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Communities on both sides of the Atlantic push back against rapid build-outs

Frenzied demand for AI development is driving a wave of datacenter construction, but new projects are facing growing public opposition over concerns about their impact on local communities and the environment.…

Google's data partner HouseCanary has begun displaying home listings directly in search results in select markets, sending Zillow's shares tumbling more than 8% yesterday as investors weighed whether the search giant might eventually cut into the portal business that Zillow dominates. The experiment places property details, prices, images and a "Request a tour" button at the top of mobile search results. HouseCanary, a full-service brokerage licensed in all 50 states and Washington D.C., said it contacted every MLS in the test regions before launching. Analysts are largely downplaying immediate concerns. Goldman Sachs noted that most of Zillow's traffic comes directly through its apps and websites rather than Google searches, though the firm views the development as a long-term risk. Piper Sandler called the fears "overblown," and Wells Fargo suggested portals like Zillow would likely end up bidding for ad units on Google rather than losing traffic outright.

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Rising DRAM and NAND prices are squeezing handset makers and threatening a fragile market recovery

AI-nflation The smartphone industry's brief bounce back now looks set to run straight into a wall, with analysts warning that rising memory costs are about to test buyers' patience.…

Anthony Enzor-DeMeo picked to replace interim boss Laura Chambers

Mozilla Corporation on Tuesday said it has appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Laura Chambers, who served as interim CEO for the past two years.…

But when will Chipzilla bring back will.i.am?

Intel has hired a veteran Republican operator as its head of government affairs, just months after Uncle Sam became the struggling chip vendor's biggest shareholder.…

An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: Audio streaming platform SoundCloud has confirmed that outages and VPN connection issues over the past few days were caused by a security breach in which threat actors stole a database containing user information. The disclosure follows widespread reports over the past four days from users who were unable to access SoundCloud when connecting via VPN, with attempts resulting in the site displaying 403 "forbidden" errors. In a statement shared with BleepingComputer, SoundCloud said it recently detected unauthorized activity involving an ancillary service dashboard and activated its incident response procedures. SoundCloud acknowledged that a threat actor accessed some of its data but said the exposure was limited in scope. [...] BleepingComputer has learned that the breach affects 20% of SoundCloud's users, which, based on publicly reported user figures, could impact roughly 28 million accounts. The company said it is confident that all unauthorized access to SoundCloud systems has been blocked and that there is no ongoing risk to the platform. "We understand that a purported threat actor group accessed certain limited data that we hold," SoundCloud told BleepingComputer. "We have completed an investigation into the data that was impacted, and no sensitive data (such as financial or password data) has been accessed. The data involved consisted only of email addresses and information already visible on public SoundCloud profiles."

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Adult site, streaming platform, and Japanese retailer expose user info, but not credentials

Three very different companies have now confirmed data breaches affecting millions of users – each insisting the damage stopped well short of passwords and payment details.…

New spy boss says officers must master code alongside tradecraft as agency navigates 'space between peace and war'

MI6's new chief Blaise Metreweli outlined her vision for technology-augmented intelligence gathering in her first public speech on 15 December, warning that the UK operates "in a space between peace and war."…

Massive procurement deal for laptops and software comes after minister vows to squeeze better value from big vendors

The UK government plans to tender a commercial framework for end-user hardware and software worth up to £24 billion ($32.18 billion) including tax - double the £12 billion maximum announced six months ago.…

Theologians give scriptural OK to online faith communities

The Bishop of Hong Kong said last week that AI was definitely not a gift from the devil at a meeting of his peers across Asia that called for sensible engagement with the technology.…

PayPal has applied to become a US bank by forming a Utah-chartered industrial loan company, signaling a push to deepen its financial services "as companies rush to capitalize on a friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration," reports Reuters. From the report: If approved, the move will help PayPal to strengthen its lending offerings to small businesses in the U.S. as well as reduce its reliance on third parties. "Securing capital remains a significant hurdle for small businesses striving to grow and scale," said PayPal CEO Alex Chriss. "Establishing PayPal Bank will strengthen our business and improve our efficiency, enabling us to better support small business growth and economic opportunities across the U.S." PayPal also plans to offer interest-bearing savings accounts to customers. The company has provided over $30 billion in loans and capital since 2013, it said. [...] PayPal has selected Mara McNeill to serve as PayPal Bank's president. She comes with over two decades of experience in banking and commercial lending, and has previously served as the CEO of Toyota Financial Savings Bank.

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Watchdog reviews if failures breached availability rules after downtime left millions unable to make calls

Ofcom has opened formal investigations into BT and Three after mobile outages this summer left Britons unable to make calls – including to emergency services.…