Google will, if the persistent rumors are true, forego releasing “Nexus” phones this year in favor of a pair of phones under the “Pixel” banner. Is this just a re-branding, or are there material differences between the two product lineages?Well, the Nexus heritage is based on affordable hardware that runs stock Android—phones that have always been aimed at developers and enthusiasts. The Pixel brand, whether it’s the Chromebook Pixel or the Pixel C Android tablet, is more aspirational. The Pixel hardware is higher-priced and higher-quality, and brings unique features to bear. Beyond that, the Pixel devices not only compete with high-end hardware from other manufacturers, but also point the way forward for those companies. They show “what can be done” if you pull out all the stops.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Jessica Janiuk didn't set out to have a career in IT. After earning a degree in communications with a minor in web development, Janiuk started working as a video producer, but quickly found that wasn't the right fit. When offered the opportunity to work on software, Janiuk jumped at the chance, found a professional calling and has thrived in the IT industry for the last few years. But as a trans-woman, Janiuk has experienced more than the usual biases women in tech are subjected to on the journey to her current position as a front-end software engineer for global data protection firm Datto.Though Silicon Valley firms and more progressive, organizations globally are employing a number of methods to increase diversity in their talent pipelines and remove biases in their recruiting and hiring processes, it's still an uphill battle for women, the LGBTQ community and other underrepresented minorities trying to break into the IT field. One way to ensure bias isn't impacting the hiring process is through blind coding challenges to screen and qualify technical talent.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco this week released new software and services for helping organizations migrate to cloud-based infrastructure, whether it be infrastructure they run themselves or resources from public cloud providers.+More on Network World: Cisco CEO: Spin-in technologies aren’t dead at Cisco+But as part of this effort Cisco is not pointing customers to one of its own public cloud platforms as it has wound down and pivoted away from its multi-year effort to develop its once-heralded Intercloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Larry Ellison continued his assault on Amazon during his second keynote address at Oracle OpenWorld on Tuesday."Amazon Web Services are simply not optimized for the Oracle Database. I'll go further than that: Amazon Web Services aren't optimized for their own databases either, as you will see," he said, while showing off a set of benchmarks that showed Oracle Database performing several times faster on Oracle's cloud than it does on Amazon's cloud. "It doesn't get better, it gets worse."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday released an overview of the federal government's automated vehicles policy, which includes a checklist for makers on various aspects of the cars they are developing, as well as guidelines to states on evolving a common framework for regulating the new technologies.“Automated vehicles have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year,” wrote Obama in an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday. “Safer, more accessible driving. Less congested, less polluted roads. That’s what harnessing technology for good can look like. But we have to get it right,” he added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Surface Pro 4 is the result of years of fine-tuning on Microsoft's part, and it's come a long way since the first iteration of the hybrid device. Now that hybrids have hit their stride in the market, other manufacturers are following suit. We've seen the release of the iPad Pro, the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S and, most recently, the Huawei Matebook -- all devices aimed at swaying business users away from traditional notebooks.Huawei is mostly known for smartphones -- not so much in the U.S., but the company has gained a significant amount of the market in other regions. The Matebook is one of Huawei's first attempts at offering a hybrid tablet aimed at business users. It's an attractive and well-made device, but how well does it compete with the Surface Pro 4?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Server virtualization software partitions a physical server into multiple, isolated virtual machines to make the most efficient use of server resources. According to the IT Central Station user community, the most important criteria to consider when choosing server virtualization software are simplicity of deployment, stability, and safe automated management. The goals? Increased IT agility and flexibility.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Gimme all your moneyImage by ThinkstockIn a world where ransomware hackers are expected to extort $1 billion in damages throughout 2016 in the US alone, businesses and individuals are being forced to be on high-alert when it comes to digital security. Carbonite’s customer support team has handled over 7,300 ransomware-related calls just since January 2015 (365/month), encountering breaches occurring through everything from Xerox scans to fake Microsoft IT representatives.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Sometimes you’re better off accepting that the phone is a goner … lest you become one yourself.A Rhode Island television station reports:
