7 cool internet of things companies to watch

Industry watcher CB Insights earlier this month showed that venture capital funding of internet of things companies is actually on the decline after years of growth. But we've still seen enough fresh funding in the months since we rounded up 10 Internet of Things companies to watch back in April, to justify doing this follow-up with 7 additional firms, most of them startups.As always, we’ve narrowed down our list -- which is not intended to be all-inclusive -- by restricting it to those vendors that have announced venture funding over the past few months and that have an enterprise focus.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

19% off Goal Zero Yeti 400 Electric Power Generator with Solar Charging – Deal Alert

Quiet, portable power for when you're off-the-grid or faced with an unexpected outage. The Goal Zero Yeti 400 Generator produces a ton of juice without the noise and fumes of traditional back-up generators. The Yeti 400 gets charged from either a wall outlet, a vehicle's 12V port, or an optional solar panel (see the "frequently bought together" section on Amazon for the solar package). Once fully charged, it can power everything from an inflatable mattress to a CPAP machine. It can recharge a laptop up to 5 times. A digital camera over 20 times. A smartphone 30 times. A head lamp over 70 times. Outputs include 1.5 amp USB, 12 volt, and 300 watts pure sine AC inverters. The Yeti 400 averages 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 350 people (read reviews). It's typical list price of $460 has been reduced a generous 19% to $375 on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

It’s time to say goodbye to Linux 4.6

If you're using a version of Linux based on the 4.6 series of the kernel, the software's lead maintainer has a message for you: It's time to upgrade.Greg Kroah-Hartman on Tuesday announced the arrival of Linux 4.6.7 and made it clear that it will be the last in the kernel's 4.6 series. Version 4.7.1 made its debut on Tuesday as well, and that's where the future lies, Kroah-Hartman said."This is the LAST 4.6.y kernel to be released," he wrote in the 4.6.7 announcement. "Please move to 4.7.1 now, you have been warned."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Death to copper cables: Intel turns to light for fast data transfers

Intel believes the days of using copper wires for data transfers, both between computers and inside of them, are numbered because optical communications are on the horizon.The chipmaker has started shipping silicon photonics modules, which use light and lasers to speed up data transfers between computers.The silicon photonics components will initially allow for optical communications between servers and data centers, stretching over long distances, said Diane Bryant, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Data Center Group.Over time, Intel will put optical communications at the chip level, Bryant said during a keynote at Intel Developer Forum on Wednesday. That means light will drive communications inside computers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Death to copper cables: Intel turns to light for fast data transfers

Intel believes the days of using copper wires for data transfers, both between computers and inside of them, are numbered because optical communications are on the horizon.The chipmaker has started shipping silicon photonics modules, which use light and lasers to speed up data transfers between computers.The silicon photonics components will initially allow for optical communications between servers and data centers, stretching over long distances, said Diane Bryant, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Data Center Group.Over time, Intel will put optical communications at the chip level, Bryant said during a keynote at Intel Developer Forum on Wednesday. That means light will drive communications inside computers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T wants big mobile players to form a 5G dream team

There are many possible ways to build what 5G is supposed to deliver, but only one standard. To avoid putting money and effort into technologies that don’t make the cut, the big mobile players want to get others on their side.AT&T is hoping to collaborate with a set of carriers and equipment vendors that’s so broad and powerful it might be unstoppable. On Wednesday, the company said it’s having preliminary discussions with an A-list lineup of players to align their efforts on defining the future standard.The names include Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei Technologies, Qualcomm Technologies, Intel, Samsung, and LG. AT&T also wants to pull in some big carriers, including China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, Telstra, and Vodafone. One name notably missing from the list on AT&T ‘s press release was archrival Verizon, which itself is running trials of potential 5G technologies.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘I’m a doofus’

Not me, at least not in this instance. The self-described doofus here is a contributor to Reddit’s section devoted to networking, who says he acquired his doofus bona fides while troubleshooting his company’s VoIP system. Mr. Doofus explains: I've been struggling with nasty packet drops occurring on VoIP calls at our data center for a few weeks now and for the life of me I couldn't find the source of the issue. I thought at first that the servers I have running our custom VoIP applications were just overloaded, but the issue would show up on just a single active call. Restarting the VoIP servers didn't help, all of the QoS markings and switch/router prioritization were spot on, the ISP was returning a clean bill of health on the circuit, etc., nothing was making sense. I made a few internal VoIP calls that stayed on the LAN which were crystal clear, and made some calls that also traverse the router to another internal subnet which were also clear, so I now knew the ISP connection was where the trouble was beginning.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘I’m a doofus’

