IDG Contributor Network: Why banks should stay well clear of blockchain

If the financial services industry is banking on blockchain as the basis for new service innovation, it will be sorely disappointed. Blockchain's design principles are completely at odds with those of the industry, and the technology is fraught with flaws that could be catastrophic for financial institutions.I’ll come on to why in a moment. Clearly, there is a lot of hype and momentum around blockchain. WANdisco sees this first hand: We’re increasingly being approached by banks that think this is the kind of thing we do (it isn’t). And why are they interested? Because senior directors and investors have heard the buzz and concluded that this is something they need—that if they don’t seize the opportunity, they’ll miss out. They’re wrong. Banks need blockchain like a hole in the head.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cybersecurity skills shortage threatens the mid-market

Each year, respondents ESG's annual global survey of IT and cybersecurity professionals are asked to identify the area where their organizations have a problematic shortage of skills. For the sixth year in a row, cybersecurity skills topped the list—this year, 45% of the 641 respondents said their organization has a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills. Now, the cybersecurity skill shortage isn’t picky; it impacts all organizations across industries, organizational size, geography, etc. Nevertheless, global cybersecurity may be especially problematic for organizations in the mid-market, from 100 to 999 employees.Keep in mind that the skills shortage isn’t limited to headcount. Rather, it also includes skills deficiencies—situations where security staff members don’t have the right skills to address the dynamic and sophisticated threat landscape. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cybersecurity skills shortage threatens the mid-market

Each year, respondents ESG's annual global survey of IT and cybersecurity professionals are asked to identify the area where their organizations have a problematic shortage of skills. For the sixth year in a row, cybersecurity skills topped the list—this year, 45% of the 641 respondents said their organization has a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills. Now, the cybersecurity skill shortage isn’t picky; it impacts all organizations across industries, organizational size, geography, etc. Nevertheless, global cybersecurity may be especially problematic for organizations in the mid-market, from 100 to 999 employees.Keep in mind that the skills shortage isn’t limited to headcount. Rather, it also includes skills deficiencies—situations where security staff members don’t have the right skills to address the dynamic and sophisticated threat landscape. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Steam Link Is 18% Off – Mirror Your Gaming Setup to TV at 1080p – Deal Alert

The Steam Link allows existing Steam gamers to expand the range of their current gaming set up via their home network. Just connect your Steam PC or Steam Machine to your home network, plug into a TV, and stream your games to the Link at 1080p. Video and audio data is sent from your computer to the Steam Link, while your controller input is sent back in real time. Virtually every game that your computer runs can be played on your TV. Steam Controller, Xbox One USB wired, Xbox 360 USB wired, Xbox 360 wireless, PS4, PS3 wired and Wii-U Pro controllers are compatible, as are many third-party Xbox controllers. Steam Link's typical price is $50, but right now you can get it on Amazon for just $41. See the significantly discounted Steam Link on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The AMD Effect might be back—and that’s a good thing

In the early part of this century, Intel had become fat, dumb and lazy, not to mention complacent. Competitors such as AMD, Cyrix and VIA had been vanquished, and Intel stood alone on the x86 market. Its product offerings were a confusing mess of code names and features that confused even a propellerhead like me. Then AMD made its move. It introduced the Athlon, a dual-core, 64-bit x86 processor with the memory controller on the CPU. Intel pooh-poohed all of this. It had a 64-bit strategy called Itanium. No one needed 64 bits anyway.+ Also on Network World: Ryzen CPUs explained: Everything you need to know about AMD's disruptive multicore chips + Intel would eat its words. Once Microsoft and the Linux community introduced 64-bit versions of their operating systems, Athlon and its server equivalent Opteron would take off like a shot. Not because of performance, but because they shattered the 4GB memory limit of 32-bit processors. Now you could have servers with 8GB, 16GB or more, if you could afford it, and the age of server consolidation and virtualization had begun.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Home Lab Cooling Option

How many of us have a home network rack in a closet someplace and leave the door open (or just …

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The post Home Lab Cooling Option appeared first on Fryguy's Blog.

