10 compelling reasons to upgrade to Windows 10

An offer you shouldn't refuseThe deadline cometh. July 29 looms, and after that, Windows 7 and 8 users will no longer be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you’ve been waiting for Microsoft to polish out the operating system’s initial bugs, it’s time to make the leap.This article’s more for the fence-sitters—the folks who haven’t decided whether to stick with what they know or embrace Microsoft’s new-school operating system. There are some very valid reasons not to upgrade to Windows 10, to be honest. But Windows 10 is the best Windows yet, and most people should claim the free upgrade while there’s still time.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wearables could compromise corporate data

As smartwatches and other wearables gain popularity, experts are warning of potential data security risks in workplaces.Some employees have begun connecting their personal smartwatches with corporate Wi-Fi networks, which could mimic the problems caused when personal smartphones started showing up at work several years ago. That earlier bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend fostered an explosion of software products from various vendors for managing devices securely, alongside laptops and desktops.As wearables begin to flood the workplace, the risk to employers could begin to look like "BYOD on steroids," said Peter Gillespie, an attorney at Fisher Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm representing employers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

10 travel apps to smooth your next business trip

Clear skies aheadImage by ThinkstockIt sometimes seems as if business travel is expressly designed to raise blood pressure. Cancelled flights, long airport security lines, even a misplaced receipt for your expense report can throw a monkey wrench into your trip. To help, we’ve rounded up several mobile apps designed to reduce travel stress in a variety of ways, from booking a flight or last-minute hotel room to finding a quiet airport lounge or secure Wi-Fi hotspot. With one exception, all of our picks are available for both iOS and Android devices, and many are free.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tesla asked to brief Senate committee on fatal car crash

Tesla Motors has been asked by a U.S. Senate Committee to brief it on the circumstances leading to a fatal accident that killed the driver of a Tesla Model S, while the vehicle’s Autopilot driver-assistance software was turned on.The request by the committee on Thursday comes on the same day that Consumer Reports, a product-testing and rating nonprofit, called on Tesla to disable hands-free operation in its cars until it can be made safer. Though advanced active safety technology in vehicles could eventually make roads safer, today "we're deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology,” said Laura MacCleery, vice president of consumer policy and mobilization for the organization, in a statement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

For Your Reading List: Re-Imagining Productive Work with Office 365 by Michael Sampson

Michael Sampson’s latest book, Re-Imagining Productive Work with Office 365, is a “must read” if you are currently using or planning to use Office 365. Michael is a brilliant author and approaches his overview of Office 365 not from the perspective of the individual technology elements, but from the perspective of the activities that “information workers” do every day: Storing and sharing files Profiling employee expertise Co-authoring documents Managing meetings Holding discussions Running team projects Thinking productively The focus on business activities instead of specific technologies provides a very practical way of consuming the information in this very well researched book. It will help you understand which aspect of Office 365 to use in a variety of business use cases and how you can best engage your colleagues to be successful with this technology suite. Though the features and capabilities of Office 365 are updated almost too quickly to be incorporated into a book, Michael has found a way to make sure the book’s content stays relevant by indicating where future updates will improve or enhance the experiences he describes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

INE’s CCIE DCv2 Topology & Content Updates

Now that Cisco Live US 2016 is winding down, we’re going full steam ahead with our CCIE Data Center version 2.0 Blueprint updates.  For those of you that haven’t seen it, my live blog of the CCIE DCv2 Techtorial @ Cisco Live US 2016 can help to answer some additional questions about the exam content and format changes.

Some important upcoming dates in the short term are:

For those of you that have already spent time working on the DCv1 blueprint and are transitioning to DCv2, I would highly recommend to check out the online class the week of August 1st.  I’ll mainly be focusing on the technologies that changed in the blueprint, such as Nexus 9k, ACI, BGP EVPN signaled VxLAN, etc.

