Network World Pi Day Challenge: How many digits of pi can you recite?

Happy Pi Day! Here at Network World we take the holiday seriously. In years past we have provided tips of how to celebrate the 14th day on the third month of each year. (Pi is 3.14, so 3/14 is Pi Day, if you’re not in the know).Well, this year we decided to do something a little different: The first ever Network World Pi Day Challenge. The premise is simple: Recite the most digits of Pi. Winner gets to pie the loser in the face. Multimedia editor Keith Shaw and I have been training for weeks, memorizing digits five at a time.The competition was intense, but we acted rationally and recited our digits. But who knows more?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Guest Blog: In the Inline Technologies Lab with Big Cloud Fabric

SDN Use Cases: Featured Webinar in March 2017

The featured webinar in March 2017 is the SDN Use Cases webinar describing over a dozen different real-life SDN use cases. The featured videos cover four of them: a data center fabric by Plexxi, microsegmentation (including VMware NSX), SDN-based Internet edge router built by David Barroso, and Fibbing - an OSPF-based traffic engineering developed at University of Louvain.

To view the videos, log into my.ipspace.net, select the webinar from the first page, and watch the videos marked with star.

Mirai is the hydra of IoT security: too many heads to cut off

Efforts to stop Mirai, a malware found infecting thousands of IoT devices, have become a game of whack-a-mole, with differing opinions over whether hackers or the security community are making any headway.The malicious code became publicly available in late September. Since then, it’s been blamed for enslaving IoT devices such as DVRs and internet cameras to launch massive distributed denial-of-service attacks, one of which disrupted internet access across the U.S. in October.The good news: Last month, police arrested one suspected hacker who may have been behind several Mirai-related DDoS attacks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Mirai is the hydra of IoT security: too many heads to cut off

Efforts to stop Mirai, a malware found infecting thousands of IoT devices, have become a game of whack-a-mole, with differing opinions over whether hackers or the security community are making any headway.The malicious code became publicly available in late September. Since then, it’s been blamed for enslaving IoT devices such as DVRs and internet cameras to launch massive distributed denial-of-service attacks, one of which disrupted internet access across the U.S. in October.The good news: Last month, police arrested one suspected hacker who may have been behind several Mirai-related DDoS attacks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VMware Struts its NFV Infrastructure Stuff for Telcos

The NFVI layer is the foundation for telco virtualization.

16% off AVerCapture HD 1080p Game Stream Video Capture Device – Deal Alert

AVerCapture HD is a USB capture card that can record and stream Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, WiiU or PC gameplay up to full HD 1080p with HDMI and component input. It features built in H.264 hardware encoder for ultra-low latency to perfectly synchronize gameplay and voice commentary. AVerCapture HD requires less CPU processing power and generates smaller MP4/H.264 format files in full HD 1080p, resulting in a faster processing and post-editing experience. With the TimeShift function, never miss out on the epic moment by simply click-and-drag to record retroactively. Time Shift function is available within 1 hour buffer. AVerMedia RECentral (Included) software provides intuitive settings for live streaming to YouTube, Twitch, Ustream and etc, directly from your own account. The typical list price has been reduced 16% on Amazon to $90.99. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Say goodbye to the camera bump with this smartphone concept

Engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have developed a smartphone camera module that's thin enough to be squeezed inside a smartphone, removing the need for a "camera bump" without compromising on quality.On most modern smartphones, the camera necessitates a bump on the back of the phone. That's because the focal length of the lenses and camera assembly cannot be made any thinner.The concept from Fraunhofer does things differently.It uses four image sensors rotated 90 degrees so they point out of the side of the phone. A set of tiny mirrors in front of the sensors reflects the image from the front or rear of the phone.The basic concept would have worked with a single mirror, said Jacques Duparré, a senior scientist at Fraunhofer's Microoptical Imaging Systems lab in Jena, Germany.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

With quantum computers here, developers seek uses

After decades of research, the first quantum computers are now up and running. The question now is: What do we do with them?IBM and D-Wave are trying to cash in on their expensive quantum computers by commercializing services. Both agree that quantum computers are different than PCs and can't be used to run every application.Instead, quantum systems will do things not possible on today's computers, like discovering new drugs and building molecular structures. Today's computers are good at finding answers by analyzing information within existing data sets, but quantum computers can get a wider range of answers by calculating and assuming new data sets.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New iPads and iPhone SE may hit stores next week

Citing anonymous sources from within Apple's supply chain, MacRumors reports we may see a slew of new Apple products as early as next week. The report is particularly interesting given that we previously saw rumors pointing towards a new iPad rollout sometime in March. Curiously, though, the iPad rumor mill has been unusually quiet up until now.The report reads in part: Apple is expected to announce new products later this month, most likely between Monday, March 20, and Friday, March 24, according to reputable supply chain analysts we spoke to who wish to remain anonymous. The analysts said the information is from its own sources and not based on other reports.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Technology health check: 10 early-warning signs of a failing vendor or product