4G vs LTE: What’s the difference?

4G, LTE, LTE-A, carrier aggregation. It's all tech nonsense if you don't understand what the jargon means. Here we explain the differences between 4G and LTE so you're better equipped to choose not only the best phone, but also the best tariff.These days, there are a lot of decisions to make when getting a new phone. Along with deciding which handset is best for you, you might also have to choose a new tariff, and that's a complex business in itself.4G is the big buzzword you'll hear or see, but what exactly is 4G? Is it the same as LTE? In a word, no, but phone manufacturers and mobile operators love to use them interchangeably, and further muddy the waters with dumbed-down marketing materials.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Linux, PCs and Trump’s ‘Buy American’ problem

Some PCs are assembled in the U.S., but not many. This includes those from Lenovo, the China-based firm that runs a factory in North Carolina. Apple operates a Mac Pro assembly plant in Austin, but makes many of its other products overseas.Lenovo and Apple may have an edge in selling PCs to the U.S., under President Donald Trump's recently signed "Hire American, Buy American" executive order signed this week, say analysts.All PCs are made with components sourced globally, but vendors that assemble products in the U.S. may gain preference. Trump's executive order doesn't spell out how "buying American" will work for IT suppliers -- if it happens at all.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What’s in the fine print of your disaster recovery vendor agreement?

Sign on the bottom lineImage by ThinkstockDisaster-recovery solutions require several complex, moving parts coordinated between your production site and the recovery site. Service-level agreements are ultimately the most accurate way to determine where responsibility is held for disaster-recovery process and execution. It’s important to have SLA documentation around these critical aspects of recovery so that customers have commitments from their vendor. It’s also important that a service provider’s agreements contain service-credit backed SLAs for additional accountability. When considering DRaaS vendors, ask your potential partner how far they are willing to go in protecting your business and your data, and if these promises will be reimbursable if not met. Bluelock's Brandon Jeffress reviews what is essential to be in an ironclad SLA.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What’s in the fine print of your disaster recovery vendor agreement?

Sign on the bottom lineImage by ThinkstockDisaster-recovery solutions require several complex, moving parts coordinated between your production site and the recovery site. Service-level agreements are ultimately the most accurate way to determine where responsibility is held for disaster-recovery process and execution. It’s important to have SLA documentation around these critical aspects of recovery so that customers have commitments from their vendor. It’s also important that a service provider’s agreements contain service-credit backed SLAs for additional accountability. When considering DRaaS vendors, ask your potential partner how far they are willing to go in protecting your business and your data, and if these promises will be reimbursable if not met. Bluelock's Brandon Jeffress reviews what is essential to be in an ironclad SLA.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Accelerating SDN Deployment

Apple’s Mac Pro gets crushed on features by new HP Zbook laptops

Apple's Mac Pro has been ignored for so long that even Windows 10 mobile workstations are catching up on features and performance.Take HP's latest Zbook laptop workstations , which were announced on Friday. These heavy built laptops -- which is why they are called mobile workstations -- have comparable memory and storage capacity technology to the Mac Pro, but excel in other areas.The laptops feature Thunderbolt 3 ports, DDR4 memory, Intel's latest Kaby Lake-based Core and Xeon processors, and the latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD.By comparison the Mac Pro has Thunderbolt 2 ports, an old AMD GPU, DDR3 memory and Intel Xeon processors based on the Ivy Bridge architecture, which were released in 2013.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Significant Milestone in Our Five-Year SmartZone Journey

By: Yogesh Ranade, Principal Director of Product Management We’re proud and excited to announce that SmartZone 3.5 Operating System (OS) is now available for our customers and partners. This latest release powers the industry’s highest-capacity controller portfolio, including our new SmartZone 300 (SZ300) high-scale control and management appliance. Check out our support site, and download the latest OS... Read more →

Video: Routing on Hosts Deep Dive

Wondering how exactly routing on hosts works? Dinesh Dutt explained the details in this 10-minute video during the Leaf-and-Spine Fabric Designs webinar.

