IDG Contributor Network: Surfers crowdsource oceanic data using Smartfin IoT sensors

Surfers conduct scientific research while surfing. Seriously. And it’s a valuable contribution.Coastal communities are most affected by climate change. The problem is strong waves make it difficult to install sensors close to coastlines to monitor near-shore conditions. Surfers, however, flock to big waves. Is it possible to use surfers to cost-effectively gather near-shore data around the globe—to turn them into citizen scientists? Researchers in the Smartfin project say yes. Background of the Smartfin project Smartfin is the brain child of Dr. Andrew Stern at The Lost Bird Project. It is engineered by Benjamin Thompson of BoardFormula. Surfrider Foundation provides logistical and outreach support for the distribution of fins to its network of surfers worldwide. And researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, one of the world’s leading institutions for oceanographic research, validate the scientific application of Smartfin in the surf zone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

An unpatched vulnerability exposes Netgear routers to hacking

Several models of Netgear routers are affected by a publicly disclosed vulnerability that could allow hackers to take them over.An exploit for the vulnerability was published Friday by a researcher who uses the online handle Acew0rm. He claims that he reported the flaw to Netgear in August, but didn't hear back.The issue stems from improper input sanitization in a form in the router's web-based management interface and allows the injection and execution of arbitrary shell commands on an affected device.The U.S. CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) at Carnegie Mellon University rated the flaw as critical, assigning it a score of 9.3 out of 10 in the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

An unpatched vulnerability exposes Netgear routers to hacking

Several models of Netgear routers are affected by a publicly disclosed vulnerability that could allow hackers to take them over.An exploit for the vulnerability was published Friday by a researcher who uses the online handle Acew0rm. He claims that he reported the flaw to Netgear in August, but didn't hear back.The issue stems from improper input sanitization in a form in the router's web-based management interface and allows the injection and execution of arbitrary shell commands on an affected device.The U.S. CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) at Carnegie Mellon University rated the flaw as critical, assigning it a score of 9.3 out of 10 in the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Now you can try Microsoft’s supersized Surface Hub before buying

Microsoft's Surface Hub large-screen PC isn't your regular computer, and it takes a bit of practice to fully exploit it. With that in mind, Microsoft is starting a program in which users can try the Surface Hub for 30 days before buying it.No such program is offered for other Surface devices. The supersized Surface Hub -- which comes in screen sizes of 55-inch and 84-inches, is mostly designed as a centerpiece for conference rooms to be used for video conferencing, collaboration, and digital whiteboarding.The Surface Hub is off to a fast start, said Julia Atalla, senior director of the Windows and Devices Group at Microsoft. The company has 600 Hub customers and expects more than 2,000 customers by the end of the year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech predictions for 2017: What I expect to happen

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Where does the time go? Anyway, it's time for us in the news business to make our annual predictions for the coming year. Unlike some, I own up to my misfires by leading off with the predictions made a year ago and admitting what came true and what didn't. So let's get into that. How good were my 2016 predictions? 1. IBM becomes a major cloud player.Not really. The most recent numbers, which covered Q2 of this year, put IBM at under 10 percent share. It's still an Amazon and Microsoft world. The good news is IBM grew 57 percent year over year, so it is making up for lost ground. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech predictions for 2017: What I expect to happen

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Where does the time go? Anyway, it's time for us in the news business to make our annual predictions for the coming year. Unlike some, I own up to my misfires by leading off with the predictions made a year ago and admitting what came true and what didn't. So let's get into that. How good were my 2016 predictions? 1. IBM becomes a major cloud player.Not really. The most recent numbers, which covered Q2 of this year, put IBM at under 10 percent share. It's still an Amazon and Microsoft world. The good news is IBM grew 57 percent year over year, so it is making up for lost ground. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech predictions for 2017: What I expect to happen, and what I hope will happen

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Where does the time go? Anyway, it's time for us in the news business to make our annual predictions for the coming year. Unlike some, I own up to my misfires by leading off with the predictions made a year ago and admitting what came true and what didn't. So let's get into that. How good were my 2016 predictions? 1. IBM becomes a major cloud player.Not really. The most recent numbers, which covered Q2 of this year, put IBM at under 10 percent share. It's still an Amazon and Microsoft world. The good news is IBM grew 57 percent year over year, so it is making up for lost ground. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech predictions for 2017: What I expect to happen, and what I hope will happen