Not me, at least not in this instance. The self-described doofus here is a contributor to Reddit’s section devoted to networking, who says he acquired his doofus bona fides while troubleshooting his company’s VoIP system. Mr. Doofus explains: I've been struggling with nasty packet drops occurring on VoIP calls at our data center for a few weeks now and for the life of me I couldn't find the source of the issue. I thought at first that the servers I have running our custom VoIP applications were just overloaded, but the issue would show up on just a single active call. Restarting the VoIP servers didn't help, all of the QoS markings and switch/router prioritization were spot on, the ISP was returning a clean bill of health on the circuit, etc., nothing was making sense. I made a few internal VoIP calls that stayed on the LAN which were crystal clear, and made some calls that also traverse the router to another internal subnet which were also clear, so I now knew the ISP connection was where the trouble was beginning.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: How the internet could increase global warming

We might have to limit the growth of the Internet of Things, according Lancaster University researchers.The reason for the frightening suggestion is that massive data-collection efforts from billions of projected-to-be-commissioned IoT sensors threaten to suck up so much power that carbon emissions will be impossible to tame and global warming will escalate, they say.A kind of “speed limit” should be introduced now, the scientists suggest. By imposing restrictions in the short term, internet traffic won’t have to be curtailed in the future—when things will be really out of hand—the experts propose in their recently published paper (PDF).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T Slams ‘Pre-Standard’ 5G Specs, Forms Group To Speed Standards

Operator is “in talks” with global operators to accelerate 3GPP Standard.

Self-Improvement Through Time Travel

There are some days I wish I could travel back in time and “fix” the time I wasted through an hour, a day, or a week working on something that really wasn’t worth my time, or just wandering through links on the Internet, looking at things I don’t really (ultimately) care about. My time management skills are, honestly, often lacking. There doesn’t seem to be a way, does there, though?

Or maybe there is. Let’s twist our brains a little and think about it this way. Tomorrow is going to be the day we wish we could travel into from the day after tomorrow to fix, right? So what if we did reverse time travel and fix tomorrow today? Sure, sounds nice, but how? The answer might seem a little trivial, but it’s only apparently trivial, rather than trivial in real life.

Once answer is the humble todo list. I know, you’ve made one of these before—in fact, you probably already have one, don’t you? And it’s never really helped, right? Well, let’s see if we can figure out how to supercharge to make it a bit more effective. To begin, we have to try to understand how a todo Continue reading

Trump’s ‘extreme’ anti-terrorism vetting may be H-1B nightmare

Donald Trump’s call for "extreme vetting" of visa applications, as well as the temporary suspension of immigration from certain countries, would raise fees and add delays for anyone seeking a visa, including H-1B visas, immigration experts said.In particular, a plan by Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, to stop issuing visas -- at least temporarily -- "from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world" may make it difficult for a significant number of people to get visas.Data assembled by Computerworld through a Freedom of Information Act request shows foreign workers come from all corners of the world, including "dangerous and volatile regions." Trump outlined his immigration enforcement plan in a speech Monday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Trump’s ‘extreme’ anti-terrorism vetting may be H-1B nightmare

Donald Trump’s call for "extreme vetting" of visa applications, as well as the temporary suspension of immigration from certain countries, would raise fees and add delays for anyone seeking a visa, including H-1B visas, immigration experts said.In particular, a plan by Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, to stop issuing visas -- at least temporarily -- "from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world" may make it difficult for a significant number of people to get visas.Data assembled by Computerworld through a Freedom of Information Act request shows foreign workers come from all corners of the world, including "dangerous and volatile regions." Trump outlined his immigration enforcement plan in a speech Monday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Free course: Responding to Cybersecurity Incidents

