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

A Peek Inside Facebook’s Server Fleet Upgrade

Having a proliferation of server makes and models over a span of years in the datacenter is not a huge deal for most enterprises. They cope with the diversity because they support a diversity of application and can kind of keep things isolated and, moreover, IT may be integral to their product or service, but it is usually not the actual product or service that they sell.

Not so with hyperscalers and cloud builders. For them, the IT is the product, and keeping things as monolithic and consistent as possible lowers the cost of goods purchased through higher volumes and …

A Peek Inside Facebook’s Server Fleet Upgrade was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

Online Meetup Recap: Docker Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE)

Last week, we announced Docker Enterprise Edition (EE) and Docker Community Edition (CE) new and renamed versions of the Docker platform. Docker EE, supported by Docker Inc., is available on certified operating systems and cloud providers and runs certified Containers and Plugins from Docker Store. The Docker open source products are now Docker CE and we have adopted a new lifecycle and time-based versioning scheme for both Docker EE and CE.

Docker Community Edition

We asked product manager and release captain, Michael Friis to introduce Docker CE + EE to our online community. The meetup took place on Wednesday, March 8th and over 600 people RSVPed to hear Michael’s presentation live. He gave an overview of both editions and highlighted the big enhancements to the lifecycle, maintainability and upgradability of Docker.

In case you missed it, you can watch the recording and access Michael’s slides below.

 

 

Here are additional resources:

Missed the #docker CE + EE Online #meetup w/ @friism? Check out the video & slides here!
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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

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

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

The post History! appeared first on 'net work.

BrandPost: How to develop mature DevOps practices

Every company must act like a software company these days. That's why DevOps is so critical to your success: DevOps methodologies help you get better software to your users, and build tighter feedback loops for more effective learning.If you’ve already undergone a DevOps transformation, you’re likely already seeing better cross-functional alignment and shared responsibility.  Hopefully you’re deploying software more frequently, recovering from failures faster, and dealing with far fewer security issues.Now it’s time to take your DevOps initiative to the next level to achieve greater control, predictability and flexibility. By continually improving, you make room for more experimentation and innovation, and can even retain top talent. (See the proof in Puppet’s annual State of DevOps Report.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Here’s why Google Cloud support is now priced per person

One of the key messages out of Google Cloud Next last week: The company has gotten serious about serving enterprise customers in a way that meets their needs. A key component of that is a new set of support plans for customers of its cloud platform.Instead of paying one big support fee, businesses will pay per user for support privileges, based on how quickly they will get a response. The new plan replaces a set of monolithic tiers that required businesses to pay a flat fee per month plus a percentage of their monthly product usage. In the past, Google wasn't exactly known for its support capabilities, but that's something the company has changed in recent years. Google engineers originally believed they could create great technology that was self-service and easy to use, and that would be enough for business customers, said Dave Rensin, the company’s director of customer reliability engineering.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Comments on the Wikileaks CIA Vault #7

The CIA didn’t remotely hack a TV. The docs are clear that they can update the software running on the TV using a USB drive. There’s no evidence of them doing so remotely over the Internet. If you aren’t afraid of the CIA breaking in an installing a listening device, then you should’t be afraid of the CIA installing listening software. —Errata Security

The post Worth Reading: Comments on the Wikileaks CIA Vault #7 appeared first on 'net work.

Strong FBI Ties for Next Generation Quantum Computer

It is a good time to be the maker of a machine that excels in large-scale optimization problems for cybersecurity and defense. And it is even better to be the only maker of such a machine at a time when the need for a post-Moore’s Law system is in high demand.

We have already described the U.S. Department of Energy’s drive to place a novel architecture at the heart of one of the future exascale supercomputers, and we have also explored the range of options that might fall under that novel processing umbrella. From neuromorphic chips, deep learning PIM-based architectures, …

Strong FBI Ties for Next Generation Quantum Computer was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

IDG Contributor Network: Get the data your business needs without paying high fees

The volume of data available to businesses is expected to reach 44 zettabytes by the year 2020. That’s a mind-boggling huge body of information, one that businesses can use to assess the effectiveness of marketing initiatives, to use as barometers for better performance, and to identify new optimization opportunities in all areas of operation.To make use of all that data, though, you need the right tools in place. And with the average salary for an experienced data analytics professional starting at $65,000 annually, smaller businesses may be at a disadvantage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

WikiLeaks dump brings CIA spying powers into the spotlight

Has the CIA ever spied on you? That’s a key question swirling around the WikiLeaks document dump that allegedly details the U.S. agency's secret hacking tools. The documents themselves don't reveal much about who the CIA might have snooped on. But the agency certainly has the power to spy on foreigners outside the U.S., said Paul Pillar, a former deputy counterterrorism chief with the CIA. That's its job after all: to collect foreign intelligence. But even so, the CIA is pretty selective with its targets.   To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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