CRTC Decision Creates a Canadian Framework for Net Neutrality

A Road to Open Networking:  Focused Deliverables, Measurable ROI, Same Sheet of Music

Every day at Pica8 we are supporting a global customer base involved in creative, leading–edge applications using the PicOS NOS on white box switches.  We develop the software to meet the latest challenges of complex protocol sets, high performance switching requirements and operational demands.

We often face the RFI/RFQ that appears to be boilerplate for incumbent switching solutions – the protocol set is classic legacy L2/L3, and is comprehensive.  Customers may have working solutions, but they wonder if they can achieve better ROI with “white box” and independent Network Operating System software.  It can be difficult – DevOps and network programmability call for organizational transformation, and a problem-free rollout may be elusive.

Here’s a project example that elucidates the gradual approach that gets people involved and engaged. After describing a sequence of steps, I’ll highlight the transformation that has been achieved.  And YES, CLI is not dead.

Steps to Deployment

–          Team responds to an RFI for access and data center network switches
–          Customer provides an RFI response, and Pica8 receives customer-defined Proof of Concept requirements
–          Participate in PoC onsite lab testing, get the scorecard – 2 months
–          Roll up sleeves and deliver Continue reading

Fake heads and robot probes: testing smartphones prior to launch

On the shelves of a laboratory near San Francisco sit tanks and tanks of mysterious-looking liquids. Labels identify some as simulations of human heads, while others relate to muscles.It sounds like the ghoulish headquarters of a mad scientist, but it isn't. It's the Silicon Valley offices of UL, a product testing organization previously known as Underwriters Laboratory, and these liquids play an important part in smartphone safety.You might not know UL, but you can probably find its logo on a number of products around your home. Martyn Williams Two UL logos are seen on a computer power supply. The company tests products to ensure they meet safety requirements.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Fake heads and robot probes: testing smartphones prior to launch

On the shelves of a laboratory near San Francisco sit tanks and tanks of mysterious-looking liquids. Labels identify some as simulations of human heads, while others relate to muscles.It sounds like the ghoulish headquarters of a mad scientist, but it isn't. It's the Silicon Valley offices of UL, a product testing organization previously known as Underwriters Laboratory, and these liquids play an important part in smartphone safety.You might not know UL, but you can probably find its logo on a number of products around your home. Martyn Williams Two UL logos are seen on a computer power supply. The company tests products to ensure they meet safety requirements.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

International Cognitive And Cloud Business Machines

International Business Machines has gone through so many changes in its eleven decades of existence, and it is important to remember that some days. If IBM’s recent changes are a bit bewildering, as they were in the late 1980s, the middle 1990s, and the early 2010s in particular, they are perhaps nothing compared the changes that were wrought to transform a maker of meat slicers, time clocks, and tabulating equipment derived from looms.

Yeah, and you thought turning GPUs into compute engines was a stretch.

Herman Hollerith, who graduated from Columbia University in 1879 when its engineering school was still …

International Cognitive And Cloud Business Machines was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

Drupal fixes critical access bypass vulnerability

The Drupal project has released a patch to fix a critical access bypass vulnerability that could put websites at risk of hacking.The vulnerability does not have the highest severity level based on Drupal's rating system, but is serious enough that the platform's developers decided to also release a patch for a version of the content management system that's no longer officially supported.Successful exploitation of the vulnerability can lead to a complete compromise of data confidentiality and website integrity, but only Drupal-based websites with certain configurations are affected.To be vulnerable, a website needs to have the RESTful Web Services enabled and to allow PATCH requests. Furthermore, the attacker needs to be able to register a new account on the website or to gain access to an existing one, regardless of its privileges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here