Sharon Gaudin

Author Archives: Sharon Gaudin

In DARPA challenge, smart machines compete to fend off cyberattacks

The first all-machine hacking competition is taking place today in Las Vegas.Seven teams, each running a high-performance computer and autonomous systems, are going head-to-head to see which one can best detect, evaluate and patch software vulnerabilities before adversaries have a chance to exploit them.It’s the first event where machines – with no human involvement – are competing in a round of "capture the flag, according to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which is sponsoring and running the event. DARPA is the research arm of the U.S. Defense Department.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 6 simple tricks for protecting your passwords The teams are vying for a prize pool of $3.75 million, with the winning team receiving $2 million, the runner-up getting $1 million and the third-place team taking home $750,000. The winner will be announced Friday morning.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Yahoo users have no need to panic

For Yahoo's stalwart users, the company's acquisition should not usher in any dramatic changes in the near future.Actually, some industry analysts say people using Yahoo Mail, its search engine or its news page now may feel more secure, and that services are unlikely to disappear from lack of funding or lack of corporate interest anytime soon.However, for a company that has become a decided B-list player after once being an Internet pioneer, changes to Yahoo may be akin to a tree falling in a forest when there's no one there to hear it.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD 9 big moments in Yahoo's troubled history +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Facebook takes a step forward with its Net-connectivity plane

Facebook is one step closer to bringing Internet connectivity to remote, underserved areas of the world. The company’s Connectivity Lab completed the first full test of Aquila, a high-altitude, solar-powered, unmanned aircraft that would beam Internet connectivity down to Earth using laser technology. The aircraft would circle an area up to 60 miles in diameter while flying at 60,000 feet. Flying for as long as three months, the energy-efficient aircraft is built to use only 5,000 watts — the same amount as three hair dryers, or a high-end microwave – when at cruising speed. “We’ve been flying a one-fifth scale version of Aquila for several months, but this was the first time we’ve flown the full-scale aircraft,” wrote Jay Parikh, Global Head of Engineering and Infrastructure at Facebook, in a blog post. “To prove out the full capacity of the design, we will push Aquila to the limits in a lengthy series of tests in the coming months and years.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

With Minnesota shooting, power of live streaming takes center stage

Live streaming, a technology that has been around for years, became white hot this week after it was used to capture the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in Minnesota.Diamond Reynolds opened her Facebook Live app and live-streamed what happened after the shooting that left her boyfriend Philando Castile dead and a country in turmoil."Live streaming is quite different ... than what we've seen before," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. "Skype and Facetime are most often used as one-to-one communication vehicles. But live-casting is different in that it gives users a one-to-many live broadcasting capability -- something that had only been available to broadcasting companies up until now."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top 10 emerging technologies from the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum has put together a list of the top 10 emerging technologies that will change our lives. The list includes nanosensors that will circulate through the human body, a battery that will be able to power an entire town and socially aware artificial intelligence that will track our finances and health.These are not far-flung visions, according to the forum. They are technologies that are on the cusp of having a meaningful impact.“Horizon scanning for emerging technologies is crucial to staying abreast of developments that can radically transform our world, enabling timely expert analysis in preparation for these disruptors,” said Bernard Meyerson, chairman of the World Economic Forum council that compiled the list of the top 10 emerging technologies in 2016. “The global community needs to come together and agree on common principles if our society is to reap the benefits and hedge the risks of these technologies," he said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech expectations for 2036: pizza delivery drones and avatar dating

In 20 years, there will be more robots than humans, people will date through their avatars and drones will deliver pizzas.That's the vision many Americans have of the future, according to a study from the Imperial College of London, which surveyed more than 2,000 Americans about how they believe technology will transform their lives.The study, was released today to mark the beginning of Technology Week in London, shows that one in four adult Americans expect there will be more robots than people by 2036. It also found that 35% expect people to date via avatars instead of in person and 69% says cashless technologies will replace paper money and coins.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Land O’Lakes maps out farming’s future with Google cloud

Farmers looking for ways to increase their crop output are using more technology and relying a little less on intuition.Farmers associated with Land O'Lakes, a dairy-focused, agricultural cooperative in Minnesota, are using online tools and apps to visualize their fields and to analyze the data in such areas as water management, seed placement and crop diseases.To do that, Land O'Lakes, known for producing the top butter brand in the U.S., has turned to Google's public cloud. The company is involved in a $3.5 million project with Google and expects to see a payback on it in two to three years.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wayfair takes augmented reality, Project Tango to the enterprise

Virtual and augmented realities aren't just for gaming.Wayfair Inc. , a Boston-based, 14-year-old e-commerce company that sells home furnishings, is working on an app based on Google's Project Tango technology that would put augmented reality, and one day virtual reality, squarely in the enterprise.If all goes as planned, customers using Wayfair's app would go beyond looking at a photo of a love seat or table, reading the measurements and wondering how the piece would look in their living room.The app would use Project Tango's mapping, computer vision, depth-sensing, 3D-motion tracking and machine-learning technology to allow customers to see – on their Android smartphone or tablet – how a piece of furniture would look in their home.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google goes after the enterprise, but at I/O, proof is MIA

