New GOP H-1B bill appears to fall short of Trump’s goal

In the first week of the new Congress, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is attempting to win support for a controversial H-1B reform bill.The bill, introduced Wednesday, is called the "Protect and Grow American Jobs Act" (HR 170) and co-sponsored by Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.). It is aimed at tightening, but not closing, a loophole in the visa law that has benefitted large H-1B-using firms.[To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page.]Issa introduced this bipartisan bill last July. It faced some criticism and stalled in committee. The big difference this year is the impending inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why companies offer a hacking bounty

Want to make a cool $20,000?All you have to do is hack the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld console that’s been out for a few years already. A listing on HackerOne spells everything out: Hackers will receive a cash payment for discovering a vulnerability in the system, which does let gamers make purchases and stores private information like your age and gender. There’s a range for this, of course -- some discoveries will pay $100. Also, anyone who files a report must follow the exact template.It makes you wonder -- why would a major Japanese corporation offer a reward like this? Why is it even worth the expense, especially when you know they have internal security researchers?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why companies offer a hacking bounty

Want to make a cool $20,000?All you have to do is hack the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld console that’s been out for a few years already. A listing on HackerOne spells everything out: Hackers will receive a cash payment for discovering a vulnerability in the system, which does let gamers make purchases and stores private information like your age and gender. There’s a range for this, of course -- some discoveries will pay $100. Also, anyone who files a report must follow the exact template.It makes you wonder -- why would a major Japanese corporation offer a reward like this? Why is it even worth the expense, especially when you know they have internal security researchers?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Ransomware took in $1 billion in 2016–improved defenses may not be enough to stem the tide

Increased user awareness of phishing threats, better antivirus technology, more industry-wide information sharing and cross-border efforts by law enforcement authorities will combine to turn the tide against ransomware this year, according to some security experts, but others expect the attacks to continue to increase.According to a security expert who requested anonymity, ransomware cybercriminals took in about $1 billion last year, based on money coming into ransomware-related Bitcoin wallets.That includes more than $50 million each for three wallets associated with the Locky ransomware, and a fourth one that processed close to $70 million. Cryptowall brought in close to $100 million before it was shut down this year. CryptXXX gathered in $73 million during the second half of 2016, and Cerber took in $54 million, the expert said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Ransomware took in $1 billion in 2016–improved defenses may not be enough to stem the tide

Increased user awareness of phishing threats, better antivirus technology, more industry-wide information sharing and cross-border efforts by law enforcement authorities will combine to turn the tide against ransomware this year, according to some security experts, but others expect the attacks to continue to increase.According to a security expert who requested anonymity, ransomware cybercriminals took in about $1 billion last year, based on money coming into ransomware-related Bitcoin wallets.That includes more than $50 million each for three wallets associated with the Locky ransomware, and a fourth one that processed close to $70 million. Cryptowall brought in close to $100 million before it was shut down this year. CryptXXX gathered in $73 million during the second half of 2016, and Cerber took in $54 million, the expert said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Is dynamic resource execution the answer to auto-scaling cloud apps?

Dynamic resource management for cloud computing is at a critical crossroad. The ultimate objective when provisioning software-defined infrastructure, synchronizing inter-cloud resources, or allocating network bandwidth is allowing applications to successfully execute on demand without concern for capacity. While these approaches are effective in supplying applications with additional capacity on demand, the downside is that application performance may not be optimized in the process.Cloud applications and services have become so complex that the runtime synchronization of resources required to support them drags down overall performance and leaves capacity unused. To tap this unused capacity, and deliver the performance expected, we need to enhance resource management with something like intelligent resource execution.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 3 steps to increase the business value of your network

In 2016, I wrote several columns encouraging readers to begin taking steps to turn their networks into a platform for innovation. As I’ve said previously, forward-thinking companies view the network as an asset, rather than an expense, and leverage its full benefits to enable new services, new sources of revenue, and new ways to compete. But let’s be honest, agreeing in theory is one thing; getting started is something else altogether.So, in the spirit of New Year’s resolutions for 2017, let’s actually peel back the onion a bit. Over the next few columns, we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work.Let’s begin.3 steps to turn your network into a growth engine for your business To make it as is simple as possible, here are three things you can do in 2017 to realize this sometimes daunting, but more-important-than-ever, network revitalization:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 3 steps to increase the business value of your network

In 2016, I wrote several columns encouraging readers to begin taking steps to turn their networks into a platform for innovation. As I’ve said previously, forward-thinking companies view the network as an asset, rather than an expense, and leverage its full benefits to enable new services, new sources of revenue, and new ways to compete. But let’s be honest, agreeing in theory is one thing; getting started is something else altogether.So, in the spirit of New Year’s resolutions for 2017, let’s actually peel back the onion a bit. Over the next few columns, we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work.Let’s begin.3 steps to turn your network into a growth engine for your business To make it as is simple as possible, here are three things you can do in 2017 to realize this sometimes daunting, but more-important-than-ever, network revitalization:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Musing: Average Life Span on S&P Index

On average, your big corporate employer won’t be around in ten years.

