Like a lot of people, I found myself getting a sore neck and eyes from squinting at a smartphone screen for too long. It’s not that the iPhone 6 has a small screen relative to the market, it’s just that prolonged staring at the screen really isn’t a good idea to anyone but a chiropractor looking to boost his business. I had fiddled with the iPhone 6s Plus in the local Best Buy, and I liked what I saw. Also, it didn’t feel too cumbersome in my hand, so I decided to go for it. The iPhone 7 was out. The removal of the headphone jack was a deal-breaker for me. + Also on Network World: One-third of iPhones are the Plus model + I purchased a used iPhone 6 Plus through Glyde, which acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers of devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops. Swapping phones was easy in my situation. I am with AT&T, which uses a SIM chip. All I had to do was pop the chip out of the old phone and insert it in the new one, and I had service. I restored the app and settings backup from Continue reading
If there’s one application that brings chills to the hearts of SD-WAN implementers it’s providing a predictable real-time voice service. So let’s talk about how SD-WANs might help.The problem with voice We need to separate from the theory of voice and the reality of voice. The theory goes something like this. The Internet is fine for email and web browsing. It’s even pretty good for personal voice. But if I want to deliver a voice service, day-in-day out without a hiccup, then I run into a problem. Voice is a real-time protocol with strict tolerances around latency, loss and jitter. Exceed those tolerances and symptoms common to a poor voice service set in. Increased delays from traffic routing or lost packets disrupt voice calls. Outages and brownouts can cause calls to drop.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The RAVPower Savior 9000mAh portable charger has both a built built-in Apple Lightning Connector and a foldable two prong wall plug so you don't need to bring an extra cable to charge your Apple Device. The additional USB output is 1A & Lightning output is 2.4A - this means you can have incredible charging speeds up to 3.4A To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Modern businesses must be agile, flexible and innovative. Business leaders are always looking for the next opportunity and speed is of the essence. Whether they’re looking to scale up quickly for a new project, or seeking to harness the benefits of the latest and greatest technology, it’s often necessary to go beyond company walls and sign up with a vendor for new software or services.You may have spent considerable resources to ensure that your security is strong, but what about your third-party vendors? We’ve discussed how cybersecurity is only as strong the weakest link before, but sometimes that weak link is a partner.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When it comes to security and the iris recognition technology used in its flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, Samsung touted, “The patterns in your irises are unique to you and are virtually impossible to replicate, meaning iris authentication is one of the safest ways to keep your phone locked and the contents private.”But the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) made a mockery of Samsung’s “virtually impossible to replicate” claims, easily defeating the iris recognition system used in the new Galaxy S8 with nothing more than a camera, a printer and a contact lens.Not only can the iris authentication system be broken to unlock an S8, the same trick could allow an attacker to access the victim’s mobile wallet. Just last week, Samsung Pay tweeted a short iris scan video ad along with, “Every eye is unique. Now you can use yours to make purchases with Samsung Pay.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Steve Ballmer's latest hobby, USAfacts.org, cast a spotlight on the effectiveness of local, state and federal governments when it launched in April. Its easy-to-read dashboards allow ordinary citizens to compare government's performance of its core missions with spending at all levels.In a roundabout way, that's made the former Microsoft CEO something of an evangelist for companies like SAP, which has released a new cloud service to help public sector organizations manage their spending.USAfacts and OpenGov, a young company offering financial reporting, budgeting and publishing tools for the public sector, are stirring interest in ERP tools for government, and that's creating opportunities for SAP to get involved in the sales cycle, according to Darren Koch, SAP's chief product officer for small and medium-size businesses. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
