IDG Contributor Network: The connected car gets its own app store

Apple's App Store was launched on July 10, 2008 with 552 apps. The first weekend saw 10 million downloads."Stunning," was Apple CEO Steve Jobs comment at the time, according to Macworld.Well, as we know, apps have since taken off and app stores have spread to different devices. The latest of which is the connected car's first app gallery, just announced.Dongle It comes from Automatic, a company that makes a proprietary dongle for the car that grabs data from the vehicle's On-board Diagnostics II System (OBD-II). Automatic merges that data with other sensors.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Network Break 38

Take a Network Break! Grab a coffee, a doughnut and then join us for an analysis of the latest IT news, vendor moves and new product announcements. We’ll separate the signal from the noise--or at least make some noise of our own.

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Greg Ferro

Greg Ferro is a Network Engineer/Architect, mostly focussed on Data Centre, Security Infrastructure, and recently Virtualization. He has over 20 years in IT, in wide range of employers working as a freelance consultant including Finance, Service Providers and Online Companies. He is CCIE#6920 and has a few ideas about the world, but not enough to really count.

He is a host on the Packet Pushers Podcast, blogger at EtherealMind.com and on Twitter @etherealmind and Google Plus.

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The post Network Break 38 appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Greg Ferro.

HP to Acquire ConteXtream in Carrier NFV Push

HP's NFV ambitions lead it to acquire early SDN startup ConteXtream.

HP buying SDN company for NFV

HP this week signed a definitive agreement to acquire ConteXtream, a provider of OpenDaylight-based SDNs for service providers.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.ConteXtream develops an SDN controller for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), software-based services that replace hardware-dependent Layer 4-7 functions, like load balancing and firewalls. ConteXtream’s products enable carriers to use existing standard server hardware to virtualize functions and services for subscribers, and to chain services across servers and subscribers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HP buying SDN company for NFV

HP this week signed a definitive agreement to acquire ConteXtream, a provider of OpenDaylight-based SDNs for service providers.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.ConteXtream develops an SDN controller for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), software-based services that replace hardware-dependent Layer 4-7 functions, like load balancing and firewalls. ConteXtream’s products enable carriers to use existing standard server hardware to virtualize functions and services for subscribers, and to chain services across servers and subscribers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Researchers claim to boost cell-phone battery life with radio signals

Cell phones are constantly transmitting radio signals, whose energy can also be used to boost the battery life of mobile devices.Researchers at Ohio State University have developed circuitry that converts radio signals from a handset into energy, which is then fed back to the device’s battery. The researchers say the technology can increase the battery life of mobile devices by up to 30 percent.The OSU researchers are working with startup Nikola Labs to commercialize the technology, which they say can be easily implemented in cell-phone cases, and in June will launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund its continued development.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Charter-Time Warner deal would get tough regulatory scrutiny

Charter Communications' planned acquisition of Time Warner Cable faces a regulatory review by the same federal officials who were widely blamed for nixing the recent proposed merger of Time Warner with Comcast.The $55 billion deal (plus $23 billion in debt) between TWC and Charter, announced Tuesday, led immediately to an unusual three-sentence challenge by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler that succinctly stated: "The Commission will look to see how American consumers will benefit if the deal were to be approved."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

World’s geekiest license plates

Geeky platesThe geeky license plates continue to pop up as those who are not afraid to proclaim their nerdiness on their car. Here are the latest and greatest. Send any entries you might have to [email protected]: The world's geekiest license plates To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Here’s how Android apps can track you without asking permission

Researchers in Denmark say that it’s child’s play to track your Android phone via Wi-Fi even if the Wi-Fi is nominally turned off – and even if you didn’t let an app track your location.Apps distributed via Google Play have to enumerate the precise permissions they require in order to function – something simple like a flashlight doesn’t (or shouldn’t, anyway) require anything more than access to the camera, so that it can use the flash. More complicated apps with deeper features might need more extensive permissions, including access to the phone’s location data, whether that’s obtained via GPS or Wi-Fi.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Seven best practices for cloud security | Richard Stallman: Windows OS is malware +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Italian court bans UberPop, threatens fine

A judge in Milan banned UberPop in Italy on Tuesday, ruling that the car-hailing service constitutes unfair competition for taxi drivers.Judge Claudio Marangoni said a complaint lodged by taxi drivers’ associations and trade unions was well-founded and the UberPop smartphone app linking private drivers with passengers is provoking a rapid growth in illegal taxi services.Marangoni gave San Francisco-based Uber, which controls a global business estimated to be worth around US$40 billion, 15 weeks to comply with his order or face a fine of €20,000 (US$22,000) per day.Uber had indicated it would appeal a negative ruling and seek to change Italian and European regulations that affect its operations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EMC Calls All Apps to the Cloud by Bidding $1.2B for Virtustream

Even the biggest of enterprise applications can be run from the cloud, Virtustream says.

