It seems like the chip war between Intel and ARM is slowly winding down, at least for the time being.Intel for decades has doggedly sworn by chips based on its homegrown x86 architecture, but the company is putting a 64-bit ARM processor in its new Stratix 10 FPGA (field-programmable gate array), which was announced on Tuesday.The FPGA -- based on Altera technology -- can be reprogrammed to do a wide variety of server or network tasks. It can also run algorithms for machine learning.In a larger context, the chip points to a long-term strategy of Intel thinking beyond x86 and warming up to other architectures as it looks to shed its reliance on PCs.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Achieving balance between work and home life is an ongoing challenge for professionals across industries, but it turns out the IT world is doing pretty well in helping to make it happen.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Pulling consumers inGoogle made a big deal about the confluence of its new hardware designs and its software – particularly AI – on Tuesday at its launch event in San Francisco. And, indeed, many of the new products that Google introduced seem designed to pull consumers further into the Google ecosystem, but there’s no denying that there were some impressive capabilities on show. Have a look.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Amazon Echo and newly announced Google Home may seem like toys today, but research firm Gartner believes these kinds of wireless speakers enabled with virtual personal assistant (VPA) technology are poised for significant growth.According to Gartner, natural language chat-bot VPA interfaces (including Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Siri and Microsoft Cortana) will power the market from just $360 million in 2015 (almost entirely dominated by the Echo) to more than $2 billion in 2020.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Driving can sometimes be a solitary affair, heading from place to place with only the road and the radio for company, but that could change with Kirobo Mini.It's a small robot developed by Toyota that's designed to act as a virtual companion, listening to and responding to chat from people in a car or just about anywhere. At 10 centimeters tall, its small size means it can easily be carried around.The technology behind it is quite simple. Audio is sent from Kirobo's microphone to a smartphone running a companion app. The phone passes the audio on to a Toyota cloud service that runs voice recognition and helps to determine the appropriate response. That is then sent back to Kirobo via the smartphone app.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
We know that Google is set to release a slew of hardware Tuesday at an event in San Francisco, including smartphones, smart home devices and even a new Wi-Fi router. Here’s what the leaks and rumors say about the specifics of the company’s big release day tomorrow.Bye, bye, NexusGoogle is set to release the already-widely-leaked Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, which will boast flagship specs and run totally stock Android. It’s the same idea as the Nexus line of phones – top-end smartphones designed to showcase the possibilities of the operating system free from the modifications that OEMs impose on their own devices.ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Tim Cook: Augmented reality will be an essential part of your daily life, like the iPhone | U.S. cellular carriers charge too much, and here’s proofTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
"Do you like movies?"That was the ice-breaker laid on me by Pilot Analytics CEO and Founder Alan Xie as he caught me spying his start-up's space at last week's HUBweek Demo Day event in Boston, trying to figure out what the heck the company did.Being on a shoestring budget, the recent Harvard University grad and his colleagues decided to forego a more elaborate booth set-up, instead relying a a couple of laptops, some basic branding in the form of cardboard cutouts and their story. This outfit has a system for crunching numbers to help movie studios better gauge how much they might make on a movie, no matter how awful it sounds. Factors such as genre, cast and geographical viewing markets all play roles, of course.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
These Amazon best-selling screen protectors from amFilm are specifically designed for iPhone 7, 6S, and 6. Ultra thin-0.3mm thickness is reliable and resiliant, and promises full compatibility with touchscreen sensitivity. Also ultra-clear with 99.9% transparency to allow an optimal, natural viewing experience. Highly durable and scratch resistant/chip resistant, this strong protector will guarantee your cell phone the best protection against drops, bumps, scratches and normal wear and tear. Over 8,200 reviewers on Amazon give this item an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars (read reviews). Amazon indicates that its list price has been dramatically reduced to just $8, and for that price you will receive 2 glass Screen Protector, wet/dry wipes, squeeze card, installation guide and dust removal stickers. See the discounted screen protectors on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There is a huge problem with the ugly Internet of Things (IoT). Many IoT thingies have the security of wet tissue paper, and they’re being used in large swarms and masses to wreak havoc.
A colleague of mine, Stephen Satchell, says misbehaving IoT devices should bear the full front of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and be recalled, every last one of them.
Recalled.
Why won’t this happen? Let me speculate.