Narragansett firefighters and Environmental Police spent most of their afternoon trying to free a man who they say got himself stuck head first between two rocks on the jetty near the Camp Cronin fishing area.Firefighters say the man was here with one other person when he dropped his phone. When he bent down to pick it up he got himself stuck all the way up to his chest.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Swift is introducing a new reporting system to help banks identify fraudulent payments made over its financial transfer network -- but the reports will arrive up to a day too late to stop them.Over the last year, cybercriminals have hacked systems at a number of banks, using their credentials to issue fraudulent payment instructions over the Swift network. Swift's network wasn't comprimised, but because genuine credentials were used on authorized bank terminals, no alarms were raised until some time after the transfers were made, leaving victims struggling to recover their funds from the destination accounts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It seems the topic of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) comes ups in almost every conversation I have with IT leaders regarding their data center modernization plans.A few weeks ago at VMworld, VCE—the converged systems group of EMC, now Dell Technologies—hosted an analyst breakfast, and as expected, HCI was a significant part of the discussion. Since then, I’ve had some time to talk to businesses about HCI and to noodle on the open discussion that we (the analysts) had with the head of VCE, Chad Sakac. I believe VCE's products and the way they go to market positions the combined Dell-EMC extremely well in the HCI marketDuring the breakfast and in a pre-call with the analysts, Sakac said the products in the HCI portfolio (VxRack and VxRail) greatly exceeded internal expectations. Moving forward, I see the strong momentum continuing, with VCE eventually becoming the market leader in HCI for the following reasons: To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Assembling a smart city dream teamIncreasingly, cities are adopting smart technology to become more energy efficient, improve transportation, make neighborhoods safer, manage traffic—basically use technology and the data it generates to create better places to live, work and visit.As they do so, they’re discovering they need specialists to head the new departments that the smart technology is enabling. And many have created new C-level executives, such as chief bicycle officer, chief innovation officer, chief data officer and chief citizen officer—to name a few. What follows is a look at nine of the newest C-level positions smart cities are creating.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Health care organizations are increasingly open to the idea of using public cloud services, whether it be applications or infrastructure. But to do so requires thorough planning and vigilant execution of IT operations.+ RELATED STORY: Why this hospital is moving to Amazon’s cloud +Chris Bowen, founder and chief privacy and security officer for ClearDATA, a company that helps health care organizations use public cloud services, provides nine examples of controls that can be put in place. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Since 2012 three Texas-based health care organizations have merged to create USMD Health System. During the past four years CIO Mike Yerrid has been on a mission to centralize and consolidate IT operations. And a big part of that is moving to Amazon’s cloud.Yes, as a health care organization, USMD is subject to stringent regulations for protecting patient information, and yes it’s moving to the public cloud. USMD isn’t alone. “Health care organizations are becoming more comfortable with cloud technology,” says Lynne Dunbrack, leader of research firm IDC’s Health Insights practice.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 9 Keys to a HIPAA compliant cloud | From CSO: What to think about when moving to the cloud +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
IoT is complex, fast-growing and often intertwined with systems that govern things like water and power. That makes IoT security a critical requirement, but it’s one that’s not necessarily well understood.The Industrial Internet Consortium, a group that includes some of the biggest players in the internet of things, took action on Monday to clear the air. It rolled out the IISF (Industrial Internet Security Framework), a set of best practices to help developers and users assess risks and defend against them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft has sued a Wisconsin man for allegedly selling stolen Windows and Office activation codes, claiming in court documents that he is a repeat pirate who still owes the company $1.2 million from an earlier judgment.In a complaint filed Sept. 8, Microsoft accused Anthony Boldin, of Brookfield, Wisc., of selling software activation codes to company investigators from four different websites he maintained. Two of those websites are now shuttered -- only a message stating that the sites are no longer selling software remained Monday -- but two others continued to operate.The 25-character activation codes are a core component of Microsoft's anti-piracy technology. Although the software can be copied an unlimited number of times, the keys individually lock a license to a device or a specific user. Minus a legitimate key -- and thus, activation -- Microsoft's software retreats to a hobbled or even crippled mode.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Ransomware has reached epidemic proportions, especially among small and midsize businesses (SMBs). A 2015 Securities and Exchange Commission statement noted that SMBs are at "greater risk" of cybercrime, including ransomware, compared to larger enterprises, and they "are far more vulnerable once they are victimized."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Google took a shot at Facebook's chatbot-building services on Monday with its acquisition of API.ai, a company that helps developers build and improve conversational interfaces for their services. API.ai has more than 60,000 developers using its platform to create conversational user interfaces for apps like Slack, Facebook Messenger and Kik. Its tools make it easier for programs to parse human language and translate it into action. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The company offers a vast suite of capabilities for natural language understanding, including pre-defined knowledge packages known as Domains, which make it easier for assistants to understand a variety of common requests any additional coding.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
From starting fires, to fishing, to making a sustainable shelter, be more prepared for whatever the world throws your way with a tactical bracelet like this one from Aegis Gears. The band, adjustable between 6 and 9 inches, is made from 12 feet of Mil Spec grade type III paracord (in a king cobra weave) so it's extremely strong and reusable. It features a compass, a magnesium firestarter rod, and a serrated ultra-sharp eye knife fire striker. The bracelet averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 300 people (read reviews). Its list price of $26 has been reduced 50% to just $13. See the discounted Aegis Gears Tactical Paracord Bracelet S Series now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here