AI, Machine Learning, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide

Deep_Thought

I had a great conversation with Ed Horley (@EHorley) and Patrick Hubbard (@FerventGeek) last night around new technologies. We were waxing intellectual about all things related to advances in analytics and intelligence. There’s been more than a few questions here at VMworld 2016 about the roles that machine learning and artificial intelligence will play in the future of IT. But during the conversation with Ed and Patrick, I finally hit on the perfect analogy for machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). It’s pretty easy to follow along, so don’t panic.

The Answer

Machine learning is an amazing technology. It can extrapolate patterns in large data sets and provide insight from seemingly random things. It can also teach machines to think about problems and find solutions. Rather than go back to the tired Target big data example, I much prefer this example of a computer learning to play Super Mario World:

You can see how the algorithms learn how to play the game and find newer, better paths throughout the level. One of the things that’s always struck me about the computer’s decision skills is how early it learned that spin jumps provide more benefit than regular Continue reading

A new OpenSUSE Linux is coming to town, and it’s all about stability

Linux users come in many shapes and sizes, but those in the business world typically steer clear of the bleeding edge. That's why the OpenSUSE project recently switched to a two-pronged development approach, with one version focused on constant updates and another on enterprise-grade stability. On Wednesday, the latter took a big step forward.The first beta version of OpenSUSE Leap 42.2 is now available, giving enterprises and other stability-minded users the chance to check it out and get a taste of what's coming in the final release, which is due Nov. 16. This is the first key update to the Leap software since OpenSUSE adopted its dual-path approach late last year with OpenSUSE 42.1.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

An I2RS Overview

What is the Interface to the Routing System (I2RS), and why do we need it? To get a good I2RS overview, consider the following illustration for a moment—

rib-fib

What does the interface between, say, BGP and the routing table (RIB) actually look like? What sort of information is carried over this interface, and why? A short (and probably incomplete) list might be—

  • Routes being installed by the routing protocol into the RIB—this is the most obvious bit of information, allowing the device to actually build a forwarding table
  • Routes being overwritten—this isn’t as obvious as installed routes, but BGP (for instance), can only advertise what is installed in the local table; hence if a route it has installed is overwritten, the process needs to know to stop advertising the route
  • Routes being removed from the routing table—perhaps even less obvious, but some routing protocols (BGP is one) allow for multihop routes; when the next hop is removed, any routes using that next hop need to be removed as well
  • Connected interfaces removed—this is often handled as a route removal, but it impacts more than just multihop routes; removing a connected route implies loss of reachability to a specific set of Continue reading

Asus may be planning Microsoft HoloLens competitor in its VR push

Virtual reality headsets are considered the hot new PC devices, and Asus is planning to stake a claim of its own.  Asus on Wednesday said it intends to release VR headsets. VR headsets can be versatile 3D PCs that make 2D laptops and desktops look pale in comparison, Asus said at the IFA trade show in Berlin. "Asus has a few VR options coming up really soon. Once that happens, you will be free from devices and immersed in 360 degrees of pure entertainment that will blow you away," said Jen Chuang, Asus' design center director. Asus didn't provide further details, but the company seems to want to focus on untethered VR headsets, or perhaps even mixed-reality headsets like Microsoft's HoloLens. It could tap into a few technologies to do so.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Instagram finally lets iOS users zoom in

File this under: What took you so long, Instagram?I can't tell you the number of times I've attempted to zoom in on one of my crummy Instagram photos, hoping I might see better detail than I usually capture in my faraway shots. Now Instagram has enabled pinching and zooming of not just photos, but videos, for those with iPhones and other iOS devices. And I checked: It works with existing photos and videos, not just ones created from here on."Starting today, you can pinch to zoom on photos and videos in feed, on profiles and on Explore. Dive into an adorable puppy’s smile or into every detail of your friend’s new shirt," Instagram proclaims.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SAP builds next-gen data warehouse for the cloud

With an eye on the need for more scalable, real-time analytics, SAP today unveiled SAP BW/4HANA, its next-generation data warehouse product for the real-time digital enterprise.BW/4HANA will support on-premises deployments, but will also be available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC), says Neil McGovern, senior director, Product Marketing, SAP Data Warehousing."We're trying to give our customers some options," he says. "AWS is infrastructure as a service (IaaS) — you can provision very quickly and inexpensively. With HEC, it's far more of a complete, turnkey solution — more platform as a service (PaaS)." SAP’s next-generation data warehouse service, SAP BW/4HANA, provides interactivity with historical and live data whether that data lives inside or outside the enterprise. (Click for larger image.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE CIO tackles tough ‘spin merge’ with CSC

