The AI fight is escalating: This is the IT giants’ next move

Artificial intelligence is where the competition is in IT, with Microsoft and Google both parading powerful, always-available AI tools for the enterprise at their respective developer conferences, Build and I/O, in May. It's not just about work: AI software can now play chess, go, and some retro video games better than any human -- and even drive a car better than many of us. These superhuman performances, albeit in narrow fields, are all possible thanks to the application of decades of AI research -- research that is increasingly, as at Build and I/O, making it out of the lab and into the real world.Meanwhile, the AI-powered voice technologies behind virtual assistants like Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, Amazon.com's Alexa and Samsung Electronics' Bixby may offer less-than-superhuman performance, but they also require vastly less power than a supercomputer to run. Businesses can dabble on the edges of these, for example developing Alexa "skills" that allow Amazon Echo owners to interact with a company without having to dial its call center, or jump right in, using the various cloud-based speech recognition and text-to-speech "-as-a-service" offerings to develop full-fledged automated call centers of their own.To read this article in full Continue reading

Use Your Networking Knowledge to Design Automation Solution

I’m getting plenty of emails from not-so-very-young networking engineers trying to make career transitions. I got this one from a CCIE in his mid-40s:

Would you think the SDN and Data Center paths would be suitable for a long standing engineer?

Absolutely. It's just networking, although it's sometimes disguised a bit.

This article was initially sent to my Network Automation mailing list.

Aporeto Scores $14.5M to Develop ‘Holy Grail of Cloud Security’

Its enterprise-grade security product will launch this summer.

BrandPost: How Close Are We To The Self-Driving WAN?

In my last few blogs I’ve talked about the journey from the Software Defined WAN to the Self-Driving WAN. Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to the WAN might seem futuristic, but it’s already happening with our Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN solution. A great example is our revolutionary First-packet iQ application classification technology which we announced at the end of March.Traditional Application ClassificationTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VMware’s End of Third-Party Virtual Switch Support: The Fallout

Cisco: Secure IoT networks, not the devices

With networking pros unable to trust the security of Internet of Things devices, Cisco says they should focus on implementing network-based security protections that limit the blast radius of IoT security breaches.This week Cisco unveiled a new package named IoT Threat Defense at the company’s IoT World Forum in London. IoT Threat Defense combines seven separate offerings, including network-segmentation rule creator TrustSec, network behavior analytics platform Stealthwatch and device-visibility offering named Cisco Identity Service Engine. +MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 8 Tips to secure IoT devices | IoT security guidance emerges +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco: Secure IoT networks, not the devices

With networking pros unable to trust the security of Internet of Things devices, Cisco says they should focus on implementing network-based security protections that limit the blast radius of IoT security breaches.This week Cisco unveiled a new package named IoT Threat Defense at the company’s IoT World Forum in London. IoT Threat Defense combines seven separate offerings, including network-segmentation rule creator TrustSec, network behavior analytics platform Stealthwatch and device-visibility offering named Cisco Identity Service Engine. +MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 8 Tips to secure IoT devices | IoT security guidance emerges +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

38% off Inateck USB 3.0 to IDE/SATA Hard Drive Adapter – Deal Alert

This USB 3.0 adapter from Inateck can interface with up to three drives simultaneously. It is compatible with 2.5"/3.5" IDE/SATA hard drives and 5.25" IDE/SATA CD/DVD drives, and features a one-touch backup function. Use it to read an old internal drive from a crashed computer, or to use an internal drive similar to an external backup drive. You might find a lot of uses for this one. The typical list price of $47.99 has been reduced on Amazon 38% right now to $29.99. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Key logger audio driver

The audio driver installed on some HP laptops includes a feature that could best be described as a keylogger, which records all the user’s keystrokes and saves the information to a local file, accessible to anyone or any third-party software or malware that knows where to look. Swiss cyber-security firm modzero discovered the keylogger on April 28 and made its findings public today. —Bleeping Computer

The post Worth Reading: Key logger audio driver appeared first on rule 11 reader.

Forget the plus-sized screen, the regular iPhone is the best fit

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

IDG Contributor Network: SD-WANs lost my voice

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

IDG Contributor Network: SD-WANs lost my voice

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

IETF RFC8159 Keyed IPv6 Tunnel

Yet another L2oL3 overlay. Because we don't have enough of them.

The post IETF RFC8159 Keyed IPv6 Tunnel appeared first on EtherealMind.

58% off RAVPower Portable Multi-Functional Power Bank with 9000mAh Built-in Apple Lightning Connector and AC Plug – Deal Alert

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

IDG Contributor Network: Do you know where your data is?

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

IDG Contributor Network: Do you know where your data is?

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

Nokia Scores Networking Deal by Settling Apple Patent Dispute

Nokia will essentially become an Apple supplier.

35% off Anker Phone Camera Lens Kit With Fisheye, 0.65x Wide Angle, 10x Macro – Deal Alert

This multi-functional camera lens kit works on most standard sized smartphones including the iPhone 7 (excluding Plus), and brings even more life to your photos with 180-degree fisheye, 0.65x wide angle and 10x macro lenses. It currently averages 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, and its list price of $20 has been reduced 35% to just $13. See the lens kit now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SDxCentral Survey: 26% of Users Will Not Consider Open Source MANO

49% of respondents will consider open-source MANO when it's more mature.

Windstream Taps SDN to Orchestrate Optical Network Services

The service launch builds on the past deal with Ciena Blue Planet.