Microsoft reveals big plans for .Net Core

As part of a road map for its open source .Net Core runtime, Microsoft is planning more APIs, an upgrade to the F# language, and expanded processor and Linux support..Net Core, a multi-platform, modular subset of the .Net Framework programming model, was released as a 1.0 version late last month, along with ASP.Net Core 1.0 Web application framework.[ Free tools! Get the most out of Windows with 15 open source tools for system admins. | Stay up on key Microsoft technologies with InfoWorld's Windows newsletter. ] "This release will bring back many of the missing APIs in .Net Core, including networking, serialization, data, and more," said Microsoft's Scott Hunter, a member of the .Net engineering team. "These APIs will be part of .Net Standard 2.0, which will be released at the same time, resulting in APIs being consistent across .Net Framework, .Net Core, and Xamarin." The APIs will make it easier to write portable code that can run on major .Net platforms, targeting .Net 2.0 standard.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Verizon unveils ‘virtual network services’

Hard on the heels of a similar pitch from AT&T, Verizon this morning is taking the wraps off a lineup of Virtual Network Services (VNS) that it bills as a natural extension of data-center virtualization that promises enterprise WAN customers fast, flexible provisioning as well as cost savings. Industry analysts say such an expansion of existing software-defined networking will find an audience, but that not every customer will be ready for the deep end of the pool at the same time, a caveat Verizon readily acknowledges. The Verizon package – initially including security, WAN optimization and SD-WAN services -- offers customers multiple delivery and pricing models, as well as managed software from a roster of brand-name vendors such as Cisco and Juniper the company says will expand.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Verizon unveils ‘virtual network services’

Hard on the heels of a similar pitch from AT&T, Verizon this morning is taking the wraps off a lineup of Virtual Network Services (VNS) that it bills as a natural extension of data-center virtualization that promises enterprise WAN customers fast, flexible provisioning as well as cost savings. Industry analysts say such an expansion of existing software-defined networking will find an audience, but that not every customer will be ready for the deep end of the pool at the same time, a caveat Verizon readily acknowledges. The Verizon package – initially including security, WAN optimization and SD-WAN services -- offers customers multiple delivery and pricing models, as well as managed software from a roster of brand-name vendors such as Cisco and Juniper the company says will expand.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Like AT&T, Verizon is going virtual for enterprises

If you want to be able to turn network services on and off the same way you do virtual machines, some big carriers are starting to think like you.On Thursday, Verizon announced enterprise services defined and activated through software, a move intended to help both the carrier and its customers save money and respond more quickly to changing needs. It could mean firing up a new carrier Ethernet link to a branch office in minutes instead of months, for example.Verizon’s Virtual Network Services announcement comes just days after AT&T introduced its own set of software-defined services and then partnered with Orange to help move more service smarts from hardware into software.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Like AT&T, Verizon is going virtual for enterprises

If you want to be able to turn network services on and off the same way you do virtual machines, some big carriers are starting to think like you.On Thursday, Verizon announced enterprise services defined and activated through software, a move intended to help both the carrier and its customers save money and respond more quickly to changing needs. It could mean firing up a new carrier Ethernet link to a branch office in minutes instead of months, for example.Verizon’s Virtual Network Services announcement comes just days after AT&T introduced its own set of software-defined services and then partnered with Orange to help move more service smarts from hardware into software.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Ubuntu-powered BQ Aquaris M10 tablet: Almost amazing

Some reviews are easy to write. A new laptop gets released? Check out the specs, see how sturdy it is, test out the battery life—that sort of thing. Pretty simple, really. This is not that kind of review. What we’re looking at here is, on the face of it, simply a tablet. And I could do an in-depth review of the hardware itself, but that would tell you next to nothing about it. In front of me sits the BQ Aquaris M10: Ubuntu Edition, 10.1-in. screen, quad-core, 1.5GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, 8MP camera. Pretty average specs. It feels like the cutting-edge Android-powered tablets—from about three years back. These can be picked up starting at around $250 USD.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Deploying Cisco traffic generator in GNS3

Goal: Deploy TRex, a realistic Cisco traffic generator, to test devices in GNS3. TRex traffic generator is a tool designed to benchmark platforms using realistic traffic. One of the tools through which TRex can be learned and tested is a virtual machine instance, fully simulating TRex without the need for any additional hardware. … The […]

Regarding automation exceptions

It can get quite exciting when you start to think about network automation and what it can do for you and your network. Once you’ve automated everything you can instead focus on deep work to evolve your business. However this daydream can soon fade away as you start to think about the things you can’t automate, or at least don’t know how to do. Ivan Pepelnjak wrote a piece about automating the exceptions. The post is based on a discussion he had with Rok Papež and his ideas about handling exceptions in an automated way.

While the strategy presented is great I think it overlooks some parts when it comes to exceptions that can arise, also the post doesn’t highlight how limitation of the configuration management tools were solved.

