Why you shouldn’t trust Geek Squad ever again

Best Buy has quite a support service in Geek Squad. It's the only national tech service center, and it makes house calls. I had a tech come to calibrate my HDTV set, and the difference was night and day. In 2014, Geek Squad brought in $1.8 billion in revenue, which was a drop from the previous year, but still accounted for 5 percent of Best Buy revenue. So, it's not insignificant. And it seems the geeks are making a few extra bucks. The Orange County Weekly reports that the company's repair technicians routinely search devices brought in for repair for files that could earn them $500 reward as FBI informants. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why you shouldn’t trust Geek Squad ever again

Best Buy has quite a support service in Geek Squad. It's the only national tech service center, and it makes house calls. I had a tech come to calibrate my HDTV set, and the difference was night and day. In 2014, Geek Squad brought in $1.8 billion in revenue, which was a drop from the previous year, but still accounted for 5 percent of Best Buy revenue. So, it's not insignificant. And it seems the geeks are making a few extra bucks. The Orange County Weekly reports that the company's repair technicians routinely search devices brought in for repair for files that could earn them $500 reward as FBI informants. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech Resume Makeover 101: How to move forward with your job search

Your resume offers employers a first glimpse into who you are professionally. If you aren't putting your best foot forward during this crucial phase of the job search, then chances are your resume is getting ignored or trashed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

The crazy sights of CES

The crazy sights of CESImage by Ann SingerThe annual CES show is celebrating its 50th anniversary and seems to get busier and crazier every year. Here's a look back at some of the most memorable sights of CES 2017 through the lenses of Ann Singer and Alexandra Wimley, photojournalism students at Boston University.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Yahoo will become Altaba, lose Mayer after Verizon buyout

Yahoo intends to change its name to Altaba once the sale of its internet portal to Verizon is completed. CEO Marissa Mayer and co-founder David Filo also will leave the company then, Yahoo said in a regulatory filing on Monday.The changes are part of a $4.8 billion dollar deal signed in July 2016 to sell Yahoo.com to Verizon.NEWSLETTERS: Get the latest tech news sent directly to your in-box Once that deal is complete, Yahoo will become an investment company and the board will be reduced from 11 to five people. Altaba's main holdings will be stakes in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and major Japanese Internet portal Yahoo Japan.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

6 hybrid tablets we want to see in 2017

It seems every major tech manufacturer has jumped into the hybrid tablet market, bringing some competition to the Microsoft Surface. Over the last couple years Apple, Huawei and Samsung have all joined the hybrid tablet market with a range of devices that offer the flexibility of a tablet and the function of a laptop in one device. And now, as we eagerly await the next big flurry of products, here are six hybrid tablets we hope to see in 2017.iPad Pro 2 Everyone loves hypothesizing about the next Apple device. In fact, sometimes it feels like we're already looking to the next iOS device before the new one is even released. The iPad Pro is no exception, and rumors are flying about what we'll see from the next hybrid tablet from Apple possibly as soon as this spring.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How workplace equality perceptions are shaped by gender

New research from company ratings and review platforms InHerSight and Kununu reveal just how differently men and women perceive several key workplace factors, including issues like management opportunities for women, female representation in top leadership, access to equal opportunities, parental leave policies, family growth support and mentorship opportunities.While both men and women start their careers mostly optimistic about the opportunities for advancement and their respective representation in management and senior leadership, those perceptions shift drastically over time -- at least for women.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Former DHS head urges Trump to see economic dangers from cyberattacks

Last week's U.S. intelligence report tracing Russia's cyber-meddling with the 2016 presidential election is a timely reminder of the cybersecurity risks that the government and private companies face, said Tom Ridge, the nation's first secretary of Homeland Security."President-elect Trump is entering into a world fraught with hazards as never before," Ridge said in a telephone interview on Monday. "Russia is a reminder that cyberattacks are a permanent risk to individuals and countries and companies, and you must do all you can to understand the risk. It's a reminder of how serious and permanent the risk is. The risk continues to get deeper."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Former DHS head urges Trump to see economic dangers from cyberattacks

Last week's U.S. intelligence report tracing Russia's cyber-meddling with the 2016 presidential election is a timely reminder of the cybersecurity risks that the government and private companies face, said Tom Ridge, the nation's first secretary of Homeland Security."President-elect Trump is entering into a world fraught with hazards as never before," Ridge said in a telephone interview on Monday. "Russia is a reminder that cyberattacks are a permanent risk to individuals and countries and companies, and you must do all you can to understand the risk. It's a reminder of how serious and permanent the risk is. The risk continues to get deeper."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Token Authentication for Cached Private Content and APIs

While working to make the Internet a better place, we also want to make it easier for our customers to have control of their content and APIs, and who has access to them. Using Cloudflare’s Token Authentication features, customers can implement access control via URL tokens or HTTP request headers without having to build complex back-end systems.

Cloudflare will check these tokens at the edge before any request is relayed to an origin or served from cache. If the token is not valid the request is blocked. Since Cloudflare handles all the token validation, the origin server does not need to have complex authentication logic. In addition, a malicious user who attempts to forge tokens will be blocked from ever reaching the origin.

CC BY 2.0 image by zeevveez

Leveraging our edge network of over 100 data centers, customers can use token authentication to perform access control checks on content and APIs, as well as allowing Cloudflare to cache private content and only serve it to users with a valid token tied specifically to that cached asset.

