Microsoft urges Windows users to stop using Internet Explorer, one computer scientist creates an exceptional deep fake detection tool, and cryptocurrency mining in Texas uses as much electricity as Huston.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Monday, May 2, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Microsoft now really, really wants people to stop using Internet Explorer. The venerable browser will officially retire on June 15 and be succeeded by Microsoft Edge. With the deadline on the horizon, Microsoft is once again urging its users, especially enterprise users, to shelf the browser. Unfortunately, for some organizations, Internet Explorer is tied to their business operations. They either have no plans to transition out of them, or doing so could be very costly. Once it retires, Internet Explorer will stop receiving support from Microsoft, potentially becoming a security liability for its users.
Source: TechRadar
One computer scientist from Singapore bested 469 other teams from around the world in a gruelling 5-month-long AI competition. The competition was held to develop the best AI model for detecting deep fakes. The one-man team, Wang Meiming, built a deep fake detection tool that had an anstounding 98.53 per cent accuracy, winning him the grand prize of $100,000. Wang was subsequently offered a $300,000 startup grant to commercialize his product, which he refused. Later, he explained that he wanted to add his creation to ByteDance’s BytePlus platform as a service to its clients.
Source: The Straits Times
Cryptocurrency mining operations in Texas could use as much electricity as every home in Huston. According to Bloomberg, The Energy Reliability Council of Texas is preparing the state’s power grid for another five to six gigawatts of extra demand due to crypto miners. According to the EROCT, the actual demand could be even higher. The council said that miners representing about 17 gigawatts worth of electricity have contacted the state about their operations. One council member said that’s about the equivalent of two and a half New York cities.
Source: Bloomberg
Amazon is no longer pay for warehouse employee’s sick leave if they catch COVID starting today. The company announced that those who test positive for covid will get up to five days of unpaid leave, which is under the CDC’s 10-day recommended quarantine length. Additionally, the company said that those waiting for a covid test result will no longer receive time off since rapid tests are widely available. Even further, the company will stop sending site-wide notifications of positive test results in its facilities.
Source: CNBC
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Tom Li.