End of the line for Microsoft Band?

Last week when I discussed the latest rumors surrounding Surface All-In-Ones, I added that there was no news on the Microsoft Band front. Now there apparently is news, and it's not the best.Microsoft's Band and Band 2 devices look like they run Windows 10, but they don't. They only run firmware. One of the rumors surrounding future Band products is that they would get the full OS, or at least enough of it to make it functional with PCs. That may not be the case, however. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley reports that the group working on bringing Windows 10 to Band was disbanded weeks ago. That doesn't necessarily mean Band 3 won't happen; it just means the group working on a Windows 10 port is gone. They could always release Band 3 with firmware just like the first two versions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows 10 Redstone: A guide to the builds

Microsoft never sleeps. Even before the Windows 10 Anniversary Update was rolled out, the company began work on the next two major updates to Windows 10, code-named Redstone 2 and Redstone 3. (Redstone 1 was the code name for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.) Redstone 2 will likely be fully ready in the spring of 2017. It's not yet clear when Redstone 3 will be finished.If you want to test drive the upcoming updates, you don't have to wait until their final releases. As it did with the Anniversary Update, Microsoft has been releasing public preview builds, each a little bit closer to the final version. The updates are being tested and delivered the same way that those for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update were -- first to members of Microsoft's Insider Program via a series of public preview builds and then, when they are final, via Windows Update.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

$29 for This Premium 4-Course Training on Amazon Web Services- Deal Alert

AWS, or Amazon Web Services, is the premier cloud computing platform that services companies worldwide. Master this in-demand platform, and you’re certain to command a hefty paycheck.Unsure where to start? The AWS Mastery Bundle is a 4-course bundle certain to make you an authority on all things AWS--and turn you into a certified cloud guru.The following courses are included in your bundle: AWS Certified Developer Associate Exam Prep - Master all you need to pass the AWS certification exam, a must-have for aspiring AWS pros.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The need for software archaeology

Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The need for software archaeology

Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The need for software archaeology

Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The need for software archaeology

Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

So, You Want to Program Quantum Computers?

The jury is still out when it comes to how wide-ranging the application set and market potential for quantum computing will be. Optimistic estimates project that in the 2020s it will be a billion-dollar field, while others expect the novelty will wear off and the one company behind the actual production of quantum annealing machines will go bust.

Ultimately, whichever direction the market goes with quantum computing will depend on two things. First, the ability for applications of sufficient value to warrant the cost of quantum systems have to be in place. Second, and connected to that point, is the …

So, You Want to Program Quantum Computers? was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

Windows Desktop apps are now in the Windows Store

Developers can now distribute their Windows desktop apps to people shopping through Windows 10's app store, with an update from Microsoft Wednesday.It's a move powered by Project Centennial, which lets developers take older Windows apps (known in Microsoft parlance as Win32 apps), port them to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), and then sell them on the Windows Store. The first of those apps are rolling out over the coming days, and developers can now submit their Centennial-converted apps for future release.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Law firm CIO: ‘I run more video than CBS’

The challenges as the head of IT for a major international law firm with 700 attorneys, 1,500 total employees and 20 separate offices around the world aren’t exactly small, but Baker Donelson CIO John D. Green is up to the task – even when that task changes a little every day.Different parts of Baker Donelson’s sprawling practice have different needs, said Green, who sat down with Network World Tuesday at Riverbed’s Disrupt event in New York. The real estate practice, tax, and patent and trademark practices, among others, have their own software, all of which Donelson has to support.MORE: Riverbed upgrades set sights on the SD-WAN edge, cloud integrationTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Law firm CIO: ‘I run more video than CBS’

The challenges as the head of IT for a major international law firm with 700 attorneys, 1,500 total employees and 20 separate offices around the world aren’t exactly small, but Baker Donelson CIO John D. Green is up to the task – even when that task changes a little every day.Different parts of Baker Donelson’s sprawling practice have different needs, said Green, who sat down with Network World Tuesday at Riverbed’s Disrupt event in New York. The real estate practice, tax, and patent and trademark practices, among others, have their own software, all of which Donelson has to support.MORE: Riverbed upgrades set sights on the SD-WAN edge, cloud integrationTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Brocade’s big new router is all about network size, automation