It’s a fact of business life that technology vendors sometimes go out of business or sunset their products. This happens less than most customers fear, but when it does, the results can range from damaging to catastrophic. Therefore, a prudent enterprise will monitor key technologies and suppliers for potential problems.At Real Story Group, a lot of our research goes into reviewing “vendor intangibles” to help guide customer decision making early on. Over the years, we've found a failing vendor or open-source project will exhibit telltale signs. By identifying these signs, you the customer can conduct your own risk mitigation accordingly.10 warning signs a vendor is failing 1. Significant fall-off in new customers When a vendor fails to attract new customers at historically meaningful levels, it can indicate something is wrong with the offering—usually that it has fallen behind its peers with respect to intrinsic functionality or its core value proposition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

55% off Gears of War 4 for Xbox One – Deal Alert

A new saga begins for one of the most acclaimed video game franchises in history. After narrowly escaping an attack on their village, JD Fenix and his friends, Kait and Del, must rescue the ones they love and discover the source of a monstrous new enemy. In Gears of War 4 for Xbox One, enjoy two-player co-op with friends locally via split-screen or over Xbox Live. Player 2 can select either Kait or Del. Team up with four others and battle wave after wave of increasingly difficult enemies by choosing your combat class, leveling up your skills and deploying fortifications anywhere on the map. Compete online in new and favorite game types, all at 60fps on dedicated servers. A new visible ranking system means fairer matchmaking for social, competitive and professional players alike. The typical list price has been reduced significantly on Amazon to just $27.29, for now. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Top Tech Companies With Billions of Dollars Held Offshore

The list includes Cisco, HPE, and Oracle.

IDG Contributor Network: Public cloud services sneak in through IT’s back door

“I’m a back door man, I’m a back door manThe CIO don’t know, but the users understand.”Well, maybe those aren’t the exact lyrics sung by Jim Morrison (or Howlin’ Wolf). Yet much of the information technology used by enterprises is first snuck in the back door by users rather than invited in the front door by the CIO.The personal computer was a prime example of back door technology. Back in the 1980s, while the IT department ran their mainframes and minicomputers, department managers were stuck tracking budgets and forecasts with adding machines and pads of paper. But a PC with spreadsheet software made those tasks much simpler and quicker. (By the way, you can still download and run original VisiCalc. Only 27,520 bytes!) A departmental budget could absorb the cost of several thousand dollars, and getting started was simple enough. Soon PCs were showing up everywhere.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Intel’s $15B Mobileye Purchase Pushes Company’s Autonomous Car Focus

Mobileye's platform is being integrated into cars from more than 25 automakers.

Too lazy to fill out a March Madness bracket? Technology has you covered

Let’s say you can’t be bothered to fill out one of those basketball forms you’ll see floating around the office this week. You couldn’t care less but want to look like you care. Well, ESPN the website has just the feature for you: “Autofill a bracket.”Just don’t expect to win anything.Autofill comes in four different flavors, each guaranteed to produce a filled-in bracket form with one click, and each guaranteed to look nothing like the form filled out by your future office pool winner.The first option is called “chalk,” which is sports slang for picking the higher-seeded team. You don’t really need any technology to fill out a chalk bracket; just go with the higher seeded team in every single game until you’re done. You could do that with a pen, or pencil if pen seems intimidating. But we’ve already established that you’re lazy, so click chalk. (Spoiler alert: Villanova will be your winner because Villanova is the tournament’s top-seeded team.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Web Titans Have Big Influence on Data Center Networking Efforts

They all meet the requirements in processing, networking, and storage capacity.

Jonathan Davidson Joins Cisco’s Service Provider Business

He recently departed from Juniper Networks.

Sonera Selects Nuage for Enterprise SD-WAN in Europe

Nuage’s VNS is more about the endpoints than the WAN connectivity itself.

History!

The audio is a bit low on this video; it actually recorded a bit lower than this, and the process of amplifying made it poor quality. I’ve already separated the audio recorder from the camera; now I’m upgrading the mic, and playing with the settings on the recorder to make the audio better quality. I’m also playing with putting text and drawings on the side of the video, a concept I intend to use more often in the future.

So this is a bit of a play video, but with a somewhat serious topic: the importance of learning the history of network engineering. Some resources are included below.

A bit history of the Internet
Net Heads versus Bell Heads
On the History of the Shortest Path Problem
The Elements of Networking Style
Software Defined Networks has a great introductory section with a good bit of history

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