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Where does the time go? Anyway, it's time for us in the news business to make our annual predictions for the coming year. Unlike some, I own up to my misfires by leading off with the predictions made a year ago and admitting what came true and what didn't. So let's get into that. How good were my 2016 predictions? 1. IBM becomes a major cloud player.Not really. The most recent numbers, which covered Q2 of this year, put IBM at under 10 percent share. It's still an Amazon and Microsoft world. The good news is IBM grew 57 percent year over year, so it is making up for lost ground. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Trump says mergers like AT&T/Time Warner ‘destroy democracy’

When President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, one of the biggest items awaiting his Justice Department will be the antitrust review of the proposed $85 billion merger of AT&T and Time Warner, a deal that could have major ramifications for online video and TV distribution arrangements.Trump addressed the proposed acquisition when it was announced in October while on the campaign trail, saying in no uncertain terms that he opposed the deal on the grounds that the combined entity would hold too much market power. Many consumer advocates feel the same way.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Should you buy an SD-WAN service?

When we first started evaluating SD-WANs, the market was pretty straightforward. You had a few appliance (virtual and hardware) providers, a service provider and that’s about it. Today, more than 30 vendors deliver some kind of SD-WAN.Mind boggling? A bit, but we can help. There are three categories of SD-WAN offerings today. You can buy SD-WAN equipment (and software) and do it yourself (DIY), subscribe to an over-the-top (OTT) SD-WAN service, or have your SD-WAN bundled with a carrier network, such as MPLS or Direct Internet Access (DIA). We’ll look at each one of them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Systems admin role isn’t dead

With the ubiquity of cloud technology and the availability of modern systems administration tools that allow anyone from developers to administrative assistants to procure and provision servers and services, it's tempting to think that the role of the system administrator, or sysadmin, is obsolete.The sysadmin role isn't dying off, however. It's simply evolving along with the rest of the technology industry and becoming less focused on hardware and infrastructure and more on services delivery -- a shift away from being seen as a cost center in an organization to an innovation engine. And that's great news for IT pros looking to further their careers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Should you buy an SD-WAN service?

When we first started evaluating SD-WANs, the market was pretty straightforward. You had a few appliance (virtual and hardware) providers, a service provider and that’s about it. Today, more than 30 vendors deliver some kind of SD-WAN.Mind boggling? A bit, but we can help. There are three categories of SD-WAN offerings today. You can buy SD-WAN equipment (and software) and do it yourself (DIY), subscribe to an over-the-top (OTT) SD-WAN service, or have your SD-WAN bundled with a carrier network, such as MPLS or Direct Internet Access (DIA). We’ll look at each one of them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

4 tips for job searching this holiday season

You may have heard that it's not worth your time to look for a new job during the hectic holiday season. But according to Ford R. Myers, author of Get the Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring, and president of the career consulting firm Career Potential, there are a number of ways to make the holiday season work for your job search.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

And the coolest robots of 2016 are…

Robots are becoming more and more ubiquitous in our daily lives, but these seven bots stole the show in 2016.The Zenbo personal assistant robot can be a caretaker and entertainer. While Boston Dynamic's SpotMini will help you do the dishes, preserve the planet by recycling, and even bring you a coke. Got a pile of clean laundry? Laundroid will fold it for you...just make sure to give it a few hours to finish the job. Feeling lonely on that long road trip? Kirobo Mini will chat with you, as long as your trip's shorter than 2 and a half hours. Amelia will show you the way at the airport and even take a selfie. And Sophia...wow she looks so human! As long as you disregard her giant see-through computer brain.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Get started with Azure Machine Learning

Machine learning is fast becoming the go-to predictive paradigm for data scientists and developers alike. Of the many tools available for tapping neural networks, Microsoft’s Azure ML Studio offers a quick learning curve that won’t take deep data or coding chops to get up and running.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Singapore’s ‘city brain’ project is groundbreaking — but what about privacy?

You've read about cities installing smart parking meters and noise- and air-quality sensors, but are you ready to embrace the idea of a city brain?The residents of Singapore are on track to do just that.Creating a centralized dashboard view of sensors deployed across a distributed network is nothing new, but it takes on a bigger -- perhaps ominous -- meaning when deployed across a major city.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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