Brocade this week rolled out a big data center router its says will handle and help manage the massive amounts of traffic expected to cross enterprise networks in the not-to-distant future.The Brocade SLX 9850 expands the Brocade data center routing family and supports 15x more total capacity than the current Brocade MLXe box via a 230Tbps non-blocking chassis fabric capacity for 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.+More on Network World: Brocade CEO says they've built an easy button for IP networks, are benefiting from SDN/NFV+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Brocade’s big new router is all about network size, automation

Brocade this week rolled out a big data center router its says will handle and help manage the massive amounts of traffic expected to cross enterprise networks in the not-to-distant future.The Brocade SLX 9850 expands the Brocade data center routing family and supports 15x more total capacity than the current Brocade MLXe box via a 230Tbps non-blocking chassis fabric capacity for 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.+More on Network World: Brocade CEO says they've built an easy button for IP networks, are benefiting from SDN/NFV+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Violin, still pushing flash speeds, looks to the cloud

In flash storage these days, it takes more than speed to win over many enterprises.Violin Memory, an early player in enterprise flash, made strides more than a decade ago with storage arrays that outran spinning-disk systems for applications that needed data fast. Then the giants of the data center got into the game, and enterprises started looking at flash for their primary storage instead of targeted uses.That leaves Violin catching up. It’s added data services like replication and deduplication – the company calls its suite of integrated services the most complete in flash storage – and on Wednesday the company is announcing what it calls the industry’s highest performance all-flash array for primary storage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Enough with “firewalls”

A mythical conversation on firewalls, and some observations

“Let’s put the firewall here, so it can protect the servers in this part of the network.”
“How would you define a firewall?”
“You know, the appliance that, well, protects servers and other machines from outside threats…”
“And how does it do this?”
“By filtering the traffic using some sort of stateful mechanism, and network address translation, and deep packet inspection, and blocking certain ports, and…”
“In other words, it’s a bunch of services on a single device?”
“Yes…”
“Then maybe we should think in terms of services instead of appliances.”

I’ve never actually had this conversation, but I’ve had many similar ones across my times as a network engineer. I’ll admit, in fact, that it took a lot of conversations like this (with me on the receiving end) to grock the difference between a service and an appliance, and to see that my constant thinking in terms of appliances (or even devices) was actually hindering my ability to design networks. Let me give you two specific reasons you should think of security services, instead of security appliances.

First, When you disaggregate the “things a firewall Continue reading

Volkswagen is founding a new cybersecurity firm to prevent car hacking

As cars become more computerized, they're also facing a greater risk of being hacked. That’s why Volkswagen is founding a new cyber security company devoted to protecting next-generation vehicles.On Wednesday, the automaker said it would partner with a former Israeli intelligence agency director to jointly establish a new company, called Cymotive Technologies.It’s unclear how much Volkswagen is investing in the new firm, but security experts have been warning that internet-connected cars and self-driving vehicles could one day be a major target for hackers.Even older cars from Volkswagen are vulnerable. Last month, researchers said that millions of vehicles from the automaker can be broken into by exploiting the remote control key systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Volkswagen is founding a new cybersecurity firm to prevent car hacking

As cars become more computerized, they're also facing a greater risk of being hacked. That’s why Volkswagen is founding a new cyber security company devoted to protecting next-generation vehicles.On Wednesday, the automaker said it would partner with a former Israeli intelligence agency director to jointly establish a new company, called Cymotive Technologies.It’s unclear how much Volkswagen is investing in the new firm, but security experts have been warning that internet-connected cars and self-driving vehicles could one day be a major target for hackers.Even older cars from Volkswagen are vulnerable. Last month, researchers said that millions of vehicles from the automaker can be broken into by exploiting the remote control key systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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