Wireless on wheels? Cable can play at that game, too

When lots of people gather for concerts or sports events, cellular carriers often bring their networks to the scene with cell towers mounted on trucks, or COWs (cells on wheels). Not to be outdone, Comcast is joining the fray using Wi-Fi.The U.S. cable giant will bring WoW (Wi-Fi on Wheels) to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next week. WoW is what it sounds like: a van with six access points (APs) mounted on a 40-foot mast.Each AP points in a different direction so the truck can deliver strong signals over a wide area. It can serve as many as 3,000 people within a range of 500 feet, according to Comcast. Those users can get speeds as much as five times as fast as cellular, the company says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wireless on wheels? Cable can play at that game, too

When lots of people gather for concerts or sports events, cellular carriers often bring their networks to the scene with cell towers mounted on trucks, or COWs (cells on wheels). Not to be outdone, Comcast is joining the fray using Wi-Fi.The U.S. cable giant will bring WoW (Wi-Fi on Wheels) to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next week. WoW is what it sounds like: a van with six access points (APs) mounted on a 40-foot mast.Each AP points in a different direction so the truck can deliver strong signals over a wide area. It can serve as many as 3,000 people within a range of 500 feet, according to Comcast. Those users can get speeds as much as five times as fast as cellular, the company says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers are targeting the Rio Olympics, so watch out for these cyberthreats

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will attract more than just athletes and tourists this year. Hackers from across the world will also be on the prowl, trying to exploit the international event.  That means visitors to the Olympics and even people watching from home should be careful. Cyberthreats related to the games will probably escalate over the coming weeks and could creep into your inbox or the websites you visit.Don't click if it's too good to be true The Olympics have become a beacon for cyber criminals, said Samir Kapuria, senior vice president with security firm Symantec. A great deal of money is spent on the international event, so hackers naturally want a slice of the pie, he added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers are targeting the Rio Olympics, so watch out for these cyberthreats

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will attract more than just athletes and tourists this year. Hackers from across the world will also be on the prowl, trying to exploit the international event.  That means visitors to the Olympics and even people watching from home should be careful. Cyberthreats related to the games will probably escalate over the coming weeks and could creep into your inbox or the websites you visit.Don't click if it's too good to be true The Olympics have become a beacon for cyber criminals, said Samir Kapuria, senior vice president with security firm Symantec. A great deal of money is spent on the international event, so hackers naturally want a slice of the pie, he added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

39% off Pebble Time Smartwatch – Deal Alert

With this deal, the Pebble Time smartwatch is currently sub-$100, which for some may make this a worthwhile purchase considering everything it can do. First off, the Pebble Time gives you all of your notifications in a glance, from calendar items to texts, emails and incoming call data. Pebble Health comes built-in, and tracks your activity and sleep with daily and weekly reporting. A built-in mic lets you take voice notes or give quick responses. Choose from thousands of watch faces and apps. The Pebble Time is water resistant up to 30 meters, and its e-paper screen reads clearly in bright sun and is scratch resistant. Its battery lasts up to 7 days on a single charge. There is a lot packed into this highly rated wearable, which averages 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 630 customers (read reviews). With the current 29% off deal you can pick it up for just $91.90, a significant discount from its typical $149.99 list price. See the Pebble Time Smartwatch now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco patches critical exposure in management software

Cisco has patched what it called a critical vulnerability in its Unified Computing System (UCS) Performance Manager software that could let an authenticated, remote attacker execute commands.+More on Network World: Quick look: Cisco Tetration Analytics+Cisco UCS Performance Manager versions 2.0.0 and prior are affected and the problem is resolved in Cisco UCS Performance Manager versions 2.0.1 and later. UCS Performance Manager collects information about UCS servers, network, storage, and virtual machines.According to Cisco the vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation performed on parameters that are passed via an HTTP GET request. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP GET requests to an affected system. An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the root user.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco patches critical exposure in management software

Cisco has patched what it called a critical vulnerability in its Unified Computing System (UCS) Performance Manager software that could let an authenticated, remote attacker execute commands.+More on Network World: Quick look: Cisco Tetration Analytics+Cisco UCS Performance Manager versions 2.0.0 and prior are affected and the problem is resolved in Cisco UCS Performance Manager versions 2.0.1 and later. UCS Performance Manager collects information about UCS servers, network, storage, and virtual machines.According to Cisco the vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation performed on parameters that are passed via an HTTP GET request. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP GET requests to an affected system. An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the root user.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco patches critical exposure in management software

Cisco has patched what it called a critical vulnerability in its Unified Computing System (UCS) Performance Manager software that could let an authenticated, remote attacker execute commands.+More on Network World: Quick look: Cisco Tetration Analytics+Cisco UCS Performance Manager versions 2.0.0 and prior are affected and the problem is resolved in Cisco UCS Performance Manager versions 2.0.1 and later. UCS Performance Manager collects information about UCS servers, network, storage, and virtual machines.According to Cisco the vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation performed on parameters that are passed via an HTTP GET request. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP GET requests to an affected system. An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the root user.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft wants to help small businesses book appointments online