Building a CCIE Wireless v3 Home Lab on the “Cheap”

With the new version of the CCIE Wireless lab coming in September, many people will be looking to start preparing for their lab attempts. But one look at the hardware list for the exam shows that fully replicating the lab will be out of reach for just about everyone, unless your work already has a spectacular lab. But as with most every track, you can typically practice most things on a home lab without breaking the bank if you look at alternative options.

Before I list out my recommendations for a home lab, know that it will have some significant limitations. It’s not something that you could become fully lab ready on. Also, you will have a hard time following along with the workbooks that I’ll be putting out due to the restricted number of devices and the restricted feature sets available to them. But for self-directed study, this will allow you to practice a large portion of the v3 blueprint.

Recommended Hardware

These recommendations assume that you are starting a lab from scratch and don’t have existing equipment to pull from. If you have better stuff than what I recommend, use them.

WLCs

You will probably want to use Continue reading

Sign Up Now! UBIqube Webinar on DevOps Culture in Telecoms

Register for the UBIqube and Rayno Report Webinar today. Discover why a DevOps culture has become a necessity!

Over 4 billion people still have no Internet connection

The number of people using the Internet is growing at a steady rate, but 4.2 billion out of 7.4 billion will still be offline by the end of the year.Overall, 35.3 percent of people in developing countries will use the Internet, compared to 82.2 percent in developed countries, according to data from the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). People who live in the so-called least developed countries will the worst off by far: In those nations only 9.5 percent will be connected by the end of December.This digital divide has resulted in projects such as the Facebook-led Internet.org. Earlier this month, Facebook sought to address some of the criticism directed at the project, including charges that it is a so-called walled garden, putting a limit on the types of services that are available.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Over 4 billion people still have no Internet connection

The number of people using the Internet is growing at a steady rate, but 4.2 billion out of 7.4 billion will still be offline by the end of the year.Overall, 35.3 percent of people in developing countries will use the Internet, compared to 82.2 percent in developed countries, according to data from the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). People who live in the so-called least developed countries will the worst off by far: In those nations only 9.5 percent will be connected by the end of December.This digital divide has resulted in projects such as the Facebook-led Internet.org. Earlier this month, Facebook sought to address some of the criticism directed at the project, including charges that it is a so-called walled garden, putting a limit on the types of services that are available.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EMC scoops up Virtustream for cloud management in $1.2B deal

EMC is purchasing the privately held Virtustream software provider for approximately $1.2 billion to expand its portfolio of cloud management tools.Storage systems provider EMC will use Virtustream technology to aid customers moving to cloud-based services as an alternative to running data centers in-house. Virtustream's software can be used to manage complex enterprise applications, such as SAP's S/4HANA, so they can be run effectively on hosted infrastructure services.MORE M&A: 2015 Enterprise networking & IT M&A tracker Based in Bethesda, Maryland, Virtustream will be the basis of a new business unit at EMC. Rodney Rogers, the CEO of Virtustream, will lead the new business cloud services unit and report to EMC CEO Joe Tucci.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Featured Article: Who’s Steering Your SDN Network? Regain Control

What’s required for operators to regain full control of their networks

Watch Google I/O livestream here

Google I/O 2015 kicks off Wednesday, May 28, from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, at 9 a.m. PST (Noon EST.) So it’s just about smack-dab in the center of the working week, if you’re on the East Coast. That might well mean that you’re just sitting down to lunch, so you could do a lot worse than tune in right here for a live stream of the opening keynote. What, exactly, is going to be said, we don’t know, but the kickoff is generally where Google makes the biggest, splashiest announcements of the event. These may be big surprises, so make sure you’re not facing your monitor if you have to do a spit-take.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 key criteria for defining edge data centers

The explosion of the cloud and internet-based content has created the need to move the internet's "edge," closer to where the users are. Historically, the "edge" had been limited to tier-1 cities, such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. If a user in a tier-2 city, such as St. Paul, wanted to access internet-based content, the data would actually come from the closest edge location, in this case Chicago.If the user is just doing general browsing, it's hard to notice whether you're near or far from the edge. However, for any kind of mission-critical or real-time traffic like video, cloud-based applications, or gaming, the extra latency can significantly degrade performance and increase security risks.   To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Reflections on OpenStack Summit 2015 – A Market Maturing

I just came back from the OpenStack Summit 2015 in Vancouver and have finally caught my breath, so I can share some insights from this important event. It was incredible to bear witness to the continued growth of the OpenStack community in general and this event in particular. I still remember the very early summits when this industry was in its infancy. Back then, it seemed that most of the attendees were engineers conducting design sessions. This past week was gratifying to see how many real customers and actual OpenStack users were at the show. I would even go so far as to say they constituted the majority of the attendees.

Cumulus Networks co-founder and CTO Nolan Leake talks with visitors at the Cumulus Networks booth.

OpenStack Users Love Cumulus Networks

Cumulus Networks was very much present throughout the show — in our booth, in our partners’ booths, in panel sessions and, apparently, in the minds of many of the attendees. Cumulus Linux was seen as a universal network OS underlay for a variety of architectures. In addition to the sessions featuring our co-founder and CTO Nolan Leake, it was exciting to hear Cumulus Networks mentioned in many of the sessions I Continue reading