Heaven for photographers Image by ReutersFull moons are catnip for photographers under ordinary circumstances, but slap a name like supermoon on one, note that it’s the largest of the century, and the cameras will be out in full force. Here’s a selection of images provided by Reuters.New York CityImage by REUTERS/Eduardo MunozTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
We’ve reached that time of year where everyone in the security industry is pulling together predictions for what we expect to see over the next year, and/or slowly backing away from any imperfect predictions we might have put forth the year before.Last year, I offered up a number of predictions, but the one continuing to make huge waves in 2017 is around data integrity attacks. Quite simply, I expect that we’ll see more intricate, complex and undetected data integrity attacks and for two main reasons: financial gain and/or political manipulation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
F5, considered the market-share leader in application delivery control (ADC), today released new versions of its flagship BIG-IP product that make it easier to use the company’s load balancer, firewall and other application delivery services not only in data centers but in the public cloud.The maturation of BIG-IP represents a broader shift among ADC vendors to embrace public cloud. Traditionally these ADC products have been optimized for applications that are hosted on infrastructure controlled by customers. As more and more applications shift to the public infrastructure as a service cloud, vendors have evolved their products to work in those environments too.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft's continued investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology is paying dividends. The company has partnered with OpenAI, a non-profit company founded earlier this year to advance the field of machine intelligence for the benefit of humanity. As part of the deal, announced Tuesday, OpenAI will use Microsoft Azure as its primary cloud provider, an important win for Microsoft as it competes with the likes of Amazon, Google, and IBM to power the next generation of intelligent applications. OpenAI is backed by the likes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, controversial investor Peter Thiel, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Y Combinator Partner Jessica Livingston. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With the market for smartwatches plunging this year, you'd better believe that Black Friday 2016 deals can be found on Apple Watches.Apple holds the biggest share of the market, according to IDC figures released in October, but even Apple sold far fewer of its touchscreen watches in Q3 (1.1 million vs. 3.9 million in Q3 2015).MORE: Best Black Friday 2016 deals on Apple iPhones, iPads & moreApple itself hasn't disclosed Black Friday deals yet -- it usually waits until right before Thanksgiving to do so -- but other retailers have. The company lists watches on its site ranging in price from $269 to $1,500 (Stainless steel case with Etoupe swift leather double buckle cuff).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Those of us who’ve been around security technology for a while will remember the prodigious rise of network access control (NAC) around 2006. Now the ideas around NAC had been around for several years beforehand, but 2006 gave us Cisco’s network admission control (aka Cisco NAC), Microsoft’s network access protection (NAP), and then a whole bunch of venture-backed NAC startups (ConSentry, Lockdown Networks, Mirage Networks, etc.).There were lots of reasons why the industry was gaga over NAC at the time, but it really came down to two major factors:1. Broad adoption of WLANs. In 2006, wireless networking based upon 802.11 was transforming from a novelty to the preferred technology for network access. I also believe that laptop sales first overtook desktop computer sales around this same timeframe so mobility was becoming an IT staple as well. Many organizations wanted a combination of NAC and 802.1X so they could implement access policies and monitor who was accessing the network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Financial technology (fintech) products and services are picking up tremendous steam, particularly with younger, tech-savvy and affluent customers, according to the World FinTech Report 2017 (WFTR), recently released by Capgemini, LinkedIn and Efma (a global nonprofit organization composed of banks and insurance companies). But even as fintech firms reshape the financial services landscape, customers are struggling to trust them."We're seeing adoption across the globe," says Bill Sullivan, head of Global Financial Services Market Intelligence at Capgemini Financial Services. "It's not so much replacing incumbents as adding on."[ Related: How 3 fintech startups are shaking up security ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Machine learning features have the potential to transform your marketing and customer support, but they’ve been out of reach for most companies. Now both Microsoft and Salesforce are building them into their cloud CRM tools, putting AI within the grasp of most enterprises.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Along with freedom and cost savings, cloud computing brings complexity. Dividing up data and processes between private data centers and the cloud can be complicated.It’s even more true with the internet of things, which usually includes specialized remote devices and layers of gateways. On Tuesday at its Minds + Machines conference, GE Digital introduced a system for enterprises to spread out IoT tasks to be more effective.The new set of capabilities, called Predix Edge System, turns the company’s cloud-based Predix IoT platform into a distributed operating system. With it, organizations can place each of their IoT applications wherever it will run most effectively, including in sensors, controllers, gateways or the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It turns out GE Digital’s acquisition of ServiceMax on Monday and its Meridium buy in September weren't the company's only recent moves to expand its industrial IoT expertise.Two deals for small startups, completed recently and announced on Tuesday, add interesting technologies that should help the company develop new capabilities and help enterprises meet challenges in industrial IoT. Both were announced at GE Digital’s Minds + Machines conference in San Francisco and didn’t come with publicly announced price tags.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Could you captain a supertanker—a ship longer than five football fields and 16 stories tall?In addition to navigation, you would have to stay abreast of thousands of sensor readings from across the ship that monitor spills, explosions and fires. You may need some help to cope with the data overload.You'd need a captain’s console with 3D IoT visualization.Essential components of an IoT data solution
