Branch office links, big bandwidth needs drive SD-WAN evolution

The hype over the deployment of Software Defined-WAN technology and services is quickly becoming something more so far this year.Just this week EarthLink announced a partnership with SD-WAN vendor VeloCloud to offer a managed WAN-SD service. And recently Verizon teamed with SD-WAN purveyors at Viptela to offer SD-WAN services. Also this month another SD-WAN player -- CloudGenix -- announced a partner program to build out its SD-WAN offering to the masses. AT&T and other players are in on the managed SD-WAN service world as well.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nicholas Carr says tech ‘utopia is creepy’

Fully automated, self-driving cars are likely decades away from being a reality, says Nicholas Carr, the author whose books about technology and culture seek to curb the heady enthusiasm regarding the digitalization of everything. Nicholas Carr. “I think a lot of the visions of total automation assume that every vehicle will be automated and the entire driving infrastructure will not only be mapped in minute detail but will also be outfitted with the kind of sensors and transmitters and all of the networking infrastructure that we're going to need,” Carr tells CIO.com. Autonomous car proponents and technology enthusiasts in general will certainly disagree with Carr.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft pledges two Windows 10 upgrades in 2017

Microsoft has committed to delivering two Windows 10 feature upgrades to customers next year after issuing only one in 2016.The company released the one Windows 10 upgrade for this year last week when it shipped 1607, the version identified by its year and month, but also dubbed "Anniversary Update."Windows 10 1607 is it for the year, Microsoft said. "Based on feedback from organizations moving to Windows 10, this will be our last feature update for 2016," wrote Nathan Mercer, a senior product marketing manager, on a company blog.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The stereotypical IT guy is now a psycho loner. Progress?

Hey kids, let’s check out the official trailer for a new movie called “I.T.” Looks awesome, right? Waitasecond! The IT guy in question is now a handsome, brooding young guy with some mental problems? Wait, he’s the bad guy? Noooooooooooooo!For years, the depiction of the stereotypical IT guy has been one of the “nerdy guy that nobody wants to talk with”, or the obnoxious, know-it-all, “let me do this, you clearly don’t know tech” kind of person. See the following examples:Saturday Night Live: Nick Burns, your company's IT Guy:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Remember that RHEL/Mirantis storm? SUSE helps to sidestep the issue

A year or two ago, the storm in a teacup of the day was news that Red Hat, one of the largest technology vendors built off the back of open-source technologies, was turning against its one-time BFF Mirantis. For those unaware of the situation, Mirantis is a vendor that focuses entirely on the OpenStack cloud computing operating system. Wishing to ensure that it had a part to play in emergent open-source initiatives, a few years ago Red Hat made a strategic investment into Mirantis, and at the time indications were that Red Hat might be sizing up the fast-growing company for a future acquisition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

August 2016 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft releases 9 security updates, 5 rated critical

For August 2016, Patch Tuesday isn’t too painful. Microsoft released nine security bulletins, five of which were rated critical due to remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities.Why so few this month? Michael Gray, VP of Technology at Thrive Networks, suggested, “It stands to reason that Microsoft may have kept things simple so as not to over-shadow the release of their Windows 10 Anniversary update.”CriticalMS16-095 is the cumulative monthly fix for Internet Explorer. It resolves five memory corruption vulnerabilities and four information disclosure flaws.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

August 2016 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft releases 9 security updates, 5 rated critical

For August 2016, Patch Tuesday isn’t too painful. Microsoft released nine security bulletins, five of which were rated critical due to remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities.Why so few this month? Michael Gray, VP of Technology at Thrive Networks, suggested, “It stands to reason that Microsoft may have kept things simple so as not to over-shadow the release of their Windows 10 Anniversary update.”CriticalMS16-095 is the cumulative monthly fix for Internet Explorer. It resolves five memory corruption vulnerabilities and four information disclosure flaws.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

60% off RAVPower Portable Multi-Functional Power Bank with 9000mAh Built-in Apple Lightning Connector and AC Plug – Deal Alert

The RAVPower Savior 9000mAh portable charger has both a built built-in Apple Lightning Connector and a foldable two prong wall plug so you don't need to bring an extra cable to charge your Apple Device.  The additional USB output is 1A & Lightning output is 2.4A - this means you can have incredible charging speeds up to 3.4A To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Reaction: Standardization versus Innovation

Should the Docker container image format be completely standardized? Or should Docker not be held back from evolving the format ahead of the open specification? This was the topic of a heated Twitter tussle last week between Google evangelist Kelsey Hightower and the creator of the Docker itself, Solomon Hykes. —New Stack

What is at stake here is the standardization versus innovation. Should Docker standardize their container technology or not?

