Apple is challenging laptop users to adapt to fewer ports with the bold design of its new 12-inch MacBook, which has just one USB 3.1 port and a headphone jack. Apple laid out a similar challenge with its first MacBook Air in early 2008, which had just one USB 2.0 port to connect peripherals and a micro-DVI port to connect monitors.But the faster USB 3.1 port is significant because it will also be used to recharge the MacBook, as well as to connect to a wider variety of peripherals such as monitors, external storage drives, printers and cameras. The MacBook is one of just a few devices to carry the new USB port.USB 3.1 can technically transfer data between the host computers and peripherals at maximum speeds of up to 10Gbps (bits per second), which is two times faster than the current USB 3.0. The USB 3.1 port in the new MacBook will initially transfer data at 5Gbps, but expect that number to go up as the technology develops. There’s also excitement around the MacBook’s USB Type-C cable, which is the same on both ends so users can flip cables and not Continue reading
This past fall saw the worst Ebola outbreak ever ravage western Africa, and while medical researchers are trying to find a drug to treat or prevent the disease, the process is long and complicated. That's because you don't just snap your fingers and produce a drug with a virus like Ebola. What's needed is a massive amount of trial and error to find chemical compounds that can bind with the proteins in the virus and inhibit replication. In labs, it can take years or decades.Thanks to thousands of strangers, Ebola researchers are getting the help and computing power they need to shave off the time needed to find new drugs by a few years.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 26 crazy and scary things the TSA has found on travelers
Distributed computing is not a new concept, but as it is constituted today, it's an idea born of the Internet. Contributors download a small app that runs in the background and uses spare PC compute cycles to perform a certain process.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As more computing moves to cloud-based data centers, Hewlett-Packard is moving there, too.HP said today that it is creating a server family aimed specifically at building systems for cloud providers.This is being done as part of a joint venture with Foxconn, a partnership announced last year to create cloud-optimized servers. HP has been building servers with the Taipei-based electronics maker over the last year, but is now giving a name to its server line: Cloudline. It has also announced several server products.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hewlett-Packard is following in the footsteps of Facebook and Microsoft in embracing open hardware designs with its new low-cost Cloudline servers.Cloudline servers are no-frills cloud servers that break away from proprietary technology HP uses in its popular Proliant servers. The servers are HP’s first based on industry standard specifications defined by the Open Compute Project, which was founded by Facebook in 2012, and Open Networking Foundation, which was formed in 2011.The use of low-cost, bare-bones servers is growing among Internet service providers like Google and Facebook, which are looking for a cheap and efficient ways to upgrade hardware in data centers. Cloudline gives HP a chance to pursue that customer base, said John Gromala, senior director of hyperscale product management.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple has decided to increase hourly wages by about 25 percent and offer other perks for its contract drivers in the Bay Area, in response to demands from workers in the area for better terms.The move comes ahead of the company’s shareholder meeting on Tuesday, which civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson is attending, according to his Rainbow Push Coalition.Jackson, who has backed the demands of contract workers, is also likely to press Apple to outline its plans to employ more women, blacks and Latinos in its tech and general staff. This has been a long standing demand of the leader who has previously attended shareholder meetings of other tech companies including Hewlett-Packard.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Adobe’s Marketing Cloud has offered enterprises a tool for integrated online marketing and Web analytics for several years already, but on Tuesday the company announced numerous new extensions to the technology.Among the products unveiled at the Adobe Summit going on in Salt Lake City this week are new marketing tools designed with the Internet of Things in mind.A feature called Adobe Experience Manager Screens, for example, aims to help brands extend interactive content including images, 3D interactive models, video and more to physical locations such as retail stores, hotels and even devices like vending machines.A new IoT software development kit, meanwhile, lets brands measure and analyze consumer engagement across connected devices, while new Intelligent Location capabilities allow companies to tap GPS and iBeacon data to optimize their physical brand presence.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The US Census Bureau has designs on bringing the 2020 census online but while that might sound like a good idea, there are many challenges that need to be addressed.That’s according to the Government Accountability Office which in a report out today said that to successfully offer the Internet as public response option the Census Bureau needs to, among other things, design and develop an Internet response application, develop and acquire the IT infrastructure to support the large volume of data processing and storage.The idea is a good one. The GAO stated that the Census Bureau has determined an Internet response option offers several benefits for the 2020 census, including the added convenience for households in an increasingly Internet-enabled population to respond to the survey; better quality data, which could reduce the amount of follow-up that is needed for surveys with incomplete or inconsistent data; and less printing, postage, and processing of paper questionnaires.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
PAX East 2015! I mean, right?!For a festival set up by a couple guys who have a popular gaming-focused webcomic, PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo) sure has grown fast. Started in 2004 in Seattle, PAX is now a group of four annual festivals of nerd culture, held in Boston (PAX East), Seattle (PAX Prime), San Antonio (PAX South) and Melbourne (PAX Australia.) Here’s a look at the expo floor from PAX East 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There’s a reason Apple hasn’t changed the MacBook Air’s core design for years now: It’s basically perfect—the epitome of a thin-and-light laptop, from its luxurious, razor-thin exterior to its majestic glass trackpad. But even perfection can’t coax Apple into sitting on its heels.
