Microsoft acquires intelligent scheduling startup Genee

Microsoft has acquired Genee, a startup that provided a virtual assistant for scheduling appointments. The deal, announced Tuesday, will bring the Genee team into the Microsoft fold and put them to work on bringing intelligence into Office 365. Genee's service let users loop in an artificial intelligence assistant that could interpret sentences like "set up lunch at some point this week" and turn them into calendar appointments. Acquiring Genee is part of Microsoft's ongoing crusade to build intelligent productivity software and services using AI. The company has focused on that area under the tenure of CEO Satya Nadella, with features like Office Delve, which finds documents shared within an organization that are relevant to a user, and Focused Inbox in Outlook, which filters unimportant email into a separate tab so it's not cluttering a user's experience. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DC Fabric Segment Routing Use Case (4)

In the last post in this series, I discussed using SR labels to direct traffic from one flow onto, and from other flows off of, a particular path through a DC fabric. Throughout this series, though, I’ve been using node (or prefix) SIDs to direct the traffic. There is another kind of SID in SR that needs to be considered—the adj-sid. Let’s consider the same fabric used throughout this series—

benes-segment-03

So far, I’ve been describing the green marked path using the node or (loopback) prefix-sids: [A,F,G,D,E]. What’s interesting is I could describe the same path using adj-sids: [a->f,f->g,g->d,d->e], where the vector in each hop is described by a single entry on the SR stack. There is, in fact, no difference between the two ways of describing this path, as there is only one link between each pair of routers in the path. This means everything discussed in this series so far could be accomplished with either a set of adj SIDs ore a set of node (prefix) SIDs.

Given this, why are both types of SIDs defined? Assume we zoom in a little on the border leaf node in this topology, and find—

border-leaf

Assume—

Another day, another 4,600 lines of Linux kernel code

The Linux kernel is improving faster than ever, gaining 7.8 patches per hour and 4,600 lines of new code every day.That's according to a new report published Monday by the Linux Foundation and focusing on the state of kernel development. Entitled “Linux kernel development -- how fast it is going, who is doing it, what they are doing, and who is sponsoring it,” the report is the seventh the nonprofit has published on the topic in roughly as many years.This year’s paper covers work completed through Linux kernel 4.7, with an emphasis on releases 3.19 to 4.7. The last report was released March 2015 and focused on versions 3.11 to 3.18.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LinuxCon: With open-source’s great power comes great responsibility

One of the biggest Linux events of the year opened with a look at the social role of the largest open-source project in history, as well as Linux’s potential place in the history books.LinuxCon North America 2016 kicked off today in Toronto with keynotes from Linux Foundation director Jim Zemlin and Ainissa Ramirez, an author and former Bell Labs researcher who works to make technology accessible to the mainstream.+ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: 10 sci-fi technologies we are close to having + ARM has a new weapon in race to build world's fastest computersTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

44% off Cable Matters USB-C to HDMI / VGA / Ethernet / USB Multiport 4K UHD Adapter (Thunderbolt 3 Port Compatible) – Deal Alert

The Cable Matters USB-C HDMI / VGA Multiport Adapter is an essential companion for a computer or tablet with USB-C. Connect to a Gigabit network, install a USB peripheral device, and connect a display with VGA or HDMI input. Plug & Play with a single USB-C port and no external drivers required.  Whether your device has a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port, you can use this adapter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco well positioned to dominate cybersecurity market

The IT security market is certainly an interesting one, as it’s so big and so fragmented. Forbes posted a story at the end of last year stating the market is at $75 billion, with it expected to reach $170 billion by 2020. Every business and technology leader I talk to tells me how important security is, so I have no reason to doubt that $170 billion number.In addition to the overall massive size of the security market, another interesting fact is the huge number of vendors that play in it. I believe the 2016 RSA conference had something like over 600 sponsors, with at least 100 being first-time sponsors. No other IT market has that many vendors with start-ups consistently popping up.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco well positioned to dominate cybersecurity market

The IT security market is certainly an interesting one, as it’s so big and so fragmented. Forbes posted a story at the end of last year stating the market is at $75 billion, with it expected to reach $170 billion by 2020. Every business and technology leader I talk to tells me how important security is, so I have no reason to doubt that $170 billion number.In addition to the overall massive size of the security market, another interesting fact is the huge number of vendors that play in it. I believe the 2016 RSA conference had something like over 600 sponsors, with at least 100 being first-time sponsors. No other IT market has that many vendors with start-ups consistently popping up.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New products of the week 8.22.16

New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Fortscale 2.7Key features: Detecting insider credentials compromised on the Dark Web and remote lateral movement. Plus, new user experience that makes it easier for security professionals to identify and stop insider threats automatically. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New products of the week 8.22.16

New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Fortscale 2.7Key features: Detecting insider credentials compromised on the Dark Web and remote lateral movement. Plus, new user experience that makes it easier for security professionals to identify and stop insider threats automatically. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Beware the ‘Windows Self-Healing Tool’ app

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update has caused its fair share of problems for users, such as freeze-ups of their PCs and the most recent issue of it crashing computers with a webcam attached. So, it's understandably tempting for some people to jump at a repair utility. In the case of the "Windows Self-Healing Tool," please don't. This utility has been circulating on several technology news sites, with people repeating its claim to fix problems associated with Windows 10. It has the air of authorization because it has a Microsoft logo on it and was first posted on the Microsoft Answers forum for Surface users.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: With the Ava IoT bracelet, getting pregnant becomes easier

Getting pregnant is much harder than movies would have you believe.In fact, women have only a 25 percent chance of getting pregnant every month. So, it’s no surprise that couples are keen to improve their odds. IoT makes it a little easier.Why it’s hard to get pregnant? There is just a 12- to 24-hour window each month when a human egg can be fertilized by a sperm. This fertile window occurs during the six days after ovulation while the egg passes down the fallopian tube. Pinpointing the exact time period, though, is hard because it varies from woman to woman. Sex has to take place within this fertile window to maximize the chances of becoming pregnant.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

42% off Dell UltraSharp U3415W 34-Inch Curved LED-Lit Monitor – Deal Alert

The Dell UltraSharp 34 inch Curved Monitor engages you in a new wrap-around viewing experience with a 21:9 ultra-wide curved screen that offers more display area and enhanced viewing comfort.  Easily display content from 2 different PCs at the same time with the Picture-by-Picture or Picture-in-Picture features, via the USB 3.0 upstream ports. Plus enjoy the convenience of using just one keyboard and mouse to navigate content from both PCs.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here