Performing access control on the edge has many benefits. Brute force attempts and other attacks on private assets don't ever reach Continue reading

How U.S. intelligence agencies envision the world in 2035

By 2035, developers will have learned to automate many jobs. Investments in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and robotics will surge, displacing workers. And a more connected world will increase -- not reduce -- differences, increasing nationalism and populism, according to a new government intelligence assessment prepared just in time for President-elect Donald Trump's administration.The "Global Trends" report, unveiled Monday, is produced every four years by the National Intelligence Council. It is released just before the inauguration of a new or returning president. The council is tasked with helping to shape U.S. strategic thinking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How U.S. intelligence agencies envision the world in 2035

By 2035, developers will have learned to automate many jobs. Investments in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and robotics will surge, displacing workers. And a more connected world will increase -- not reduce -- differences, increasing nationalism and populism, according to a new government intelligence assessment prepared just in time for President-elect Donald Trump's administration.The "Global Trends" report, unveiled Monday, is produced every four years by the National Intelligence Council. It is released just before the inauguration of a new or returning president. The council is tasked with helping to shape U.S. strategic thinking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Protecting your data, protecting yourself: A first installment

Let's say—for whatever reason—you're concerned about keeping your communications safe from government prying. Assuming you aren't a high-profile target to warrant direct hacking (the United Arab Emirates allegedly tried to breach the digital defenses of human-rights activist Ahmed Mansoor on three occasions, for example), there are reasonable measures you can take to live a normal life and continue to have private thoughts and private conversations.Note that I'm not singling out any government or administration. Politics aside, we should all think like dissidents, because the tide ebbs and flows from freedom to dictatorship and from left to right all around the world. The common thread is taking smart measures.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Protecting your data, protecting yourself: A first installment

Let's say—for whatever reason—you're concerned about keeping your communications safe from government prying. Assuming you aren't a high-profile target to warrant direct hacking (the United Arab Emirates allegedly tried to breach the digital defenses of human-rights activist Ahmed Mansoor on three occasions, for example), there are reasonable measures you can take to live a normal life and continue to have private thoughts and private conversations.Note that I'm not singling out any government or administration. Politics aside, we should all think like dissidents, because the tide ebbs and flows from freedom to dictatorship and from left to right all around the world. The common thread is taking smart measures.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Big Changes in 2017

This past June when I was in North Carolina at Cisco’s CPOC lab, I learned that there was a chance–albeit a slim one, but a chance nonetheless–that a position would be opening up on the CPOC team in the fall. By that point I had been to CPOC three times and knew many of the engineers who worked there. I spoke to them to get their feedback, met with the newly-hired manager of the team, and just generally did all the things I thought I should be doing to take advantage of my time being face to face with these folks.

Then I flew home, subscribed to the “new jobs at Cisco mailing list” and waited.

And then, one day, it was posted: CPOC Technical Projects Systems Engineer. I immediately sent a message to my wife who responded as only she knows how:

Five short interviews later I was offered the job!

This brings me to change #1: As of this month (January), I am no longer a Systems Engineer with Cisco Systems Canada. I am now a Systems Engineer on the CPOC team reporting to a manager in the US.

Beyond the basic level of Continue reading

WiFi Networking: Radio Wave Basics

IDG Contributor Network: The futility of fighting future technologies

Last year, I flew to Calgary, Canada, to host an executive roundtable on behalf of Intel and two partner organizations. I got off the plane, pulled out my phone and opened my Uber app.It has become my standard travel routine. Except this time, there were no Uber cars to be had—bylaw changes in 2015 forced the transportation company to cease operations. The fees imposed were too much, the company said.One of the sponsoring vendor executives opened the meeting by asking, “What’s up with Calgary? Do you guys want to stay stuck in the past?”+ Also on Network World: How to be a CTO in the age of digital disruption (and live to tell about it) + The Calgary city council has since approved new bylaws that "make the city's licensing fee structure more favourable for the company," CBC News reported. And Uber is operating again in the city.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Segment Routing on JUNOS – The basics

Anybody who’s been to any seminar, associated with any major networking systems manufacturer or bought any recent study material, will almost certainly have come across something new called segment routing &…

Source: Segment Routing on JUNOS – The basics

IDG Contributor Network: Before you select a visual collaboration platform, ask yourself these questions

Once you’ve realized how important it is to invest in a digital workplace and have secured the budget you need to move forward with your plan, it’s time to begin looking for a collaboration solution to support this new way of work.Ultimately, the goal is to bring your people, content and technology together in a single, unified content-experience platform that promotes effective team collaboration. To get there, you’ll need to move beyond conventional collaboration applications, which typically include only file sharing or chat, to a more comprehensive solution that includes visual collaboration. But with so many new visual collaboration platforms emerging, how can you decide which one best suits your needs?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dictionary: optic boom

optic boom

A flash produced when electrons move faster than light, akin to the boom of supersonic jets. Breaking the “light barrier” sounds like sci-fi, but physicists say it can happen in graphene sheets. The discovery could spark development of optical circuits a million times faster than silicon chips.

Link: The 21 Best New Words of 2016 | WIRED https://www.wired.com/2016j/12/21-best-new-words-2016/

The post Dictionary: optic boom appeared first on EtherealMind.