Let's face it, a data breach at your organization seems inevitable. And the response should be managed "in such a way as to limit damage, increase the confidence of external stakeholders, and reduce recovery time and costs," according to a Harvard Business Review article.In partnership with IDG Enterprise, training company Logical Operations Inc. presents a free online course on this timely topic, "Responding to Cybersecurity Incidents." It's a key part of the company’s full "CyberSec First Responder" certification course.In three one-hour sessions, you'll learn skills such as how to set up an incident-handling team, secure data systems at the "crime scene," assess the damage, and prepare for the forensic investigation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Free course: Responding to Cybersecurity Incidents

Let's face it, a data breach at your organization seems inevitable. And the response should be managed "in such a way as to limit damage, increase the confidence of external stakeholders, and reduce recovery time and costs," according to a Harvard Business Review article.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Apple steps up environmental efforts in China

Apple doesn’t talk about its supply chain very often, but the company does love to tout its environmental efforts. On Tuesday, Apple announced that its supplier Lens Technology has committed to using 100 percent renewable energy to manufacture glass for Apple, by the end of 2018. Lens Technology is expected to use wind power to reach this goal. Currently, it produces glass for Apple at two factories in Changsha, Human province, in southern China. By using clean wind power, the firm will avoid releasing nearly 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. “We want to show the world that you can manufacture responsibly and we’re working alongside our suppliers to help them lower their environmental impact in China,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, in a press statement. “We congratulate Lens for their bold step, and hope by sharing the lessons we’ve learned in our transition to renewable energy, our suppliers will continue to access clean power projects, moving China closer to its green manufacturing goals.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Forget range anxiety: EVs could replace 90% of today’s cars

Despite their limited driving range, electric vehicles could easily meet the needs of about nine in 10 car owners and bring about a meaningful reduction in the greenhouse-gas emissions causing global climate change, a new study found. Researchers from MIT and the Santa Fe Institute published their four year-long study in the journal Nature Energy this week. The study amassed an enormous amount of data on millions of trips made by drivers across the U.S. The data included a highly detailed set of second-by-second driving behavior based on GPS data, and another broader, more comprehensive set of national data based on travel surveys.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Forget range anxiety: EVs could replace 90% of today’s cars

Despite their limited driving range, electric vehicles could easily meet the needs of about nine in 10 car owners and bring about a meaningful reduction in the greenhouse-gas emissions causing global climate change, a new study found. Researchers from MIT and the Santa Fe Institute published their four year-long study in the journal Nature Energy this week. The study amassed an enormous amount of data on millions of trips made by drivers across the U.S. The data included a highly detailed set of second-by-second driving behavior based on GPS data, and another broader, more comprehensive set of national data based on travel surveys.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

76% off Phaiser BHS-730 Bluetooth Sweatproof Sport Earbuds, Magnetic – Deal Alert

Phaiser's BHS-730 Bluetooth Sport earbuds are both highly rated and dramatically discounted on Amazon. Averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 1,100 people (read reviews), the list price of $160 has been reduced a significant 76% to just $39.  The BHS-730 uses the highest quality hardware, as well as Bluetooth 4.1 and A2DP stereo transfer protocols to produce bigger bass, lighter-than-air treble, and perfect phone call clarity every time. Bullet-shaped Comply T-400 M memory foam tips provide total isolation from external noise. It's designed to withstand the toughest environments, and the earbuds are made from Aviation Grade Aluminum-Magnesium-Alloy which doesn't add weight. And a LiquipelTM Nano-Coating means it can be dropped into water and will live to see another day. The BHS-730's are magnetized, so they stick to each other and stay securely around your neck when you need to take them out of your ears. Along with the earbuds you get a generous 7 sets of ear tips, a 60-day "no questions asked" return policy, and a lifetime sweatproof warranty as well. See the discounted Phaiser BHS-730 now on Amazon. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New Webinar: Docker Networking Fundamentals

After the fantastic Docker 101 webinar by Matt Oswalt a few people approached me saying “that was great, but we’d need something more on Docker networking”, and during one of my frequent chats with Dinesh Dutt he mentioned that he already had the slides covering that topic.

Problem solved… and Dinesh decided to do it as a free webinar (thank you!), so all you have to do is register. Hurry up, there are only 1000 places left ;)