Save 69% on Dell XPS 13 13.3″ Full HD Signature Edition Laptop – Deal Alert

The Dell XPS 13 9343-2727SLV 13.3" Full HD Signature Edition Laptop is powerful, feature-packed, and currently discounted over $1,600 on Amazon, making this a very good option for the money if you're considering a new machine for home or school. With the current 69% discount you can order it for just $719 via Amazon.It's 13-inch screen display is virtually borderless, and at 1920 x 1080 resolution it delivers twice as many pixels as standard HD (720p). It's CPU is an Intel Core i5-5200U 2.20GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.70 GHz. For memory you're looking at a generous 4GB DDR3L 1600MHz. And for storage, 128GB solid-state. Battery life is listed at up to 15 hours. The body is made from aluminum and carbon fiber, so it weighs in at only 2.6 lb making it super portable as well. See the dramatically discounted Dell XPS 13 on Amazon to learn more.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BI review: Tableau, QlikView, MicroStrategy and Oracle OBIEE

Among the most important buying criteria for BI tools are scalability and performance, usability and UI, ease of development, and mobile/cloud based customization. An effective BI solution should be able to access any data source and provide capabilities for internal and external users from the same platform, as well as provide better integration with other systems (e.g. CRM, ERP).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Mac sales tumble 12% in second-biggest downturn since ’07

Apple yesterday said it sold 4 million Macs in the March quarter, a 12% decline from the same period the year before, and a larger contraction than for the personal computer business as a whole.The year-over-year downturn in Mac sales was the second straight down quarter, and excepting a brutal 22% drop at the end of 2012, the largest since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007.Analysts at IDC and Gartner earlier this month pegged the continued contraction of the PC industry at 11.5% and 9.6%, respectively. Both also missed the actual Mac number for the quarter in their forecasts for Apple, overestimating by 11% to 13%: IDC had tapped shipments at 4.5 million, while Gartner said it was 4.6 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

U.S. cyberwar against ISIS could use methods and tactics criminals use against enterprises

Cyberwar against ISIS could bring into play tools and tactics that corporate security pros face every day, only this time they will be used as part of a larger objective than criminal profit.The goals of the offensive are to disrupt communications within ISIS and between the group and potential recruits, according to a story in the New York Times.To meet those goals, U.S. Cyber Command could use such means as DDoS and man-in-the-middle attacks, banking Trojans and even ransomware-type attacks that irreversibly encrypt machines (but skip the ransom), experts say.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

U.S. cyberwar against ISIS could use methods and tactics criminals use against enterprises

Cyberwar against ISIS could bring into play tools and tactics that corporate security pros face every day, only this time they will be used as part of a larger objective than criminal profit.The goals of the offensive are to disrupt communications within ISIS and between the group and potential recruits, according to a story in the New York Times.To meet those goals, U.S. Cyber Command could use such means as DDoS and man-in-the-middle attacks, banking Trojans and even ransomware-type attacks that irreversibly encrypt machines (but skip the ransom), experts say.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Errata Security 2016-04-27 17:48:00

Who's your lawyer. Insights & Wisdom via HBO's Silicon Valley (S.3, E. 1)

The company's attorney may be your friend, but they're not your lawyer.  In this guest post, friend of Errata Elizabeth Wharton (@lawyerliz) looks at the common misconception highlighted in this week's Silicon Valley episode.

 
by Elizabeth Wharton


Amidst the usual startup shenanigans and inside-valley-jokes, HBO's Silicon Valley Season 3, Episode 1 contained a sharp reminder: lawyer loyalty runs with the "client," know whether you are the client.   A lawyer hired by a company has an entity as its client, not the individuals or officers of that company.  If you want an attorney then hire your own. 

Silicon Valley Season 3, Episode 1- Setting the Scene (without too many spoilers, I promise)
Upon learning of a board room ouster from the CEO to the CTO role, the startup company's founder Richard storms into the meeting with two board "friends" in Continue reading

Almost two-thirds of software companies contributing to open source

Open source’s march toward preeminence in business software continued over the past year, according to a survey released today by open source management provider Black Duck Software and venture capital firm North Bridge.Roughly two-thirds of respondents to the survey – which was administered online and drew 1,300 respondents – said that their companies encouraged developers to contribute to open-source projects, and a similar proportion said that they were actively engaged in doing so already. That’s a 5% increase from the previous year’s survey.+ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: OpenStack users talk benefits, challenges of open source clouds + IBM lines up all-flash storage to help power cognitive computingTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Exascale Timeline Pushed to 2023: What’s Missing in Supercomputing?

The roadmap to build and deploy an exascale computer has extended over the last few years–and more than once.

Initially, the timeline marked 2018 as the year an exaflop-capable system would be on the floor, just one year after the CORAL pre-exascale machines are installed at three national labs in the U.S.. That was later shifted to 2020, and now, according to a new report setting forth the initial hardware requirements for such a system, it is anywhere between 2023-2025. For those who follow high performance computing and the efforts toward exascale computing, this extended timeline might not come as

Exascale Timeline Pushed to 2023: What’s Missing in Supercomputing? was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

New Ways of Thinking

Rule 11 definitely applies to most new technology that’s being hyped (and overhyped) in the networking world. But while some things stay the same, others actually do change. From one of my readers—

Much of the current “trends” in networking are largely just new marketing-speak on old concepts, but some (I’ll propose) are actually new, or require new ways of thinking—which is which, or for a simpler version: how (really) should I change my thinking to reflect the new-networking-order?