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google executives say the company isn't the consumer-oriented business of its youth.Now, they say, Google is focused on the enterprise.But some users and industry analysts attending Google I/O here this week said they didn't see evidence of a business focus at the developer conference."You don't see it in the announcements. You don't really see it in the sessions," said Jorel Perez, a San Antonio-based mobile web developer who works for a Fortune 500 financial services company. "When we go to a conference, we have to say why we're going and why it will be beneficial. I would like to be able to hear something here that I could go back and say, 'Here's something that will immediately bring value across the enterprise.' That's just not going to happen."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google dives into the future with a focus on A.I.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- With much of what Google announced during the first day of its I/O developer conference focused on helping users answer questions before they even think of them, artificial intelligence is proving critical for the company's strategy. "Google is betting the farm on artificial intelligence (A.I.) and they need to because Microsoft and Facebook aren't too far behind," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "A.I. will determine the next-generation experience with all electronics. It essentially predicts what users want before they know they do. A.I. is the next big frontier, and Google has always been a pioneer in A.I."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google gets smart with Google Assistant and Google Home

Google is launching a smart personal assistant that uses artificial intelligence and search to let people not just get answers to their questions but to even control their devices.Google wants users to be able to do more than ask Google Assistant what the weather will be that day.+ Follow all the stories out of Google I/O 2016 +Google says its new assistant will make movie suggestions based on what films you've liked before. Going to the theater with your kids? Google Assistant will change its recommendations accordingly. It'll offer up moview reviews and buy your tickets for you.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google I/O: Expect A.I., virtual reality

For a conference that has been used to advance Android and Chrome, and introduce Google Glass with users parachuting from a plane, people are expecting to hear about virtual reality and artificial intelligence at this week's Google I/O conference."This year's focus will be virtual reality, no doubt," said Jeff Kagan, an independent industry analyst. "I believe Google wants to be a leader in virtual reality and, in this marketplace where there are no leaders yet, I think they will try and secure their place in the front of the line."Kagan said Google may even roll out its own early- generation virtual reality device at I/O, the company's annual developer conference, which generally draws more than 6,000 attendees.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Will companies trust their communications to A.I. chatbots?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook says chatbots will change the way businesses communicate with their customers, but will businesses want to put their user communications in the hands of artificial intelligence?"They're a powerful tool but they're also a big risk," said Brian Blau, an analyst with Gartner. "A.I. can be a very powerful technology. Businesses are going to have to understand how to harness that power. There are reasons to be worried about it. Because we're giving chatbots the power to act on our behalf, they're taking on greater importance."Blau said he expects businesses will trust chatbots eventually, but that it will be a "measured adoption" since brands are always concerned about their perception in the marketplace.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Facebook’s Zuckerberg takes shot at Donald Trump

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook, used his keynote speech at the company's annual developer conference today to take on Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.As Zuckerberg took the stage, he briefly mentioned what the audience of about 8,000 developers, analyst and press expected -- virtual reality and artificial intelligence.Then his speech quickly took a different turn and, without mentioning Trump by name, Zuckerberg took on the controversial businessman and his campaign platform.+ ALSO: Donald Trump vs. Steve Jobs: The tale of two con artists +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Facebook engages Safety Check after Brussels attacks

Facebook activated its Safety Check service Tuesday for users living near Brussels after a series of terrorist attacks killed at least 34 people and wounded 200.Two explosions – one reportedly set off by a suicide bomber -- rocked the Belgian capital’s international airport, and a third detonated at a subway station.+ MORE: Paris terrorists resorted to using burner phones, not encryption, to avoid detection +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google to bring Internet to unconnected Cuba

Google has set a deal to bring Wi-Fi and broadband connectivity to Cuba, but some are already wondering how much information and access will freely flow to the Cuban people.President Obama and his family are in Cuba this week. It's the first time a U.S. president has visited Cuba in 88 years.In an interview with ABC News anchor David Muir that aired on Monday, the president addressed the fact that only 5% of homes in Cuba have access to the Internet, one of the lowest rates in the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Biological supercomputer uses the ‘juice of life’

Using nanotechnology, proteins and a chemical that powers cells in everything from trees to people, researchers have built a biological supercomputer.The supercomputer, which is the size of a book, uses much less energy, so it runs cooler and more efficiently, according to scientists at McGill University, where the lead researchers on the project work."We've managed to create a very complex network in a very small area," said Dan Nicolau Sr., chairman of the Department of Bioengineering at McGill. "This started as a back-of-an-envelope idea, after too much rum I think, with drawings of what looked like small worms exploring mazes."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ISIS group threatens Facebook and Twitter CEOs

Frustrated by social networks' efforts to keep them at bay, the terrorist group ISIS has made direct threats against the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter.In a 25-minute video dubbed "Flames of the Supporters" and posted on the Russian-based instant messaging service Telegram, the Sons Caliphate Army displayed photos of Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey with digitally added bullet holes. Sons Caliphate Army is a purported hacking division of the Islamic State.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cops pull over Google driverless car — but not for speeding

Google's self-driving car had a run-in with the law this week.A Mountain View, Calif. motorcycle police officer pulled over a Google autonomous car for driving too slowly, and a photo of the roadside stop posted to Facebook by Zandr Milewski has gone viral. [ Get the latest tech news with Computerworld's daily newsletters. ] Google responded to the hubbub yesterday on its Self-Driving Car Project page on Google+.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Robot keeps stores stocked with Doritos

An autonomous robot was unveiled this week that can make sure that when you're hankering for Doritos, there's a bag waiting for you at the market.Simbe Robotics, based in San Francisco, announced its first product, a 30-pound robot called Tally that can move up and down a store's aisles checking inventory. The robot determines what products need restocking and send reports to workers who can add more stock. Tally also is set up to work during normal store hours, alongside employees and customers."Tally performs repetitive and laborious tasks of auditing shelves for out-of-stock items, low stock items, misplaced items, and pricing errors," the company said in a release. "Tally has the ability to audit shelves cheaper, more frequently, and significantly faster than existing processes; and with near-perfect accuracy."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

1 2 3 4