On the one side is the belief that standardizing squashes innovation. Once you’ve standardized something, and other people start building on it, you can’t change the standard without a lot of agreement and effort—after all, other people are now depending on your product remaining the same across many cycles of development. This certainly kills innovation, as implementing new things both exposes your ideas to public view before you can implement them, and slows down the pace at which new ideas can be deployed in the real world.

On the other side is the belief that standardizing is necessary for the market to mature, and for a healthy ecosystem to develop that’s better for the entire community. How can customers and other vendors build products around a particular product if the Continue reading

Lenovo crams 48TB of SSD storage on a board

Lenovo is developing an SSD storage board with a monstrous 48TB capacity, and the company plans to release it by the middle of next year.The board is basically a collection of high-capacity SSDs. It provides an efficient way of cramming more SSD storage into computer slots, instead of using individual drives.The 48TB storage capacity will fit in a space for two standard 2.5-inch storage drives. That's significantly more storage than available in two Samsung PM1633A SSDs, which are now the largest capacity SSDs at 15.36TB and will fit in the same slots.Lenovo, known more as a PC and mobile device maker than a storage company, is developing the board in its research labs. Companies like Seagate, Toshiba, NxGn Data, and Amphenol are helping Lenovo develop the technology, part of a program called Project Spark.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Brands, take note: Customers still struggle to reach you

There's plenty of lip service paid today to the importance of customer service, but a new study suggests brands are failing miserably at delivering it. Social media, it turns out, isn't making things any better.In any given year, more than 80 percent of consumers try to reach a brand, and for most of them, it's an exercise in frustration, according to new data from The Northridge Group. Fifty-five percent say they need to use two or more communication channels to contact a company or brand before an issue is resolved. In general, 44 percent of consumers say companies don't make it easy to contact them.As for social media, 77 percent of consumers say they use social channels to contact companies at least as much as they did a year ago, but one in five never even get a response, Northridge found.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

10 tips to master the art of the career humblebrag

In today's hyper-connected social media-centric culture, there aren't many topics that are off-limits. People seem comfortable sharing the most intimate details about meals, travel, kids, pets and personal drama, not to mention their feelings and opinions on politics, current events and religion. But there's one subject that seems to render even the most outspoken people mute: their professional success. And that's a big problem.Social stigma "People are so comfortable sharing their personal lives with a broad swath of people, but when it comes to work, that's when they get shy -- and that's exactly when they shouldn't be. Whether you're an active or a passive job seeker, it's important to have a strong sense of who you are, what you've accomplished and where you want to go next in your career and be able to broadcast those facts to your network," says Catherine Fisher, senior director, member marketing and communications at LinkedIn.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Many bluetooth smart locks open easily for attackers

Security researchers used the recent Def Con hackers’ convention to show just how easily some Bluetooth-based smart locks can be opened.Researchers Ben Ramsey and Anthony Rose of Merculite Security took a look at 16 smart locks from companies such as Ceomate, Elecycle, iBlulock, Mesh Motion, Okidokey, Plantraco, Quicklock, and Vians. Ramsey and Rose discovered that of those 16 locks, 12 could be hacked. Several of them could also be hacked with little to no effort. The researchers’ presentation slides are available on GitHub; the presentation was first reported by Tom’s Guide.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Many bluetooth smart locks open easily for attackers

Security researchers used the recent Def Con hackers’ convention to show just how easily some Bluetooth-based smart locks can be opened.Researchers Ben Ramsey and Anthony Rose of Merculite Security took a look at 16 smart locks from companies such as Ceomate, Elecycle, iBlulock, Mesh Motion, Okidokey, Plantraco, Quicklock, and Vians. Ramsey and Rose discovered that of those 16 locks, 12 could be hacked. Several of them could also be hacked with little to no effort. The researchers’ presentation slides are available on GitHub; the presentation was first reported by Tom’s Guide.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Holy Batman! Look at how IoT has transformed police cars

The Batmobile is the ultimate crime-fighting vehicle. Today’s police cars aren’t far behind, thanks to IoT and new connectivity solutions.Meeting the needs of both public safety and law enforcement on a tight budget is challenging. Four major requirements first have to be met. How do you respond quickly to a wide range of incidents that might occur over a large area at any time with limited police resources? How can information (such as car license plates) be collected and referenced against online databases while traveling at high speeds? How can sensors capture and process information in order to give police officers more time? How can encounters between the police and public be easily recorded in detail? Multi-WAN routers, IoT systems, vehicle scanners, body cameras and a crime database all come together to make this possible.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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