Bonus benefit from cord-cutting: A wireless network alternative

In the Shaw household, we’ve been living without cable TV for about seven months. We’re now officially “cord cutters”, saving about $60 per month and getting our “TV” through Internet streaming services (mainly Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime video). This article isn’t about that effort (although I would recommend it if you can live without watching live TV events).A result of the cord-cutting has left me with a bunch of rooms with coaxial cables that now have nothing to do. I started to think – why not use those cables to provide data networking access? After a quick phone call with a member of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), I received some products that use MoCA to provide network access via coaxial cable.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Privacy activist wants to unveil lawmakers’ browser histories

After Congress on Tuesday approved a resolution that would toss out significant online privacy protections, one Internet user decided to do something about it.Adam McElhaney, who calls himself a privacy activist and net neutrality advocate, created a website and a GoFundMe page to raise money to buy the internet histories of the legislators who backed the resolution so he can make them available and easily searchable.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Privacy activist wants to unveil lawmakers’ browser histories

After Congress on Tuesday approved a resolution that would toss out significant online privacy protections, one Internet user decided to do something about it.Adam McElhaney, who calls himself a privacy activist and net neutrality advocate, created a website and a GoFundMe page to raise money to buy the internet histories of the legislators who backed the resolution so he can make them available and easily searchable.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Staying alive: DDR5 memory is on its way

More DDR memory is on the way, despite many predictions that its time would soon be up.Development of specifications for the new DDR5 DRAM has started, and it will be finalized next year, JEDEC, a memory standards-setting organization, said on Thursday.DDR5 will succeed the current DDR4 memory, which is used in PCs and servers. DDR5 will be two times faster than DDR4 and also more power efficient.DDR5 will also have double the density of DDR4. Typical DDR5 DIMMs will have twice the gigabyte capacity of DDR4 DIMMs.Analysts didn't expect DDR5 to be developed; instead, they thought the line for DDR DRAM would end at DDR4. But PC and server designs haven't changed much in recent years, and there could be an appetite for DDR5.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Impatient Windows 10 users can download Creators Update April 5

Microsoft today said that Windows 10 users eager for the next feature upgrade may download it manually starting Wednesday, April 5, nearly a week before the refresh begins reaching PCs via Windows Update.Windows 10 Creators Update -- Microsoft's name for the first of two upgrades in 2017 -- will launch on April 11, when the installation file will be staged on Windows Update and offered to a select group of users. To jump the Windows Update line, people will need to run the Upgrade Assistant, an app that will be available before April 5 on Microsoft's website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

In mining user data, US ISPs must weigh cash vs. privacy

U.S. internet service providers are about to face temptation.Now that the broadband privacy rule repeal is almost certain, will they sell their customers' data to marketers, or will they keep it private?The U.S. broadband industry is telling consumers not to worry. Verizon, for instance, said that it remains committed to protecting users’ privacy.What that exactly means is unclear, and some in the industry are skeptical.Major broadband providers will be enticed to monetize their customers’ data in ad-heavy ways, said Dane Jasper, CEO of Sonic, a small ISP in California.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

In mining user data, US ISPs must weigh cash vs. privacy

U.S. internet service providers are about to face temptation.Now that the broadband privacy rule repeal is almost certain, will they sell their customers' data to marketers, or will they keep it private?The U.S. broadband industry is telling consumers not to worry. Verizon, for instance, said that it remains committed to protecting users’ privacy.What that exactly means is unclear, and some in the industry are skeptical.Major broadband providers will be enticed to monetize their customers’ data in ad-heavy ways, said Dane Jasper, CEO of Sonic, a small ISP in California.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to evaluate domestic IT service provider locations

It remains unclear what – if anything – President Donald Trump's administration will do to change the U.S. H-1B program. But uncertainty and fears of bad press are causing some IT service providers and customers to rethink their approach to offshoring and the associated use of foreign-born temporary visa holders to fill U.S. roles. With some proposed legislation calling for more than doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders, both enterprises and IT outsourcers may be evaluating U.S. locations for IT service delivery.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

After Amazon outage, HealthExpense worries about cloud lock-in

Financial services companies as popular targets of cybercriminals for the obvious reason -- they're where the money's at. And health care companies have medical records, which are very valuable on the black market since the information there can be abused in so many ways, and doesn't expire.HealthExpense, which provides health care payment services to banks and their enterprise customers, straddles both worlds."When we started, every new client asked us about security," said Marco Smit, CEO at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Health Expense."It has to do with the data we're collecting," said company CSO Ken Lee. "We are definitely bound by HIPAA compliance, and we hold all the personal health information and financial information."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Today 41% off Logitech Harmony Ultimate All in One Remote, Touch Screen, Closed Cabinet RF Control, works with Alexa – Deal Alert

The most powerful Harmony remote. It redefines ultimate control over your entertainment system—including game consoles and devices behind closed cabinet doors. One simple tap of the touch screen adjusts your entire home entertainment system so you can switch between movies, game consoles, favorite TV stations and music without fumbling with multiple remotes or button presses. Customize it the way you enjoy your entertainment. It has the power and intelligence to do what you demand.  This lighting deal from Amazon saves you $117.98 (41%) for today only.  Check out the deal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

