On the course, the Approach S20’s AutoShot round analyzer tracks shots, measures distance and records shot locations for post-round analysis on Garmin Connect. View the details for each round or analyze your cumulative stats over time or by club, and view your swing data. It's never been easier to track your progress and share it with friends. You can even save swing sessions for later review. The S20 features more than 40,000 courses. When off the course, your Approach S20 features activity tracking and displays incoming call, text and other alert notifications right on your wrist. The typical list price of $199.99 has been reduced 25% on Amazon to $149.99 right now, making it a good consideration for the upcoming Father's Day holiday. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It’s my belief that we will look back at 2017 as a tipping point for the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT has certainly been something that most business and IT leaders talk about, but to date, deployments have been limited to key verticals that have been connecting things for years, although we called it machine-to-machine (M2M) before it became cool to say IoT.I’ve long felt that one could tell when a technology tipping point is happening when it no longer seems like a big deal. Remember the early days of virtualization? IT leaders had to explain why it was better to run workloads on VMs and had to prove it wouldn’t impair application performance. Today, no one thinks about these issues anymore because it’s now the norm. In the consumer world, people used to “ooh” and “ahh” when they saw an iPhone. Now, no one bats an eye, as they are pervasive.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft has been roundly beaten up for the aggressive telemetry gathering in Windows 10 (a.k.a. spying) in many quarters, including here. However, the company has proven it’s not tone deaf by working to add greater controls over privacy in its recent updates to the operating system. However, one veteran security analyst and Microsoft MVP said that even a very restricted setup of Windows 10 Enterprise Edition doesn’t go far enough to keep Windows 10 from connecting to Redmond with user data.Mark Burnett, a seven-time MVP and long-time Windows developer (along with many other bonafides), conducted an experiment with Windows 10 Enterprise Edition, the one designed for IT shops with the greatest controls over privacy. He notes that even with documentation, turning off settings can be confusing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
CIOs looking to hire good talent risk being caught in a pincer as fast rising demand runs up against falling supply. Ever more companies and functions need staff with strong tech skills, while the number of STEM graduates in developed countries is in decline. Yet perhaps the most difficult part of the challenge is competition with startups. Startups offer much of what IT employees prioritize when considering an employer – compensation, future career opportunities and ongoing development, according to data from CEB, now part of Gartner (Disclosure: I am employed by CEB, now Gartner).In addition to a competitive salary, many startups attract top talent by offering the opportunity to own a stake in the company. They give employees the opportunity to move ideas quickly from conception to commercialization and to move careers forward at a similar pace, instead of waiting several years. While most big companies talk a good game about innovation and creativity, in reality caution usually comes first. In contrast, creative and independent work is the lifeblood of many startups.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Nulaxy's car transmitter works with Bluetooth enabled devices like smartphones and tablets to wirelessly transmit audio through your car's speakers. Its display will show incoming call & music information, and also features a USB charging port. Listed as a #1 best seller on Amazon, it currently averages 4.5 stars out of 5 from over 5,400 people (read reviews). The typical list price on Nulaxy's KM18 transmitter is $36.99, but right now it's discounted 53% to just $17.49. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032. You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever – but things have gone terribly wrong. The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted. As you dig into the dark secrets of Talos I and your own past, you must survive using the tools found on the station, your wits, weapons, and mind-bending abilities. Right now you can get 33% off the listed price. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It was a busy holiday weekend, and Great Britain’s national flag carrier was forced to ground all flights out of London’s two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick—which affected the airline’s operations around the world. Oh, and the incident also affected British Airways’ call centers and online booking sites, making the situation even more frustrating for stranded passengers.Most operations have now been restored, the airline says, but more than 1,000 flights were canceled and 75,000 passengers stranded. But here’s the thing: The problems weren’t due to some evil cyber attack or ransomware assault. Nope, it was just another “global IT system failure,” reportedly British Airways’ sixth such incident in the last year alone!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Jumping in the wayback machine and going back to 2015, we all can remember that HP issued a printer firmware update that locked printers into only using HP ink cartridges. This meant that printers would sense the use of recycled cartridges or third party cartridges and would present an error and stop working.When asked, HP offered this comment:
HP is constantly improving security for its products and customers. Beginning in late 2015, HP implemented updates to the firmware related to the security chip in HP OfficeJet, OfficeJet Pro and OfficeJet Pro X printers that maintains secure communications between the cartridge and the printer. The purpose of this update is to protect HP’s innovations and intellectual property. These printers will continue to work with refilled or remanufactured cartridges with an Original HP security chip. Other cartridges may not function. In many cases this functionality was installed in the HP printer and in some cases it has been implemented as part of an update to the printer’s firmware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Just last month, Microsoft announced it planned to close its CodePlex code hosting service in favor of GitHub, which it had been using more and more frequently anyway. This week, the company announced the progress it has made in making the move and issues that cropped up along the way. Microsoft staffer Brian Harry said in a blog posting that the Windows repository is the largest Git repository in the world. Weighing in at 300GB and 3.5 million files, the Git repository catches 8,421 pull requests and 1,760 official builds a day. Overall, Microsoft has nearly 4,000 engineers working on Windows. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group is at the forefront of an IoT-based revolution in agriculture and the cutting edge of the firm’s aggressive development of technology to turn farming from an art into a science – a remarkable transformation for a company founded 180 years ago selling a self-scouring plow.The ISG, as Deere employees generally refer to it, has been around for about 15 years, and one of its first projects was to wire the company’s machines with cellular modems. According to John Deere director of technology John Teeple, the idea was what he called an “interior-focused value proposition” – the plan would have been to collect metrics from those modems in-house to study usage patterns.