It’s because our own government, that is to say the more covert parts of the U.S. government, has its own cadre of botnets and control vectors that allows them interesting windows into foreign lands. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Dell EMC has fixed six flaws in its management interfaces for VMAX enterprise storage systems, including three vulnerabilities that are rated critical and could lead to the exposure of sensitive files or a complete system compromise.One of the critical flaws is located in the Unisphere for VMAX enterprise storage arrays, an appliance that provides a web-based management interface to provision, manage, and monitor such systems.More specifically, the flaw is in the GraniteDS library that provides server-side support for the Flash-based portion of the Unisphere web application. According to researchers from vulnerability management firm Digital Defense, the issue allows unauthenticated attackers to retrieve arbitrary text files from the virtual appliance with root privileges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The hackers who are auctioning off cyberweapons allegedly stolen from the National Security Agency are growing annoyed and want cash.The ShadowBrokers' sale of the stolen tools has so far generated little interest, and over the weekend, the hackers complained in a message posted online, using broken English."TheShadowBrokers is not being interested in fame. TheShadowBrokers is selling to be making money," the hackers said.As of Monday, their auction only had one substantial bid at 1.5 bitcoins, or US $918. Many of the other bids were valued at less than $1. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Millions more deserted Microsoft's browsers last month, adding to what can only be described as a collapse of the company's place in the browser world.According to analytics vendor Net Applications, the combined user share of Internet Explorer and Edge fell 1.9 percentage points in September, ending the month at 30.6%.The string of losses showed no sign of letting up: September's decline was the sixth in a row of 1.9 percentage points or more. IE and Edge have shed 18 percentage points so far this year, a 39% decline in just eight months. Simply put, no other browser has bled user share this quickly, with the possible exception of Netscape Navigator in the 1990s.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple CEO Tim Cook has a hunch about the future of augmented reality, and whether it will ever become mainstream.This weekend, Cook said that it will take some time for AR to become “acceptable.” But once that happens, AR experiences will be an integral part of our daily lives, comparing the emerging technology to the iPhone and eating three meals a day.“I do think that a significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries, will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day. It will become that much a part of you,” Cook said during his panel at a tech conference in Utah. Cook then admitted that there are technical challenges preventing AR from becoming a reality.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There's a lot to like in Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile for smartphones, but it has one glaring weakness: It still is a 32-bit OS.But a transition to 64-bit for the OS was inevitable as memory capacity in smartphones goes up, Microsoft said during a presentation at the Ignite conference last week. Windows 10 Mobile lags behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android, which transitioned to 64 bits a few years ago. Many new Windows phones already have 64-bit ARM-based Qualcomm processors, but the OS still runs as 32 bit.Thirty-two bits is "not really a limitation for us since the devices are all 4GB [of RAM] or less. But that will change over the next couple of years," said Jason Whitehorn, partner software engineer manager of the Windows and Devices Group at Microsoft.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Network World started its Wider Net stories in 2003 in an effort to lighten up our news pages, acknowledging that there is a lot more to the world of enterprise networking and IT other than speeds and feeds of switches and routers and WAN links.
The story approach was modeled somewhat after the Wall Street Journal's famed and quirky front page A-Hed articles (i.e., the middle column), but tended more to networking topics, from "When animals attack…networks" to the story of networking's most famous couple, Alice and Bob of security lesson fame.
While Network World did away with its formal weekly Wider Net articles when the publication switched over to publishing twice a month, we've tried to continue mixing in lighthearted pieces through our blogs and in other places on our website and print magazine. Here are some of our favorites:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft is adding to its European cloud infrastructure, with plans to open new data centers in France next year, CEO Satya Nadella said Monday.The company has already spent US$3 billion growing its European cloud capabilities. These include data centers in the U.K. hosting Azure and Office 365 services, and in Germany hosting Azure.The French data centers will host Dynamics 365, Microsoft's new ERP and CRM offering, in addition to Azure and Office 365.The company has already won over the the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence and German auto parts manufacturer ZF to its cloud services. Ireland's Health Service Executive and the Franco-Japanese car-making partnership Renault-Nissan Alliance are also customers, it said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Elite Tactical Pro 300 Series Tactical Flashlight is constructed from heavy-duty, military grade material, and claims to be the best and brightest flashlight on the market with a powerful 1200 lumen intensity. It's built with Cree LED technology and is complete with a zoomable feature that allows you to concentrate light into specific areas, something they've indicated could be useful in situations requiring self-defense. The design is waterproof and shockproof making it ideal for rainy nights, emergency use during a flood or storm, or while camping, hunting, or hiking. Keep it in your kitchen cupboard, your car or an emergency kit. The Pro 300 comes with rechargeable batteries for extra convenience. The Elite Pro 300 averages 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon and its typical list price of $30 has been discounted 37% to $19. Tired of your flashlight breaking whenever it's run over by an airplane? Check out the discounted Elite Pro 300 on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you think your mobile phone bill is too damn high, you’re absolutely right. Like many people, I’ve always felt I was overpaying for mobile service. (Talk to IT departments at companies large and small, and many will tell you that despite significant corporate discounts, they also feel they pay too much. )And there’s no doubt we’re all paying a lot. According to a J.D. Power report, the average U.S. monthly cell phone bill was a whopping $73 in 2014. Those are the most recent averages I could find, but if you look at data plans from the big four U.S. carriers, data plans start at around $50 a month, depending on how much data you’re buying, and head straight up from there. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. government needs to be ready to use its offensive cyberweapons in response to attacks from other nations, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Monday.The U.S. has significant offensive cybercapabilities, but it has been shy about deploying them, Trump said during a speech in Herdon, Virginia. "This is the warfare of the future," he said. The U.S. should also increase its use of cyberweapons to attack terrorists, Trump said. President Barack Obama has failed to protect the nation's cybersecurity and a new focus is needed, added Trump, who has largely avoided technology issues in his campaign. Trump said he will create an international cybersecurity task force to battle hackers, and he will ask U.S. military leaders for suggestions on how to improve the nation's cyberdefenses. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I’ve long been a proponent of organizations that have an API-driven strategy. API (Application Programming Interface) is a term used to describe the technical integration points between applications, between devices and between services. It is, for want of a better analogy, the small piece of code that acts as the universal socket into which other tools, products or devices can plug. In a time where legendary venture capitalist and entrepreneur Marc Andreessen famously quipped that software is eating the world, APIs are the technology pieces that give software teeth.So, given my bullishness about the API space, I was interested to hear from Atlassian about a new concept, Service Provider Interfaces (SPIs), and how they can do more, be more and achieve more.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here