Small business owners are getting a new feature tailored just for them in Microsoft Office 365 -- a full-service system for scheduling appointments for their services over the internet.Microsoft Bookings is a new service that makes it possible for business owners to create their own scheduling page, and then let potential customers make an appointment online. It's supposed to be a boon for businesses used to running that process through a series of emails, phone calls, or text messages.Customers will be able to look at a list of prices, and then schedule time for an appointment with a list of employees. Bookings will then email the customers a confirmation including an invitation they can put on their calendars.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers have targeted 130 restaurants at Cicis pizza chain

More than 130 restaurants at the Cicis pizza chain were the recent target of hackers, and customers' credit card data may have been stolen.The company reported the data breach on Tuesday and posted a list of the restaurants affected, most of which are located in Texas.The hackers struck by secretly installing malware into the restaurant’s point-of-sale systems. Other companies, including fast-food chain Wendy’s and retailer Target, have been attacked in the same way in order to steal payment card data.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers have targeted 130 restaurants at Cicis pizza chain

More than 130 restaurants at the Cicis pizza chain were the recent target of hackers, and customers' credit card data may have been stolen.The company reported the data breach on Tuesday and posted a list of the restaurants affected, most of which are located in Texas.The hackers struck by secretly installing malware into the restaurant’s point-of-sale systems. Other companies, including fast-food chain Wendy’s and retailer Target, have been attacked in the same way in order to steal payment card data.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Is container virtual networking a blessing or a curse?

Who doesn’t love the fundamental promise of containers? Simple development, segmented applications, rolling changes, etc. They are certainly a blessing to both developers and operations. But if not thoughtfully designed, container virtual networking could be the curse that plagues us for years.Let’s start with a little perspective. The rise and wide deployment of virtual machines and containers coincides with mainstream data center networking evolving from a hierarchical layer 2/3 network to a flatter layer 2 interconnect. Since cloud infrastructure is inherently multi-tenant, traditionally virtual LANs have been used to isolate applications and tenants sharing a common infrastructure. But as containerized applications explode in number, the VLAN maximum size limit of 4,096 becomes grossly inadequate for very large cloud computing environments.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Is container virtual networking a blessing or a curse?

Who doesn’t love the fundamental promise of containers? Simple development, segmented applications, rolling changes, etc. They are certainly a blessing to both developers and operations. But if not thoughtfully designed, container virtual networking could be the curse that plagues us for years.Let’s start with a little perspective. The rise and wide deployment of virtual machines and containers coincides with mainstream data center networking evolving from a hierarchical layer 2/3 network to a flatter layer 2 interconnect. Since cloud infrastructure is inherently multi-tenant, traditionally virtual LANs have been used to isolate applications and tenants sharing a common infrastructure. But as containerized applications explode in number, the VLAN maximum size limit of 4,096 becomes grossly inadequate for very large cloud computing environments.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech groups want Trump to actually notice their industry

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for U.S. president, has antagonized much of the tech industry by opposing free trade and immigration but has otherwise nearly ignored this vital segment of the nation's economy.As Republicans meet in Cleveland this week to officially declare Trump as their presidential candidate, several tech groups have called on him to release a tech agenda. The huge Consumer Technology Association has issued three press releases in the past week calling on Trump to outline his tech priorities.The U.S. tech industry is "too critical to our country's future to be a policy afterthought," Gary Shapiro, the trade group's president and CEO, said in one release. Shapiro's veiled criticism of Republican Trump is notable after the trade group exec once accused Democrat Barack Obama of running "the most antibusiness administration" in his lifetime.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows 10 migration a low priority for some CIOs

Microsoft said last week that it won’t hit its target of one billion Windows 10 devices in use by June 2018, claiming that jettisoning its smartphone business is reducing the number of devices that could run its new operating system. However, with more employees electing to use other computing devices for work, migration to Windows 10 is not a priority for some CIOs who are busy procuring cloud services, honing their analytics software and otherwise tackling more pressing projects. Thanks to the proliferation of PC alternatives, including Macs and iPads, worldwide PC shipments declined 5.2 percent from the second quarter of 2015, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly decline, Gartner said last week. The research firm says upgrades to Windows 10 could jumpstart PC sales among businesses toward the end of 2016 to the beginning of 2017.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Prime Members: 50% off Nintendo 3DS amiibo NFC Accessory – Deal Alert

Wish your (or your kids) Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL or 2DS could support amiibo? It can, with this nifty NFC reader/writer accessory from Nintendo. After a simple pairing process, your game system is ready to unlock new game modes, characters, bonuses and more with just a tap from an amiibo accessory. It's true -- go ask your kids! It may just save you the upgrade to the new 3DS, for now. Typically listed for $20, it's currently slashed 50% down to just $10 for Amazon prime members only. Check out the dramatically discounted NFC accessory on Amazon right now.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google launches new cloud service for understanding human language

Google's intelligent cloud developer tools are expanding with the launch of a new Cloud Natural Language API on Wednesday. The service is aimed at helping developers create applications that understand human language.It's an important move for Google, as public cloud providers are racing to host new applications built with intelligent capabilities. Natural language processing allows developers to build apps that can tackle the challenging task of understanding how humans communicate, and it is key for things like building intelligent assistants and chat bots.This API can provide a bunch of information about a block of text back to an application, including the overall sentiment of a passage and an analysis of the structure of a sentence. The system can also identify entities mentioned, including people, organizations, locations, events, and products.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here