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Plan your career accordingly.

  • When the boss says “people are our most important asset” its not about you particluarly.
  • Don’t transfer responsibility for your life and career to someone else.
  • Don’t trust your employer to to be on your side, they can be but the company comes first, profits second…… and several steps later its you.

Source: https://twitter.com/CBinsights/status/808861430908850176

The post Musing: Average Life Span on S&P Index appeared first on EtherealMind.

10 iPhone features that rocked the smartphone world

The 10 most revolutionary iPhone featuresImage by ThinkstockTen years ago, Steve Jobs stepped on the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco and introduced the world to the iPhone. “I have been looking forward to this for two and a half years,” Jobs said that day. “And today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Whirlwind look back at every iPhone model

Sweet 15Image by AppleApple announced the iPhone on January 9, 2007, and brought computing into the palms of our hands. More than any other device since the PC, the iPhone represents a change in the way citizens of wealthy countries interact with the world. Of course, the iPhone isn’t just a single gadget, but rather 15 of them. Have a look.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google Assistant coming to TVs, smartwatches and cars

Google Assistant will be available soon on Android TVs, with plans to offer the voice-activated personal assistant on car infotainment systems and smartwatches as well.The technology will feature in the coming months, starting with the Nvidia Shield, on Android TVs in the U.S. running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or Android 7.0 Nougat. Some of the devices expected to ship with Google Assistant are the AirTV Player, Sharp Aquos, Sony Bravia and Xiaomi Mi Box, Sascha Prueter, director of Android TV at Google and Gummi Hafsteinsson, product lead for Google Assistant, wrote in a post on Thursday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IBM: Next 5 years AI, IoT and nanotech will literally change the way we see the world

 Perhaps the coolest thing about IBM’s 9th “Five Innovations that will Help Change our Lives within Five Years” predictions is that none of them sound like science fiction.“With advances in artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, we aim to invent a new generation of scientific instruments that will make the complex invisible systems in our world today visible over the next five years,” said Dario Gil, vice president of science & solutions at IBM Research in a statement.+More on Network World: IBM says soon you won't need passwords; mind reading will be routine; the so-called digital divide will cease to exist and junk mail will become important+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Creating your own Ansible filter plugins

I’ve been playing around with Ansible quite a bit lately.  One of the issues I’ve started to run into is that Ansible can’t always do what you want by default.  Put more plainly, Ansible can’t always easily do what you want.    Many times I found myself writing tasks to manipulate variables and thinking to myself, “Man – if I could just run some Python code on this it would be way easier”.  As luck would have it, you can!  Ansible supports a whole slew of plugins but the type I want to talk about today are called filter plugins.  Filter plugins, in my opinion, are one of the easiest ways to manipulate your variables with native Python.  And once you know how to do it you’ll see that it opens up a whole realm of possibilities in your playbooks.  Some of the most popular filters that exist today were once custom filters that someone wrote and then contributed to Ansible.  The IP address (ipaddr) filter set is a great example of filters that can be used to manipulate IP related information.

When I first looked into writing a custom filter I found the Ansible documentation not very helpful.  It essentially Continue reading

Battle lines drawn as Chromebooks, Windows PCs renew rivalry at CES

Microsoft wants a go-to Chromebook competitor, and it may be getting one in upcoming Windows 10 PCs with ARM chips.Those Windows 10 laptops and tablets could look something like Samsung's latest Chromebook Pro and Plus announced at CES. The attractive 2-in-1s have 12.3-inch screens and are targeted at those who do most of their computing online.In a way, Samsung's new Chromebooks share some features with new Windows PCs announced at CES. They have cool features like 2400 x 1600 pixel touchscreens and USB-C ports, which are also in the latest Windows 2-in-1s with Intel's Kaby Lake chips.While Google plots a Chromebook attack on Windows 10, Microsoft could be using Chromebooks as a blueprint for its "cellular PCs," or thin and light laptops that are always connected to the Internet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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