While Apple itself has yet to reveal any Black Holiday 2016 specials, its retail partners have disclosed dozens of deals on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches. Mac deals? Not so much.Apple traditionally gives retailers little leeway on iPhone, iPad and Mac promotions, even around Black Friday, but retailers do find ways around these restrictions by bundling phones with gift cards and other goodies.MORE: 50-plus eye-popping Black Friday tech deals(Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been a big help in keeping tabs on deals.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco Talent ShowCisco has acquired 193 companies over its history, and in an effort to retain as much talent from its buyouts as possible, the company has created a Founders Forum consisting of 46 entrepreneurs who started and/or led businesses Cisco has purchased. These creative minds meet quarterly to share ideas. Here is a sampling of the members, who are listed alphabetically by acquired company name.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Matt Cutler, whose startup Cisco bought three years ago, found himself moving from an outfit with eight people to one with tens of thousands. He looked forward to accessing resources beyond his reach at Collaborate.com, but was wary of being able "to get stuff done" within the larger organization.One way he’s been able to get stuff done is through Cisco’s little-known Founders Forum for the entrepreneurial leaders of companies it has acquired. Passionate about the sort of modern workstyles and design thinking (and "a lot of sticky notes") he incorporated at his startup, Cutler recently volunteered to lead a break-out ideation session in an effort to extract great ideas from his peers in the Forum. That of course could be easier said than done when dealing with a large group of intelligent, highly opinionated people.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The tech industry brims with examples of bright entrepreneurs who have struck it big by selling their startups and then hightailing it out of those larger companies once contractually eligible so that they can pursue their next venture.So what the heck is Matt Cutler still doing at Cisco three years after selling his mobile collaboration startup to the networking giant? Well, among other things, he’s teaching a bunch of his peers who have stayed at Cisco after having their own companies acquired -- as well as any Cisco lifers who will listen -- a thing or two about how to keep cranking out new ideas. Cisco
Matt Cutler, Lead Evangelist for Cisco Cloud Collaboration Technologies, has big ideas on ideation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The tech industry brims with examples of bright entrepreneurs who have struck it big by selling their startups and then hightailing it out of those larger companies once contractually eligible so that they can pursue their next venture.So what the heck is Matt Cutler still doing at Cisco three years after selling his mobile collaboration startup to the networking giant? Well, among other things, he’s teaching a bunch of his peers who have stayed at Cisco after having their own companies acquired -- as well as any Cisco lifers who will listen -- a thing or two about how to keep cranking out new ideas. Cisco
Matt Cutler, Lead Evangelist for Cisco Cloud Collaboration Technologies, has big ideas on ideation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Android EverywhereThat little green Android elf is everywhere this Black Friday 2016 shopping season to help retailers slash the price of tablets, phones and more running Google’s mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel.Here’s where to look if you want to compare Android products to those from Apple or running Windows.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With the market for smartwatches plunging this year, you'd better believe that Black Friday 2016 deals can be found on Apple Watches.Apple holds the biggest share of the market, according to IDC figures released in October, but even Apple sold far fewer of its touchscreen watches in Q3 (1.1 million vs. 3.9 million in Q3 2015).MORE: Best Black Friday 2016 deals on Apple iPhones, iPads & moreApple itself hasn't disclosed Black Friday deals yet -- it usually waits until right before Thanksgiving to do so -- but other retailers have. The company lists watches on its site ranging in price from $269 to $1,500 (Stainless steel case with Etoupe swift leather double buckle cuff).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With Instagram now claiming 300 million-plus daily active users, Google has decided the photo-sharing social network must be for real and has launched an Android account.So far the account is pretty unexciting, with a handful of marketing images depicting uses of Android (Pixel phones and tablets, Android Pay and Android Auto, etc.) for various applications, such as in cars and for payments. Also, lots of treats, such as jelly beans and lollipops, referring to the various flavors of the mobile operating.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Big dealsWhile Windows phone deals are non-surprisingly almost non-existent for Black Friday 2016, there are plenty of Microsoft Windows desktops and laptops, Surface tablets and Xbox gaming deals being touted this holiday shopping season. Come Nov. 25, and even earlier for many retailers, here are some of the best deals around.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple appetiteApple traditionally gives retailers little leeway on iPhone, iPad and Mac promotions, even around Black Friday, but retailers do find ways around these restrictions by bundling phones with gift cards and other goodies. Apple typically slips a few Black Friday deals out close to the Thanksgiving holiday. But here are deals we know about already on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and more. (Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been a big help in keeping tabs on deals.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Xbox One bundles can be had at a slew of big name retailers, from GameStop to Walmart, and what the deals lack in variety they make up for in being $50 cheaper than last year.Xbox One bundles are generally going for $250 this holiday shopping season, $50 off the regular price and $50 off the going price last holiday season. (Compare vs. 2015 Xbox Black Friday deals here.)But not all the deals are exactly alike, and if you shop around, you’ll find some are a bit better when you take into account gift cards and other goodies thrown into the packages.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Online retailers Amazon.com and Newegg are getting a jump on Black Friday 2016 with a slew of tech deals, including from Amazon some big cuts on its Echo, Kindles and tablets.Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been tracking new ads such as these closely and we've been watching them closely.MORE: 40-plus Eye-Popping Black Friday 2016 tech dealsAmazon really wants you to buy its own stuff
Amazon has already begun its Black Friday countdown and is attempting to lure shoppers via Lightning deals that can last for only a few hours, until items being offered at cut-rate prices are gone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Plenty of retailers are cutting the price of Microsoft Xbox One S 500GB bundles from $300 to $250 this Black Friday and holiday shopping season, but GameStop is offering a cool blue console on an exclusive basis. GameStop, which is closed on Thanksgiving day, but will have deals on the Xbox and dozens of other gaming items available online before Black Friday formally commences on Nov. 25.