While you won’t be forgetting the WannaCry ransomware attack, it is likely you will be hearing a lot more about the alleged NSA-linked EternalBlue exploit and DoublePulsar backdoor as it seems a wide range of bad guys have them in their toyboxes. At least one person is leveraging seven leaked NSA hacking tools for a new EternalRocks network worm.EternalBlue and DoublePulsarMalwarebytes believes WannaCry did not spread by a malicious spam email campaign, but by an scanning operation that searched for vulnerable public facing SMB ports, then used EternalBlue to get on the network and DoublePulsar to install the ransomware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Veeam Software has been busy at its VeeamON user conference in New Orleans this week. During the event, the company talked about how it supports the "always on enterprise" and how it is helping enterprises support the transition to supporting the "digital life."The company's new Veeam Availability Suite v10 is designed to, in the company's words, "provide non-stop business continuity, digital transformation agility and analytics and visibility."Veeam Availability Suite v10 Here's what the company has to say about this new version of its software:This platform protects: Physical servers and Network Attached Storage (NAS). Tier-1 applications and mission-critical workloads with NEW Veeam CDP (continuous data protection), bringing recovery SLAs of seconds using continuous replication to the private or managed cloud. Native object storage support, freeing up costly primary backup storage with policy-driven automated data management to reduce long-term retention and compliance costs. This includes broad cloud object storage support with Amazon S3, Amazon Glacier, Microsoft Azure Blob and any S3/Swift compatible storage. The company goes on to describe what's new:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
My son is a musician and he’s mentioned several times that he’d like to get an instrument called a theremin. If you haven’t encountered this instrument before, it consists of an antenna that the theraminist (yes, that is a real word) waves their hand around. The device responds with a musical tone that’s dependent on how close the theraminist’s hand is to the antenna. How does it actually work? According to Wikipedia: The theremin uses the heterodyne principle to generate an audio signal. The instrument's pitch circuitry includes two radio frequency oscillators set below 500 kHz to minimize radio interference. One oscillator operates at a fixed frequency. The frequency of the other oscillator is almost identical, and is controlled by the performer's distance from the pitch control antenna. / The performer's hand acts as the grounded plate (the performer's body being the connection to ground) of a variable capacitor in an L-C (inductance-capacitance) circuit, which is part of the oscillator and determines its frequency.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
IT service providers set up more new IT delivery centers in North America than anywhere else in the world last year, according to new research.North American locations accounted for more the one-third of new delivery sites (29 out of a total of 76) established by service providers in 2016, according to a report from IT and business sourcing consultancy and research firm Everest Group.The need to be close to U.S. customers coupled with the increased use of automation to control costs is making North America a more attractive option for service delivery, says Everest Group.[ Related: IT service providers increase investment in onshore locations ] The demand for digital transformation related technologies specifically is driving interest in certain metropolitan areas. The share of digital services being delivered in new service provider set-ups has been steadily increasing from approximately 25 percent in 2012 to 63 percent in 2016. “This percentage is expected to continue to remain high as service providers focus on expanding and broadening their digital capabilities,” says Everest Group Vice President Salil Dani.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The internet can be a scary place. Threats come in many forms, lurking in practically any corner. Worse, yesterday’s prevailing advice for staying safe online -- avoid dodgy websites, don’t traffic in stolen or illegal goods, interact only with people you know -- no longer holds. Phishing emails from supposed family members, spyware piggybacking on legitimate apps, well-known sites hijacked with malicious code -- digital safety clearly needs new rules to meet today's evolving threatscape.Considering how much of our digital lives occurs online -- communications, financial transactions, entertainment, work, education, to name a few -- adopting even a few safe browsing practices can lead to broad benefits. And this includes how we deal with email messages as well, given how popular email is as a delivery mechanism for online attacks using exploit kits and malware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
According to reports, Apple has some big plans in store for the Apple Watch. Hardly a surprise, since the company seems intent on positioning its increasingly popular wearable as a health-oriented device.Just a few months ago, word emerged that Apple has been busy hiring a slew of researchers, biomedical engineers and scientists who are working on coming up with a way for diabetics to non-invasively measure their glucose levels. Of course, the challenges Apple faces in making this a reality are immense. Indeed, many biotech companies have been trying to solve this same problem for decades, albeit unsuccessfully.Recently, word surfaced via CNBC that Apple CEO Tim Cook is already test-driving a device capable of tracking his blood sugar.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Artificial intelligence (AI) was once a topic reserved for high-level computer scientists and futurists. Today, it doesn't come with such daunting baggage.Developments in the field have made AI accessible to just about everyone. AI subfields such as machine learning and natural language processing have even become buzzwords that we now constantly hear and read about in the news. And according to estimates, by 2020, the AI market will approach $50 billion.