This question rebounds through the networking industry today—how, really, do I need to change my thinking to cope with the new networking order? There are, on the face of it, three options available. Let me begin with a story from a prior career to set the stage.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I worked on airfield electronics and communication systems. Things like RADAR systems, wind speed measurement systems, TACANs, VORs, crypto hardware, MUX’s, inverse MUX’s, and even telephone switches. There was a point when I saw something interesting happening where I lived and spent my time. The TACAN and VOR, for instance, were replaced by new gear. Instead of half splitting, measuring things, and replacing individual components, Continue reading

New Ways of Thinking

Rule 11 definitely applies to most new technology that’s being hyped (and overhyped) in the networking world. But while some things stay the same, others actually do change. From one of my readers—

Much of the current “trends” in networking are largely just new marketing-speak on old concepts, but some (I’ll propose) are actually new, or require new ways of thinking—which is which, or for a simpler version: how (really) should I change my thinking to reflect the new-networking-order?

This question rebounds through the networking industry today—how, really, do I need to change my thinking to cope with the new networking order? There are, on the face of it, three options available. Let me begin with a story from a prior career to set the stage.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I worked on airfield electronics and communication systems. Things like RADAR systems, wind speed measurement systems, TACANs, VORs, crypto hardware, MUX’s, inverse MUX’s, and even telephone switches. There was a point when I saw something interesting happening where I lived and spent my time. The TACAN and VOR, for instance, were replaced by new gear. Instead of half splitting, measuring things, and replacing individual components, Continue reading

Samsung’s smart robot can answer questions and be a security guard

Creativity is alive and well at Samsung, which is developing several cool devices in its labs, including a home companion robot called Otto.The multi-talented robot can answer questions and double as a part-time security system when needed. It is expected to be demonstrated at the Samsung Developer Conference this week in San Francisco.Functionally, Otto is similar in some ways to Amazon Echo, featuring an interactive speaker that can answer questions, order products and play music. But the robot also includes a "head" that hosts a high-definition camera and a display.You can ask questions like "What is Hillary Clinton's age?" or seek out news or weather information, and Otto will bark out the answers. The robot is a prototype, and Samsung has no plans to sell the device.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung’s Artik 10, a challenger to Raspberry Pi 3, will ship next month

Samsung will start shipping its eight-core Artik 10 board computer next month, a challenger to the Raspberry Pi 3.The Artik 10 was first announced last year and could be a PC replacement if you don't mind building out your own system. It could also spawn the development of smart appliances, drones, robots and other gadgets. Like the Raspberry Pi, its components are crammed onto a small circuit board.The Artik 10 will be available from online retailer Digi-Key starting in May, Samsung officials said.Pricing wasn't immediately available, but the Artik 10 could end up being more expensive than the US$35 Raspberry Pi 3, and even the $99.99 Artik 5, a smaller Samsung board for wearables and small gadgets that started shipping in February.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung’s Artik Cloud to challenge Microsoft’s Azure in IoT

Samsung and Microsoft have crossed paths in the smartphone and tablet markets, and will now do battle in the cloud. Samsung on Wednesday announced the Artik Cloud service for businesses, which the company hopes will give it a strong position in the emerging Internet of Things market. In IoT, it will take on cloud services like Microsoft's Azure and IBM's Bluemix.Simply put, the Artik Cloud provides the tools needed for companies to securely collect, store and analyze telemetry data collected from a wide range of sensors.The cloud service also provides software tools and connectors to link IoT data to other cloud services or silos of data that companies may have in server installations or outside sources.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

I am the reason for Apple’s falling iPhone sales

If you’re looking for the reason why Apple just experienced a decline in year-over-year iPhone sales, go ahead and blame it on me. Well, me and millions of other people just like me.Formerly faithful upgrades For the past six years, I have upgraded my iPhone every 24 months, as soon as my carrier contract was up for renewal. I happily went from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 6 Plus. Each time I upgraded, I was thrilled to get the new model with its bigger screen, faster performance and other cool bells and whistles.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AMD finally experiences some good fortune

More than a few pundits have been ready to draw a sheet over AMD, as the company has steadily lost money and share of both the CPU and GPU market. Well, don’t call it a comeback just yet, but fortune is starting to favor Silicon Valley’s biggest underdog.  AMD just announced a new joint venture with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co., Ltd (THATIC) to build custom system on chips (SoCs) for the Chinese server market. AMD expects the total value of the deal to be approximately $293 million, with $52 million in revenue earned over the course of this year. This is not a chip or product deal. CEO Lisa Su said this is a technology licensing deal. It’s a combination of x86 technology along with server fabrics, technology AMD probably acquired when it purchased microserver vendor SeaMicro.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here