The Toys R Us Black Friday 2016 ads have been revealed, too, and while the retailer is promoting lots of LEGOS, dolls and sports toys, it geeks out with tablets, robots and drones as well. Toys R Us stores open at 5pm on Thanksgiving day.
Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been tracking new ads such as these closely and we've been watching them closely.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I had my reservations about hitting HubSpot’s annual Inbound conference in Boston this week. Yes, it would be easy enough to swing by from our suburban Boston headquarters, but Network World caters to enterprise IT professionals, not software maker HubSpot’s sales and marketing crowd.Sure enough though, the 19,000 registered attendees at the flashy event full of funky seating arrangements and celebrity speakers (including President-elect Donald Trump, er, Alec Baldwin) were treated to a steady stream of tech talk, so I didn’t feel out of place at all. Neither did the target audience given that they are increasingly making the kinds of technology purchasing calls in this cloud-happy world of which IT staffs are well aware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Black Friday frenzySome have begun referring to this month as Black November since Black Friday sales have stretched far beyond Thanksgiving Day and Nov. 25. But who’s complaining when hundreds of dollars are being lopped off the prices of the hottest smartphones, tablets, PCs and gaming systems. Here’s a look at some of the best deals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Best Buy's Black Friday 2016 ad has been revealed, and it's chock full of electronics deals, including Apple tablets, LG and Samsung TVs, Dell PCs and more. Best Buy, which already has been streaming out deals of the day, will open its doors open at 5pm on Thursday, Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Day, but online shopping is expected to commence much earlier that day in advance of Black Friday itself on Nov. 25.Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been tracking new ads closely and we've been watching them closely.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Walmart is gearing up for Black Friday 2016 with deals featuring brand names like Apple and HP and products ranging from drones to iPhones to big HDTVs.Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been tracking new ads closely and we've been watching them closely.The retailer will open stores on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24), with online deals will start just after midnight on Thanksgiving. Sensitive to possible criticism of having people working on the holiday, Walmart points out that store associates will be served dinner and receive a 25% discount on goods.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The first real slew of Black Friday 2016 Apple product deals has been revealed courtesy of a Target ad leak, while Sears and Kmart will also lure shoppers with some cut-rate electronics prices over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Black Friday watchers such as BFads and Best Black Friday have been tracking new ads closely and we've been watching them closely...
Black Friday deals this year are getting more and more complicated as retailers stretch the shopping holiday across November. Target, for example, is offering an early access window that ends Nov. 10 for items such as Apple TV systems at 25% off, with in-store shoppers required to use the company’s Cartwheel app to score deals. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Following the massive DDoS attack that last month that targeted DNS provider Dyn and temporarily knocked Twitter, Netflix and other big names off the Internet, we were bombarded with pitches from vendors begging to offer their expert opinions on the matter while extolling the virtues of their solutions that naturally would have safeguarded organizations.Now, a couple of weeks later, Carnegie Mellon's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute too is touting research that it says shows that the tools really needed to stymie such attacks are on the way. Somehow, this seems more believable than some of the all-to-eager vendor claims, though it doesn't appear the tools will quite be ready to fly for imminent DDoS attack candidates, such as 2016 U.S. Presidential Election-related sites and Black Friday 2016 websites.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Following the massive DDoS attack that last month that targeted DNS provider Dyn and temporarily knocked Twitter, Netflix and other big names off the Internet, we were bombarded with pitches from vendors begging to offer their expert opinions on the matter while extolling the virtues of their solutions that naturally would have safeguarded organizations.Now, a couple of weeks later, Carnegie Mellon's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute too is touting research that it says shows that the tools really needed to stymie such attacks are on the way. Somehow, this seems more believable than some of the all-to-eager vendor claims, though it doesn't appear the tools will quite be ready to fly for imminent DDoS attack candidates, such as 2016 U.S. Presidential Election-related sites and Black Friday 2016 websites.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Bob Brown