It’s difficult to process the enormous volume of data generated by IoT systems. Monitoring multiple real-time data feeds adds to the complexity. Automated data filtering helps. How can human intelligence be applied to very large, complex datasets?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Right now if you buy a WeMo Smart Plug along with an all new Echo Dot, you'll save 27% and get them both for $73 versus buying them separately for $100. Simply plug WeMo into any standard outlet, and control your appliances from anywhere in the world using your smartphone. Program on/off times for your lights, A/C or a fan. Put it in "away mode" while you're on vacation and it will randomly turn on/off throughout the day to mimic someone in the home and confuse would-be intruders. You'll think of a hundred ways to automate with this device. Pair WeMo with an all new Echo Dot and gain the power of voice control over your appliances, not to mention streaming music, weather updates, sports scores -- anything you can think of, just ask and Alexa will help via the Echo Dot. The Dot/Plug bundle will save you 27% when bought together on Amazon right now. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With Instagram now claiming 300 million-plus daily active users, Google has decided the photo-sharing social network must be for real and has launched an Android account.So far the account is pretty unexciting, with a handful of marketing images depicting uses of Android (Pixel phones and tablets, Android Pay and Android Auto, etc.) for various applications, such as in cars and for payments. Also, lots of treats, such as jelly beans and lollipops, referring to the various flavors of the mobile operating.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Government departments tend to be seen as “top shelf” IT customers. They tend to use larger providers, use more traditional delivery mechanisms and have a conservative approach towards newer ways of working. So, when Synack, a crowdsourced cybersecurity vendor, told me it secured a contract with the IRS, I was intrigued.+ Also on Network World: How the government can help businesses fight cyber attacks +
First, a little bit about what Synack does: The company is following something of an ongoing trend in the security space in that it wrangles a bunch of “ethical hackers” to essentially try and break a client's IT systems. The idea being that those hackers can ply their trade, but instead of intruding onto organizations' IT systems out of malice, they can do so as a service (and, it must be added, for a payment). Founded in 2013 by former NSA security experts Jay Kaplan, CEO, and Dr. Mark Kuhr, CTO, Synack feels very similar to HackerOne, a company now headed by Marten Mickos of MySQL fame.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco, which has promoted its smart city technologies for more than two years, today announced that 10 cities, including Paris and Copenhagen, are using its cloud-based service to connect to traffic, parking and environmental sensors in real time.Insights from the data collected from the Internet of Things sensors can help city agencies make operations more efficient, reduce costs and respond quicker to emergencies, Cisco said.Cisco is showcasing the technology at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2016 in Barcelona this week. The networking giant calls its service the Cisco Smart+Connected Digital Platform.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
China yesterday signaled that if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with campaign pledges to slap steep tariffs on goods imported into the United States, retaliation will result in shrunken iPhone sales.In an op-ed piece published Sunday in Global Times -- one of several newspapers controlled by the Communist Party -- the editorial writers warned that higher tariffs imposed by the U.S. would trigger reprisals."China will take a tit-for-tat approach then," the piece said of any tariff action by Trump after he takes office in January. "A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus. U.S. auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and U.S. soybean and maize imports will be halted."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of Silicon Valley’s most opinionated CEOs says it’s time for more companies to be vocal about important social issues.“You should have a point of view, you should be clear on what your point of view is,” Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, said on Monday at the Code Enterprise conference in San Francisco. “You have to be clear what your company stands for.”His comments come less than a week after Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election — a victory that has hit hard at the liberal core of Silicon Valley and left some of America’s most wealthy corporations asking about their role in the outcome.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 3D printing will transform these five industries
Benioff said the election has underlined that need for companies to be more vocal. Benioff himself has been leading corporate America all year in a push against several issues.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google plans to update its AdSense program policies to prevent placement of its ads on sites distributing fake news.Facebook also said Monday it had updated the policy for its Audience Network, which places ads on websites and mobile apps, to explicitly clarify that it applies to fake news.“In accordance with the Audience Network Policy, we do not integrate or display ads in apps or sites containing content that is illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news,” Facebook said in a statement. The company said its team will continue to closely vet all prospective publishers and monitor existing ones to ensure compliance.False news stories have become a sore point after the U.S. presidential elections with critics blaming internet companies like Twitter and Facebook for having had an influence on the outcome of the elections as a result of the fake content.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple is working on wearable digital glasses that would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and show content in the wearer’s field of vision, according to a news report.The iPhone maker has indicated previously its interest in augmented reality. Unlike the simulated world of virtual reality, AR supplements with images and information the user’s normal view of the world.“We are high on AR for the long run. We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call in July, talking about the need for Apple’s devices to work with other developers' products, such as the successful Pokémon Go game.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here