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft has apparently firmed up its plans for a DNA-based storage device that it expects to be commercially available within about three years.The software giant originally unveiled its research into DNA as an archival storage medium last year; it described the technology being able to store the amount of data in "a big data center compressed into a few sugar cubes. Or all the publicly accessible data on the Internet slipped into a shoebox."That is the promise of DNA storage -- once scientists are able to scale the technology and overcome a series of technical hurdles," the company said in a 2016 blog post.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group is at the forefront of an IoT-based revolution in agriculture and the cutting edge of the firm’s aggressive development of technology to turn farming from an art into a science – a remarkable transformation for a company founded 180 years ago selling a self-scouring plow.The ISG, as Deere employees generally refer to it, has been around for about 15 years, and one of its first projects was to wire the company’s machines with cellular modems. According to John Deere director of technology John Teeple, the idea was what he called an “interior-focused value proposition” – the plan would have been to collect metrics from those modems in-house to study usage patterns.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Security in multiplesImage by ShutterstockThe Internet of Things (IoT) describes an interconnected system of standalone devices, which communicate and transfer data within the existing internet infrastructure, providing greater insight and control over elements in our increasingly connected lives. With an estimated 30 billion connected devices to be deployed across the globe by 2020, the promise of a global Internet of Things is fast approaching, posing a whole new level of threats to connected organizations. To a potential attacker, a device presents an interesting target for several reasons. First, many of the devices will have an inherent value by the simple nature of their function. A connected security camera, for example, could provide valuable information about the security posture of a given location when compromised. Hackers are already using IoT devices for their malicious purposes in multiple types of attacks on networks and servers. DSL, DDoS and bot attacks in 2016 have proven that there is no shortage of opportunities that hackers are willing to exploit. Portnox explains these common misconceptions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Shortly after talking the helm as Polycom, CEO Mary McDowell discussed her strategy for the company moving forward. One of the focus areas for it is to broaden its technology partner ecosystem. The company has a great partnership with Microsoft and is the only vendor that has products that interoperate natively with Skype for Business/Office 365. As lucrative as this partnership has been to Polycom, McDowell recognizes that not everyone will be using Microsoft for their collaboration needs. + Also on Network World: Polycom brings a wide variety of video solutions to Microsoft Unified Communications +
Also, Polycom will be directing more resources into endpoint innovation. The infrastructure business at Polycom has been in decline for years because customers are choosing to leverage the power and ubiquity of the cloud. Polycom has been a technology leader since its inception, but the transition of video from being on premises to the cloud has shrunk the companies addressable market. Hence the change in strategy.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you want a thorough, everyday clean, maybe you should consider using robots. The Roomba 650 Vacuuming Robot provides a thorough clean at the push of a button. The patented, 3-Stage Cleaning System easily picks up dust, pet hair and large debris like cereal and works on all floor types, adjusting itself and re-charging itself as needed to make sure the job is done correctly every time you need it -- preset Roomba to clean when it’s convenient for you. Roomba is just 3.6 inch tall, and is specifically designed to fit under most furniture, beds and kickboards. The 650 model is a #1 best seller on Amazon, where its typical list price of $374 is reduced right now to $286.99. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Penetration testing was much like taking a battering ram to the door of the fortress. Keep pounding away and maybe find a secret backdoor to enter through. But what happens if pieces of the network are outside of the fortress? With the flurry of Internet of Things devices, is it harder to conduct a pen test with that many devices and end points?Claud Xiao, principal security researcher, Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks, said for just testing some network services on IoT devices in a black box way, the difficulty level and the steps are similar with regular pen testing. But if you're discovering vulnerabilities via analyzing firmware or via analyzing wireless communications (e.g., Bluetooth or ZigBee), that's much harder.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This 76-piece repair kit contains everything you need to work on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, stereo, or anything else that requires precision instruments. Everything from screwdrivers, to a suction cup to a plastic spudger, whatever that might be. This kit is highly rated and a #1 best seller on Amazon, where its typical list price of $69.99 has been reduced 63% to $25.99. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Right now if you buy a Dash Button, Amazon will give you one for free in honor of National Pet Week, this week. But they're still giving you the $4.99 credit after the first time you use it. So that's two Dash buttons for free, really (typically Dash buttons cost $4.99). Amazon Dash is a simple Wi-Fi connected gadget that lets you order your favorite things with just the push of a button. Keep it by your washing machine, your pet food, or in the bathroom closet. When you notice you're running low, just press the button and Amazon ships it right out. Each button gets tied to a specific product from Amazon's library of over 300 brands, in categories such as (click each category to see samples) household supplies, beverage & grocery, health & personal care, beauty products, pets, kids & baby, and more. Access this deal on Amazon. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Network traffic analysis should be used more in the fight against malware. That’s because pointers show up on the network “weeks and even months” in advance of new malicious software being uncovered, scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology explain in an article on the school’s website.The researchers, who have been studying historic network traffic patterns, say the latest malware tracking should take advantage of inherent network-supplied barometers and stop simply focusing on trying to identify malware code already on networks and machines. By analyzing already-available, suspicious network traffic created by the hackers over a period of time, administrators will be able to pounce and render malware harmless before it can perform damage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 is going to be jam-packed with all sorts of advanced technologies and compelling new features. Of course, the most obvious change will be the iPhone 8's brand new form factor. Seeing as how the iPhone form factor hasn't really changed at all since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s Plus were released in 2014, the iPhone 8 will finally provide users with a fresh new design.Hardly a secret at this point, the iPhone 8 will feature an edgeless OLED display wherein the entire front face of the device will be the display. As for the home button and the Touch ID sensor, rumor has it that Apple has figured out a way to embed these into the display itself. The end result is that the iPhone 8 will essentially look like one giant piece of glass, which, interestingly enough, has long been Jony Ive's vision of an ideal iPhone design.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here