It’s become fashionable to call CIOs chief integration officers because they integrate acquired assets, blend on-premises infrastructure and cloud technology, and collaborate with several stakeholders on digital services. HPE Scott Spradley, CIO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. You can call Scott Spradley, CIO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a chief separation officer. Spradley is racing to complete his second major asset split within 12 months, extracting HPE's $20 billion enterprise services business in an $8.5 billion "spin merge" with Computer Sciences Corp. The technology services company will absorb HPE’s services business, acquired in a 2008 acquisition of EDS.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Facebook’s new algorithm will help save VR movies from shaky-cam

Facebook wants to make sure that any VR home movies shared on its social network won't make people puke. That's why the company is building a new video stabilization algorithm that will help smooth out all of the bumps and shakes that come from wielding a 360-degree camera. The new algorithm is designed for stabilizing 360-degree videos in particular, something that Facebook says is important for addressing the growing amount of spherical footage. Previous stabilization technology was designed primarily for videos with a smaller field of view because they were usually taken with traditional 2D cameras. It's an important step for Facebook, which has been focused on virtual reality content and 360-degree video, especially after its US$2 billion acquisition of VR hardware maker Oculus in 2014. The social network introduced support for 360-degree video a year ago and has been pushing it ever since. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

1,650lb 3D printed aircraft tool sets Guinness World Record

A 17.5 foot long, 5.5 foot wide and 1.5 foot tall the 3D printed aircraft design tool has earned the title of largest solid 3D printed item by Guinness World Records.The 1,650 lb. apparatus known as a trim-and-drill tool is comparable in length to a large sport utility vehicle and will ultimately be tested for use in building the Boeing 777X passenger jet. Basically the tool will be used to secure the jet’s composite wing skin for drilling and machining before assembly according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ONRL) who developed the tool.+More on Network World: The hottest 3D printing projects+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

1,650lb 3D printed aircraft tool sets Guinness World Record

A 17.5 foot long, 5.5 foot wide and 1.5 foot tall the 3D printed aircraft design tool has earned the title of largest solid 3D printed item by Guinness World Records.The 1,650 lb. apparatus known as a trim-and-drill tool is comparable in length to a large sport utility vehicle and will ultimately be tested for use in building the Boeing 777X passenger jet. Basically the tool will be used to secure the jet’s composite wing skin for drilling and machining before assembly according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ONRL) who developed the tool.+More on Network World: The hottest 3D printing projects+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

My Test Tube Filled with DNA is Better than Your Mesos Cluster

 

We’ve seen computation using slime mold, soap film, water droplets, there’s even a 10,000 Domino Computer. Now DNA can do math In a test tube. Using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

It’s not fast. Calculations can take hours. The upside: they are tiny and can work in wet environments. Think of running calculations in your bloodstream or in cells, like a programmable firewall, to monitor and alert on targeted health metrics and then trigger a localized response. Or if you are writing  science fiction perhaps the ocean could become one giant computer?

The applications already sound like science fiction:

Prior devices for control of chemical reaction networks and DNA doctor applications have been limited to finite-state control, and analog DNA circuits will allow much more sophisticated analog signal processing and control. DNA robotics have allowed devices to operate autonomously (e.g., to walk on a nanostructure) but also have been limited to finite-state control.
Analog DNA circuits can allow molecular robots to include real-time analog control circuits to provide much more sophisticated control than offered by purely digital control. Many artificial intelligence systems (e.g., neural networks and probabilistic inference) that dynamically learn Continue reading

Video: A tour of VMWorld’s Hands on Labs

At VMWorld 2016 in Las Vegas up to one-quarter of the 23,000 attendees are expected to take a Hands on Lab, which allows customers and partners to test out VMware's software in a sandbox environment. Check out our tour of the Hands on Labs in the video below.  To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

