rewriting the rhythms of everyday life: People are feeding their blood test results into chatbots, turning to ChatGPT for advice on their love lives and leaning on AI for everything from planning trips to finishing homework assignments.

Now, one organization suggests artificial intelligence can go beyond making daily life more convenient. It says it's the key to reshaping American politics.

"Without AI, what we're trying to do would be impossible," explained Adam Brandon, a senior adviser at the Independent Center, a nonprofit that studies and engages with independent voters.

The goal is to elect a handful of independent candidates to the House of Representatives in 2026, using AI to identify districts where independents could succeed and uncover diamond in the rough candidates.

Submission + - Russia still using black market Starlink terminals on its drones (behindtheblack.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: SpaceX has made no comment on this issue. According to the article, Ukraine is “exploring alternative European satellite providers in response, seeking more secure and controllable communications infrastructure for military operations.” While switching to another satellite provider might allow Ukraine to shut Starlink down and prevent the Russians from using it within its territory, doing so would likely do more harm to Ukraine’s military effort than Russia’s. There isn’t really any other service comparable at this time. And when Amazon’s Leo system comes on line it will face the same black market issues. I doubt it will have any more success than SpaceX in preventing Russia from obtaining its terminals.

Overall this issue is probably not a serious one militarily, however. Russia is not likely capable of obtaining enough black market terminals to make any significant difference on the battlefield.

This story however highlights a positive aspect of these new constellations. Just as Russia can’t be prevented from obtaining black market terminals, neither can the oppressed citizens in totalitarian nations like Russia and China be blocked as well. These constellations as designed act to defeat the censorship and information control of such nations, a very good thing.

Submission + - The internet works thanks to a shared infrastructure that nobody owns (elpais.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: In the 21st century, every government should understand that ensuring software sovereignty and security is part of its job, not only for themselves but also for businesses, society, and researchers. In the 21st century, software is the invisible infrastructure of our everyday life, like roads and bridges. Everything runs on software, and a significant portion of this is made possible by open source, which is maintained by people selflessly. If this open source breaks down, it’s as if a road or bridge collapses: everything else becomes much more complicated and dangerous.

Submission + - Oracle's credit status under pressure (latimes.com)

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'A gauge of risk on Oracle Corp.’s debt reached a three-year high in November, and things are only going to get worse in 2026 unless the database giant is able to assuage investor anxiety about a massive artificial intelligence spending spree, according to Morgan Stanley.'

First sign of the boom's inevitable collapsing?

Slashdot Top Deals

Tomorrow's computers some time next month. -- DEC

Close