On Monday, Apple revealed a new 12-inch MacBook Air, a radical revamp that shakes up the winning MBA design by dumping virtually every conventional port—Thunderbolt, the SD card slot, a power connector, everything—in favor of a pair a single USB Type-C connection and an audio jack. That, paired with numerous other advances, helped the 12-inch MacBook Air become the slimmest, lightest MacBook ever—and it's silent, too.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Intel’s Xeon server chips dominate hardware in data centers, and now they could also end up powering robots on factory floors.The new line of Xeon D chips, announced Monday, are designed primarily for servers and network appliances, but as industrial automation grows, Intel believes the chips can all add processing muscle to robots that handle complex manufacturing tasks.Simple robots that do mundane work can run on basic, low-power processors, but faster chips are being plugged into advanced robots for more sophisticated tasks.Xeon D is the first server chip from Intel based on the Broadwell architecture. It’s already being used in PC chips, but it’s graduating to servers, appliances, and now perhaps robots.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
An amateur-radio satellite called $50SAT/MO-76 marked its 15-month earth-orbiting anniversary last month.Now, you might not think that's a particularly big deal. Satellites stay up longer than that (or don't) all the time.Well, the big deal about $50SAT is that it's a self-built kit. And it's still up there—although possibly only just. Unfortunately, it is now experiencing some premature battery deteriorating caused orbit decay, says Michael Kirkart, a member of the team that built the bird.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It's spring break, and high school students are eager to put away their books, binders, pencils and... iPads?High school classrooms, teaching techniques and the very way students learn may receive a tech infusion in the near future. Already some schools across the country, most notably the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), are bringing in tablets and other technology."Technology is becoming pervasive in the classroom and playing a strategic role," says Carolyn April, senior director of industry analysis at CompTIA.CompTIA surveyed teachers, admins and students late last year and found that idea of technology in the classroom is exciting for everyone. All tallied, 58 percent of schools with 1,000 or more students use some education technology, compared to 45 percent of smaller schools.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SugarCRM has acquired software and programmers from Stitch, the developer of an iPhone app that acts as a personal assistant for sales staff, in order to boost its customer relationship management offering.Future releases of the Sugar CRM platform will be enhanced with Stitch capabilities, SugarCRM said Monday without offering any details. Following the deal, however, the Stitch app is no longer available.The growing popularity of smartphones is having an effect on all types of software, including CRM. Stitch’s technology analyzes email, calendar and customer relationship management (CRM) data and makes personalized recommendations to sales staff on how to make the most effective use of their time. The recommendations are aggregated in the mobile app or in Google’s Chrome browser with the help of a plug-in.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
During the past year VMware has released a series of network virtualization certifications for network professionals to gain expertise in software defined networking, and specifically how it integrates with existing physical networking.“Some people may get this feeling that their job is in jeopardy” because of SDN, says Chris McCain, director of training and certification for networking and security at VMware. “The message is that it’s not an us vs. them though. Virtual networking still requires networking skills, it’s just a different implementation of that skill set.”+ MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 18 Hot IT certifications +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I recently had the chance to sit down with Rob Sherwood, CTO of Big Switch Networks to get his insight on whats hot with SDN for 2015. The interview can be seen on my youtube channel, OpenNetworking.TV here, and you can also view the transcript below:
[Art Fewell] Welcome to OpenNetworking TV, this is the CatchUp. I'm your host, Art Fewell. Today we are going to be catching up with another one of the founding fathers of the SDN movement, I hope that's a fitting description, Rob Sherwood of Big Switch Networks. Rob would you mind sharing a little of your background?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Pi Day of the CenturyImage by TwitterPi Day is a big day for nerds each year. On March 14 (get it? Pi is 3.14… and March 14 is 3/14?) geeks around the world unite to celebrate. But this year is bigger. Why? Because it’s not just 3/14, it is 3/14/15, meaning five numbers of pi will be represented on this year’s Pi Day. Some are calling it the Pi Day of the century. Here are 31.4 references to pi you’ve got to check out:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Aruba 7000 Series Cloud Services ControllersKey features: Aruba’s new Cloud Services Controllers integrate WAN acceleration, firewall, web content filtering, policy-based routing and zero-touch provisioning into a single cohesive system, allowing branch offices to rightsize their networks. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Visa and MasterCard are jumping on the mobile payments bandwagon in Africa, a region where consumers are ahead of their counterparts in other parts of the world.Both financial powerhouses announced their expansion plans, which include partnerships with mobile money service providers, at Mobile World Congress this week in Barcelona.The African mobile money market is very attractive. The continent has a large population of people who do not have traditional bank accounts, especially in rural areas. It has also has experienced an explosion of mobile money services as operators and banks compete for customers.The increase in mobile money services has also been fueled by the rapid uptake of mobile phones on the continent, which for many people are their only Internet access devices.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SAP will cut over 2,200 jobs this year in activities where it sees no future, but plans to create others around cloud services and its HANA in-memory database offering, where it sees more potential.“There won’t be any impact on customers. We will ensure that we have sufficient hand-over time between colleagues who might be leaving and others taking over,” a company spokeswoman said Friday.The restructuring will affect about 3 percent of SAP’s 74,400 employees. Workers in Germany, France, the U.K. and the U.S. will be offered early retirement, or the opportunity to switch jobs and work for other divisions of the company. Staff in Europe won’t be forced to leave, but lay-offs can’t be avoided elsewhere, said the spokeswoman.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The development of self-driving cars could spur advancements in robotics and cause other ripple effects, potentially benefitting society in a variety of ways.Autonomous cars as well as robots rely on artificial intelligence, image recognition, GPS and processors, among other technologies, notes a report from consulting firm McKinsey. Some of the hardware used in self-driving cars could find its way into robots, lowering production costs and the price for consumers.Self-driving cars could also help people grow accustomed to other machines, like robots, that can complete tasks without the need for human intervention.Commonly used parts could allow auto mechanics to fix robots as well, said the report, released Thursday. Infrastructure like machine-to-machine communication networks could also be shared.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here