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

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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

56% off Vansky Bias Lighting for HDTV USB LED Multi Color Strip Accent Lighting – Deal Alert

This bias lighting strip, currently discounted by 54% on Amazon from $49.99 down to just $21.99, reduces eye-strain caused by differences in picture brightness from scene to scene in movies, shows and games, by adding a subtle backlight to your monitor or TV.  The LED lights can be changed with up to 20 color selections customizing and setting the mood of your workspace. The strip is easy to install and can be cut to size and plugs directly in the USB port of the TV or monitor.  Just Plug-and-play!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

56% off Vansky Bias Lighting for HDTV USB LED Multi Color Strip Accent Lighting – Deal Alert

This bias lighting strip, currently discounted by 54% on Amazon from $49.99 down to just $21.99, reduces eye-strain caused by differences in picture brightness from scene to scene in movies, shows and games, by adding a subtle backlight to your monitor or TV.  The LED lights can be changed with up to 20 color selections customizing and setting the mood of your workspace. The strip is easy to install and can be cut to size and plugs directly in the USB port of the TV or monitor.  Just Plug-and-play!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New Dockercast episode with Avi Cavale from Shippable

In case you missed it, we launched Dockercast, the official Docker Podcast earlier this month including all the DockerCon 2016 sessions available as podcast episodes.

Image result for avi cavale

In this podcast episode, we catch up with Avi Cavale the Co-founder & CEO at Shippable. We start off with a conversation where I ask him why he thinks there has been such an explosion of Docker adoption.  This leads us into the the ideas behind immutable infrastructure and immutable delivery models. Avi discusses how Shippable has focused on making the delivery pipeline easier for developers.

We also discuss some anti-patterns he calls Frankenstein Continuous Integration (CI) where, although Jenkins is awesome, the glue to put a robust CI system together can be reasonably complex. What Shippable tried to do is abstract away some of those complexities for developers.  We end up talking about different Docker patterns Shippable is seeing in the industry.

You can find the latest #Dockercast episodes on the Itunes Store or via the SoundCloud RSS feed.

 

 

New #dockercast episode w/ host @botchagalupe & @avinci from @beshippable as a guest!
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The post New Dockercast episode with Avi Cavale from Shippable appeared first on Docker Blog.

IDG Contributor Network: Networked ‘now’ buttons spur sales

Marketers have always enjoyed using a smattering of emotive words to describe their products and services. Traditional idioms over the years have included "super" and "extra."Now there’s a new come-on out there tumbling from the copywriters’ keyboards. And that word is "now," as in Amazon Prime Now, HBO Now, PlayStation Now and Google Now, points out market research firm Dscout.This declaration of "now" is about “instant information, instant credit, instant connection, instant stuff on my doorstep,” and it is what consumers are starting to expect, say researchers at Dscout, which has been studying what it thinks is a shift in consumer expectation to instant everything.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Defense Department needs to embrace open source or military will lose tech superiority

The Department of Defense needs to move past open source myths that have been debunked and jump on the open source bandwagon or the Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. military will not be able to maintain tech superiority, warns a Center for a New American Security (CNAS) report.To maintain technological superiority, the DoD needs “to acquire, develop, deploy and maintain cutting-edge software” systems. “Unless the department is able to accelerate how it procures, builds and delivers software, it will be left behind,” said the authors of “Open Source Software and the Department of Defense” (pdf).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Defense Department needs to embrace open source or military will lose tech superiority

The Department of Defense needs to move past open source myths that have been debunked and jump on the open source bandwagon or the DoD and U.S. military will not be able to maintain tech superiority, warns a Center for a New American Security (CNAS) report.To maintain technological superiority, the DoD needs “to acquire, develop, deploy, and maintain cutting-edge software” systems. “Unless the department is able to accelerate how it procures, builds, and delivers software, it will be left behind,” said the authors of “Open Source Software and the Department of Defense” (pdf).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Acer’s new Chromebook is designed to welcome Android apps

Acer's versatile Chromebook R 13 is one good device to run Android apps because it can function as a laptop or tablet.The 2-in-1 has a rotating 13-inch full HD screen that gives it dual functionality. The touchscreen gives it a mobile-like interface to run Android apps.The device has Chrome OS, but Google is making it possible to run Android apps from Google Play store on newer Chromebooks. Acer will add Android app support to the new Chromebook, the company said.Android app support adds to the versatility of Chromebooks, which are popular as cheap and low-cost laptops. The shipments of 2-in-1s are growing, and Chrome OS is better suited for those devices than Android.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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