After Amazon outage, HealthExpense worries about cloud lock-in

Financial services companies as popular targets of cybercriminals for the obvious reason -- they're where the money's at. And health care companies have medical records, which are very valuable on the black market since the information there can be abused in so many ways, and doesn't expire.HealthExpense, which provides health care payment services to banks and their enterprise customers, straddles both worlds."When we started, every new client asked us about security," said Marco Smit, CEO at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Health Expense."It has to do with the data we're collecting," said company CSO Ken Lee. "We are definitely bound by HIPAA compliance, and we hold all the personal health information and financial information."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Non-malware attacks grow – there are tools for IT security to fight back with

More and more attackers are carrying out their work without using malware so they can evade detection by traditional, file-based security platforms, which presents a tough problem for security pros trying to defend against them.Nearly two-thirds of security researchers polled by Carbon Black say they’ve noted an uptick in these attacks just since the beginning of the year, and aren’t confident that traditional anti-virus software can deal with them.+More on Network World: IBM says cybercriminals are starting to grab unstructured data, spam has rebloomed 400% and ransomware has just gone nuts+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Non-malware attacks grow – there are tools for IT security to fight back with

More and more attackers are carrying out their work without using malware so they can evade detection by traditional, file-based security platforms, which presents a tough problem for security pros trying to defend against them.Nearly two-thirds of security researchers polled by Carbon Black say they’ve noted an uptick in these attacks just since the beginning of the year, and aren’t confident that traditional anti-virus software can deal with them.+More on Network World: IBM says cybercriminals are starting to grab unstructured data, spam has rebloomed 400% and ransomware has just gone nuts+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

2.5 and 5 Gigabit Ethernet: Benefits and Use Cases

NETCONF on Cisco Campus Switches on Software Gone Wild

During Cisco Live Europe (huge thanks to Tech Field Day crew for bringing me there) I had a chat with Jeff McLaughlin about NETCONF support on Cisco IOS XE, in particular on the campus switches.

We started with the obvious question “why would someone want to have NETCONF on a campus switch”, continued with “why would you use NETCONF and not REST API”, and diverted into “who loves regular expressions”. Teasing aside, we discussed:

Cisco issues urgent reboot warning for bug in ASA and Firepower appliances

Cisco has issued an urgent request to Cisco customers running specific releases of software on their Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) appliances to reboot their devices to prevent a device from hanging and stop passing traffic.Cisco said its ASA and FTD devices are affected by a “functional software defect that will cause the device to stop passing traffic after 213 days of uptime” and that the issue is a result of a software regression bug introduced when addressing Cisco bug ID CSCva03607.+More on Network World: IBM on the state of network security: AbysmalTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco issues urgent reboot warning for bug in ASA and Firepower appliances

Cisco has issued an urgent request to Cisco customers running specific releases of software on their Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) appliances to reboot their devices to prevent a device from hanging and stop passing traffic.Cisco said its ASA and FTD devices are affected by a “functional software defect that will cause the device to stop passing traffic after 213 days of uptime” and that the issue is a result of a software regression bug introduced when addressing Cisco bug ID CSCva03607.+More on Network World: IBM on the state of network security: AbysmalTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HelloSign branches out to fix frustrating forms

Getting set up at a new job can be a frustrating maze of forms that require overlapping information to be entered perfectly. Solving that is the idea behind HelloWorks, a new service from HelloSign designed to simplify the process of filling out forms.People using HelloWorks will be able to complete forms digitally rather than fill out PDFs on their computers or scan handwritten responses. Even if users have to work through several different forms, the system will automatically populate identical fields with the appropriate response. That way, people won’t need to fill in their address half a dozen times.The new service is an expansion for HelloSign, which got its start as a company with a service that let users send faxes over the internet. In the intervening years, the company expanded to offer e-signature capabilities that compete with companies like DocuSign and Adobe.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What does it mean that Cisco will sell Software?

Our friend Cisco made a big announcement this week – “Cisco has built a new networking operating system that will allow users to run its most sophisticated networking features on older and lower cost Cisco routers and switches”.

We welcome and are in fact quite excited about this change. This validates the inevitable paradigm shift of the segregation of network hardware and software, and even a big titan like Cisco cannot stop the change.

If you can recall Cisco’s then-CEO John Chambers’ talk in 2015, Chambers dismissed SDN and white box makers, saying “We are seeing no unusual competition in the market, no unusual competition with white-label or white box [vendors], nor will we in the future.” Even in mid 2016, the new Cisco CEO, Chuck Robbins, still maintained the same tough position, stating “There’s a misconception that’s driving the belief that all customers want to buy white box switches”. That was less than a year ago, and the world has completely changed.

So Cisco has changed their opinion. The market is going through a paradigm shift, and I actually admire Cisco’s courage to embrace the changes instead of fighting them. Cisco has been leading the networking industry Continue reading

Google AudioSet aims to make sounds, from roars to boings, searchable

Google researchers have released a collection of 2 million-plus labeled audio snippets designed to spark innovation in the area of sound search.The company earlier this month published a paper titled "AudioSet: An ontology and human-labeled dataset for audio events" that it hopes will combine with image recognition to strengthen overall search and identification capabilities that could be used in a wide variety of machine learning applications, including the automation of video captions that include sound effects. Google began work on the project last year.Google has exploited its YouTube business to collect 2 million ten-second YouTube excerpts (totaling 5.8 thousand hours of audio) labeled with more than 500 sound categories to create its AudioSet. Categories start at high levels such as Human Sounds and Music, and then get more specific, such as Whistling and Music Genre.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here