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The AI Boom Is Coming for Apple's Profit Margins

Slashdot.org - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 14:00
Apple's long-standing dominance over its electronics supply chain is eroding as AI companies outbid the iPhone maker for critical components like chips, memory and specialized glass fiber, giving suppliers the leverage to demand that Apple pay more. CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the pressure during a Thursday earnings call, noting constraints in chip supplies and significant increases in memory prices. Nvidia has overtaken Apple as TSMC's largest customer, CEO Jensen Huang said on a podcast; Apple had held that position by a wide margin for years. DRAM prices are set to quadruple from 2023 levels by year-end and NAND prices will more than triple, according to TechInsights. The firm estimates Apple could pay $57 more for memory in the base iPhone 18 due this fall compared to the base iPhone 17 currently on sale -- a significant hit on a device that retails for $799.

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Vibe-coded Social Network for AI Bots Exposed Data on Thousands of Humans

Slashdot.org - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 13:01
Moltbook, a Reddit-like social network that launched last week and bills itself as a platform "built exclusively for AI agents," had a security vulnerability that exposed private messages shared between agents, the email addresses of more than 6,000 human owners, and over a million credentials, according to research published Monday by cybersecurity firm Wiz. The flaw has since been fixed after Wiz contacted Moltbook. Wiz cofounder Ami Luttwak called it a classic byproduct of "vibe coding." Moltbook creator Matt Schlicht posted on X last Friday that he "didn't write one line of code" for the site. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment when reached out by Reuters. Luttwak said the vulnerability also allowed anyone to post to the site, bot or human. "There was no verification of identity," he said.

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How we’re helping preserve the genetic information of endangered species with AIHow we’re helping preserve the genetic information of endangered species with AIGroup Product ManagerProduct Lead, Genomics

GoogleBlog - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 13:00
Scientists are working to sequence the genome of every known species on Earth.Scientists are working to sequence the genome of every known species on Earth.
Categories: Technology

Advancing AI benchmarking with Game ArenaAdvancing AI benchmarking with Game ArenaProduct Manager

GoogleBlog - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 12:00
We’re expanding Game Arena with Poker and Werewolf, while Gemini 3 Pro and Flash top our chess leaderboard.We’re expanding Game Arena with Poker and Werewolf, while Gemini 3 Pro and Flash top our chess leaderboard.
Categories: Technology

Notepad++ Compromised By State Actor

Slashdot.org - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 12:00
Luthair writes: Notepad++ claims to have been targeted by a state actor, given their previous stance on Uyghurs one can speculate about a candidate. Notepad++, in a blog post: According to the analysis provided by the security experts, the attack involved infrastructure-level compromise that allowed malicious actors to intercept and redirect update traffic destined for notepad-plus-plus.org. The exact technical mechanism remains under investigation, though the compromise occurred at the hosting provider level rather than through vulnerabilities in Notepad++ code itself. Traffic from certain targeted users was selectively redirected to attacker-controlled served malicious update manifests.

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High-Speed Internet Boom Hits Low-Tech Snag: a Labor Shortage

Slashdot.org - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:01
The U.S. laid fiber-optic cables to a record number of homes last year as billions of dollars in federal broadband grants and a surge in data-center construction fueled an enormous buildout, but the industry does not have enough workers to sustain the pace. A 2024 report by the Fiber Broadband Association and the Power & Communication Contractors Association projects 58,000 new fiber jobs between 2025 and 2032 and estimates 120,000 workers will leave the field in that period, mostly through retirement -- a combined shortage of 178,000. The gap is especially acute among splicers, who fuse hair-thin filaments by hand, and directional drill operators. Telecommunications line installers and repairers earned annual median wages of $70,500 for the year ended May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, against a $49,500 national median. Push, a utility-construction firm, raised hourly pay for fiber crews by 5% to 8% in each of the past several years and expects the pace to quicken.

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10 ways to plan your 2026 budget with Gemini10 ways to plan your 2026 budget with GeminiContributor

GoogleBlog - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:00
Learn how to use simple Gemini prompts to create a 2026 budget, find hidden savings and organize your spending.Learn how to use simple Gemini prompts to create a 2026 budget, find hidden savings and organize your spending.
Categories: Technology

Starbucks Bets on Robots To Brew a Turnaround in Customers

Slashdot.org - Mon, 02/02/2026 - 09:43
Starbucks has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into AI and automation -- testing robots that take drive-through orders, virtual assistants that help baristas recall recipes and manage schedules, and scanning tools that count inventory -- as the 55-year-old coffee chain tries to reverse several years of struggling sales. The company last week reported its first same-store sales increase in two years in the U.S., where it earns roughly 70% of its revenue. Shares still slid 5% on concerns that heavy spending, including $500 million to boost staffing, had hurt profits. CEO Brian Niccol, who joined in 2024 after engineering Chipotle's turnaround, told the BBC he is confident consistent growth will address that; the company has pledged to find $2 billion in cost savings over three years.

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