I have all the code—now I want to hug a free software developer

I have all the source code.That’s not some sort of metaphorical declaration of the glory of free and open source software; I’m not talking about simply having the rights to go download some source code. I mean it quite literally: I have the source code necessary to build all of the software powering my PC.Right now. Like, on my hard drive.+ Also on Network World: 30 days in a terminal +I did this simply because I could. Because the source code is there. Source code repositories galore. And as I sit here typing this, I have all of it—at least for everything I use every day. And I’ve backed it up.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: The Internet of Poorly Working Things

Of course, not all connected devices are so easily mocked; some devices are dead serious: home security, HVAC, almost any kitchen appliance — even our very smart toaster. And it’s not that the IoT doesn’t work. The situation is actually worse than that: The IoT randomly works. Devices stop and restart, they require visit to unsupportive customer support pages and helpless Your Call Is Important To US help lines (and now we have chatbots). If you think I exaggerate, google “Nest trouble” or “smart bulbs trouble”. We don’t have to look around much to find the culprit: with its razor-thin margins, the Consumer Electronics (CE) culture offers a big fat target for our inquisition. —Monday Note

LinkedInTwitterGoogle+Facebook

The post Worth Reading: The Internet of Poorly Working Things appeared first on 'net work.

A quick lesson in Political Correctness

It's hard to see Political Correctness in action when it's supporting your own political beliefs. It's easier seen from the other side. You can see in in the recent case of football player Colin Kaepernick, who has refused to stand for the national anthem. Many are condemning him, on the grounds that his speech is not politically correct.

For example, ex-teammate Alex Boone criticizes him for disrespecting the flag, because his brother has friends who died in the wars in Iraq. Others in the NFL like Burgess Owen and coach Ron Rivera have made similar statements.

If you think Kaepernick is wrong, then argue that he's wrong. Don't argue that he shouldn't speak on the grounds that he's not Politically Correct, offending veterans, or is a bad citizen.

We live in a country of freedom, where anyone is free to not stand and salute the flag or sing the anthem. So many have grievances of some sort or another that you'd think more would be availing themselves of this freedom. The problem here is not that Kaepernick does it, but that so few others do it as well. The problem here is Political Correctness.

14 hot network jobs, skills for 2017

Recruiting and staffing specialist Robert Half Technology released its annual guide to U.S. tech salaries, which finds IT workers can expect slightly bigger pay bumps than many other professionals are getting.Across all fields, U.S. starting salaries for professional occupations are projected to increase 3.6% in 2017. The largest gains will occur in tech – where starting salaries for newly hired IT workers are forecast to climb 3.8%. BE SURE NOT TO MISS: CompSci salaries rise with demand for new grads The many faces of tech volunteerism 29 tech pros share their favorite IT products The hiring environment remains competitive, and many experienced IT pros can expect to receive multiple offers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

14 hot network jobs, skills for 2017

Recruiting and staffing specialist Robert Half Technology released its annual guide to U.S. tech salaries, which finds IT workers can expect slightly bigger pay bumps than many other professionals are getting.Across all fields, U.S. starting salaries for professional occupations are projected to increase 3.6% in 2017. The largest gains will occur in tech – where starting salaries for newly hired IT workers are forecast to climb 3.8%. BE SURE NOT TO MISS: CompSci salaries rise with demand for new grads The many faces of tech volunteerism 29 tech pros share their favorite IT products The hiring environment remains competitive, and many experienced IT pros can expect to receive multiple offers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Ansible Best Practices: The Essentials

Ansible-Best-Practices.png

The Ansible Way

When I talk about how to develop automation solutions with Ansible, I begin by highlighting the philosophy behind its design. All Ansible best practices relate back to this thinking in one way or another.

Complexity kills

That’s not just a marketing slogan. We really mean it and believe it. We strive to reduce complexity in how we’ve designed Ansible tools and encourage you to do the same. Strive for simplification in what you automate.

Optimize your Ansible content for readability

If done properly, it can be the documentation of your workflow automation.

Think declaratively

Ansible is a desired state engine by design. If you’re trying to “write code” in your plays and roles, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Our YAML-based playbooks were never meant to be for programming.

Ansible is like the Swiss Army Knife of DevOps

Ansible is capable of handling many powerful automation tasks with the flexibility to adapt to many environments and workflows. Not all approaches are created equal though. Don’t let yours undermine the simplicity and power of Ansible. 

Enough philosophy though. Let’s get down to brass tacks. Here I’ll cover some of the most important and impactful best Continue reading

1 … 2,711 2,712 2,713 2,714 2,715 … 3,849