+ Also on Network World: Why AI will both increase efficiency and create jobs + Writing about the expanding AI market, California-based entrepreneur Gurbaksh Chahal says AI will eventually reach every industry, including real-time bidding, biometrics, marketing and speech recognition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Linksys DPC3008 Cable Modem delivers high-speed broadband connectivity to your home and office with download speeds up to 340 Mbps and upload speeds up to 120 Mbps. The Gigabit Ethernet port provides high-speed network performance, while DOCSIS 3.0 support ensures you can connect directly to your existing cable broadband service. Comcast-certified, the DPC3008's simple setup allows you to get connected quickly and easily. It also allows you to stop paying monthly modem-rental fees. If you have broadband internet from Comcast or similar providers, you're probably paying a monthly fee to rent the cable modem, so do the math and you may find this one pays for itself in short time. The Linksys modem typically lists for $42.92, but with this deal you get it for 53% off, or just $19.99. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A thinner, sleeker design. A bigger, sharper display. The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat is more beautiful than ever. With Farsight, it lights up when it sees you coming and shows you the time or temperature from across the room. And the Nest Thermostat is proven to save energy. Independent studies have proven that the Nest Learning Thermostat saved an average of 10-12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills. That means that in two years, it can pay for itself. Or maybe a bit less, since its currently discounted 6% off its typical list price. See the Nest Thermostat deal on Amazon now, while you can.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When it comes to WAN architecture, there has been a debate that has raged on for decades. Hub-and-spoke or fully distributed mesh, which is better?Hub-and-spoke networks are certainly simpler to design and manage, but the downside is that all branch traffic needs to be backhauled through a central location. Consider a U.S.-based company with a branch office in Japan where a user is trying to access a local website. The traffic would need to go from the branch, back to the United States, back to Japan, and then back to the United States, only to be sent off to Japan yet again. This clearly represents an enormous waste of bandwidth and resource, not to mention impaired user productivity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Business Continuity Awareness Week 2017 is here, and hopefully it will present a fresh opportunity to review some of the cloud’s limitations in this area.Some 60 percent of all enterprise IT workloads will be run in some form of public or private cloud by as soon as next year, according to 451 Research’s latest estimate. It projects particularly strong growth in critical categories, including data analytics and core business applications. Findings from IDC, Gartner and Forrester present broadly the same picture—that the cloud is rapidly becoming central rather than peripheral to general IT provision.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It seems that every tech company CEO today is talking about digital transformation in some way. If it’s not in the company tagline, it’s top of mind and top of deck in every sales presentation.The reason is simple: Every client CEO is thinking about digital transformation too—and buying anything they believe will help them stave off the threat of digital disruption.+ Also on Network World: The pathway to digital transformation runs through IT + For the vast majority of these technology CEOs, however, the use of the term digital transformation is opportunistic at best. Most are attempting to shove their square legacy technology into the round hole of "digital." Dig a little bit beneath the surface, however, and the truth is laid bare.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I'm a Linux user. And, as the old adage goes, "I don't do Windows." This is not an article about how Linux is superior to Windows. Truth be told, I don't begrudge any person's choice of computing environment—be it Windows, Mac, BSD, Amiga. What each person uses is truly up to them. Me? I use open source. I use free software. I use Linux. So, what then, do I make of Microsoft's Windows Subsystem for Linux aka WSL? For those unfamiliar, the WSL is basically a compatibility layer within Windows 10 that allows you to run Linux binaries. The end result is that you can run a full Linux shell, complete with Linux terminal applications, on a Windows PC.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SAP wants to speed up how analytics adapt to change. It's doing that by embedding SAP Predictive Analytics' machine learning capabilities in S/4Hana."When you take something rules-based, you are not able to adapt predictions to new data," said Mike Flannagan, SAP's senior vice president for analytics, ahead of the company's Sapphire Now customer conference in Orlando."The power of machine learning is you are able to continually update the model. Your model is running against all the data it has seen so far."But there's another stumbling block to that: the computing power required for machine learning systems. "Most business apps aren't robust enough to handle the machine learning computation," said Flannagan. S4/Hana, on the other hand, is fast enough to embed machine-learning prediction in a core ERP system, something that was previously only possible with rules-based prediction, he said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here