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Regarding automation exceptions

Odd one outIt can get quite exciting when you start to think about network automation and what it can do for you and your network. Once you’ve automated everything you can instead focus on deep work to evolve your business. However this daydream can soon fade away as you start to think about the things you can’t automate, or at least don’t know how to do. Ivan Pepelnjak wrote a piece about automating the exceptions. The post is based on a discussion he had with Rok Papež and his ideas about handling exceptions in an automated way.
While the strategy presented is great I think it overlooks some parts when it comes to exceptions that can arise, also the post doesn’t highlight how limitation of the configuration management tools were solved.
Continue reading

Petition urges Apple not to release technology for jamming phone cameras

Over 11,000 people have signed a petition asking Apple not to deploy technology that would allow third parties like the police to use it to disable cameras on user phones under certain circumstances.Apple got a patent for this infrared technology in June and bagging a patent does not necessarily mean that the company is going to use the technology in its new devices.But there is considerable anxiety that the technology that appears designed to prevent people from recording copyrighted and prohibited material could also be used by the police to remotely disable cameras that could be recording misconduct by law enforcement."The release of this technology would have huge implications, including the censoring of political dissidents, activists, and citizens who are recording police brutality," according to the petition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Petition urges Apple not to release technology for jamming phone cameras

Over 11,000 people have signed a petition asking Apple not to deploy technology that would allow third parties like the police to use it to disable cameras on user phones under certain circumstances.Apple got a patent for this infrared technology in June and bagging a patent does not necessarily mean that the company is going to use the technology in its new devices.But there is considerable anxiety that the technology that appears designed to prevent people from recording copyrighted and prohibited material could also be used by the police to remotely disable cameras that could be recording misconduct by law enforcement."The release of this technology would have huge implications, including the censoring of political dissidents, activists, and citizens who are recording police brutality," according to the petition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Southwest Airlines delays flights after computer issues

Southwest Airlines in Dallas, Texas, said Wednesday that performance issues with its technology systems had led to flight delays.The airline said it began experiencing intermittent performance issues in the afternoon with multiple technology systems as a result of an outage. “We are now managing flight delays across our system, with a temporary ground stop in place for those flights that have not left the gate,” it said in a statement.The airline’s website www.southwest.com also had a notice saying, "We're working hard to get you where you want to be......Thank you for your patience," suggesting that online reservations, check-ins and other customer services would not be immediately possible. Users were asked not to refresh their browsers as they would be automatically transferred to the site as soon as possible.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung files artificial muscle patent for use in flexible smartphones

Samsung has filed two U.S. patents for a smartphone that can bend using what it calls "artificial muscle," which when voltage is applied through an internal controller can hold virtually any shape. Originally noted by Korean IT News, the first patent (US20160195902) describes a flexible display panel; a flexible image processing board that controls the video signal to the panel; and "a support member provided between the display panel and the image processing board...and at least one artificial muscle connecting at least two plates and configured to be deformed to change a shape of the support member in accordance with a voltage applied thereto."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s DeepMind A.I. can slash data center power use 40%

Google tapped into the superior intelligence of its DeepMind neural network to find ways to vastly reduce the energy it uses in its data centers, which make up 40% of the worldwide Internet."This will also help other companies who run on Google's cloud to improve their own energy efficiency," Google said in a blog about the achievement. "While Google is only one of many data center operators in the world, many are not powered by renewable energy as we are."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows revenue ticks up slightly in June quarter

Microsoft yesterday reported that second-quarter revenue for its More Personal Computing division was down 4% even though Windows revenue was up over the prior year.Analysts on the company's earnings call Tuesday didn't seem to care: None of those who questioned CEO Satya Nadella or CFO Amy Hood bothered to ask about the division, Windows, or the Surface hardware -- much less about the plummeting revenue of the nearly-abandoned mobile handset strategy.More Personal Computing (MPC) -- one of three financial reporting groups -- booked revenue of $8.9 billion, off from last year's $9.2 billion. It was a return for MPC to the negative after the March quarter's revenue climbed 1%.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s DeepMind A.I. can slash data center power use 40%

Google tapped into the superior intelligence of its DeepMind neural network to find ways to vastly reduce the energy it uses in its data centers, which make up 40% of the worldwide Internet."This will also help other companies who run on Google's cloud to improve their own energy efficiency," Google said in a blog about the achievement. "While Google is only one of many data center operators in the world, many are not powered by renewable energy as we are."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Enterprise encryption adoption up, but the devil’s in the details

I was talking about security with a good friend of mine who runs a software development company. He’s a really smart, technology-savvy guy but his take on encryption wasn’t positive. While he completely understands the need, he hates encryption (and security in general) because he says it always gets in the way when he’s trying to get work done. In this respect, I don’t think he’s that different from most people in the high tech world or, indeed, in the business world in general. This general dislike of encryption is because encryption doesn’t seem valuable when it’s a virtual speed bump in the road to getting stuff done and its benefits, despite the huge increase in breaches and hacking, are hard to quantify. So, with the exception of the paranoid and security geeks, encryption has traditionally been seen as a belt added to the braces of other simpler and therefore more tolerable security measures.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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