Additionally, our new class and rack rental topology has been finalized.  Some of the key topology changes are as follows:

This Android Trojan blocks the victim from alerting banks

A new Trojan that can steal your payment data will also try to stymie you from alerting your bank.Security vendor Symantec has noticed a “call-barring” function within newer versions of the Android.Fakebank.B malware family. By including this function, a hacker can delay the user from canceling any payment cards that have been compromised, the company said in a blog post.Fakebank was originally detected in 2013. It pretends to be an Android app, when in reality, it will try to steal the user’s money.The malware works by first scanning the phone for specific banking apps. When it finds them, the Trojan will prompt the user to delete them and install malicious versions of those same apps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

This Android Trojan blocks the victim from alerting banks

A new Trojan that can steal your payment data will also try to stymie you from alerting your bank.Security vendor Symantec has noticed a “call-barring” function within newer versions of the Android.Fakebank.B malware family. By including this function, a hacker can delay the user from canceling any payment cards that have been compromised, the company said in a blog post.Fakebank was originally detected in 2013. It pretends to be an Android app, when in reality, it will try to steal the user’s money.The malware works by first scanning the phone for specific banking apps. When it finds them, the Trojan will prompt the user to delete them and install malicious versions of those same apps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft’s overseas privacy battle may be far from over

Privacy advocates, especially those outside the U.S., can rest a little easier now.  A federal court has rebuked the U.S. government’s attempt to access emails stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland.But the legal battle may be far from over. Thursday’s ruling could affect how the U.S. conducts surveillance over suspected criminals and terrorists overseas, so expect the government to appeal, said Roy Hadley, a lawyer at Thompson Hine who studies cybersecurity issues.“There’s a fine line between privacy and national security,” he said. “And it’s a difficult line to walk.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft’s overseas privacy battle may be far from over

Privacy advocates, especially those outside the U.S., can rest a little easier now.  A federal court has rebuked the U.S. government’s attempt to access emails stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland.But the legal battle may be far from over. Thursday’s ruling could affect how the U.S. conducts surveillance over suspected criminals and terrorists overseas, so expect the government to appeal, said Roy Hadley, a lawyer at Thompson Hine who studies cybersecurity issues.“There’s a fine line between privacy and national security,” he said. “And it’s a difficult line to walk.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Telecom industry hails FCC move to open 5G spectrum

Eleven gigahertz of high-frequency spectrum is now available for use in mobile broadband technologies, after the FCC on Thursday created the Upper Microwave Flexible Use service in the 28GHz, 37GHz and 39GHz band, along with a new unlicensed band, even higher up the spectrum, in the 64-71GHz range.The move was greeted with delight from the U.S. telecom industry, which said that the opening of new spectrum is a critical step on the road to 5G wireless technology. The millimeter-wave bands – those between 30GHz and 300GHz – are central to the development of 5G, and the U.S. is now the first country to designate those frequencies for commercial use.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BRKRST-3014 – Policy, Complexity, and Modern Control Planes


Presented by: Russ White, LinkedIn

Networks are complex. How do we measure complexity? How do we measure scale? What’s the unit of measure?

You can’t “solve” complexity.

Alderson D and J Dole “complexity in highly organized systems arises primarily from design strategies intended to create robustness to uncertainty.” There’s a point on the complexity scale where robustness actually drops. “Robust but fragile”.

Dunning Kruger effect?

What is complexity?

  • Anything you don’t understand?
  • Anything with many parts?
  • Anything with unintended consequences?
  • Something that can’t be solved; can’t be easily defined.
  • We need to develop a model to understand complex systems quickly

“If you haven’t found the trade off, you haven’t looked hard enough” — Russ

The model:

  • Ask, Why?
  • Ask ,What & How?
  • State
  • Optimization
  • [Interaction] Surface (where two components interact with each other [which could be, and often is, human on CLI])
  • Ask, This is like what? (what’s it similar to?)
  • Now matter how you’re analyzing a network (protocols, applications, whatever), you’ll find these 3 things.
  • Good examples of questions to ask for each point in different use cases

3-way trade off:

  • Quick/Cheap/Quality, or
  • State/Surface/Optimization

“Adding more state to the system should result in an increase in optimization” Continue reading

63% off Gadget Guard iPhone 6 Plus Screen Protector – Deal Alert

Protect your investment with this highly rated screen protector from Gadget Guard. This Gadget Guard screen protector is specifically designed for the iPhone 6 Plus. It's made of optical grade tempered glass, a material that is both incredibly strong and scratch resistant. And it's specially treated to repel smudges. Right now Amazon indicates that its list price of $39.99 has been reduced by a significant 63% to just $14.70. If you have an unprotected iPhone 6 Plus, or know someone who does, this deal may be one to consider.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

23% off Sony ICD-UX533BLK Digital Voice Recorder – Deal Alert

This portable digital audio recorder from Sony has 4GB of internal flash memory capable of recording up to 1,073 hours of voice notes, lectures, music, or any other important moment with a 2-element stereo mic array that records every nuance with great clarity. It can record and playback in MP3, AAC, WMA, and WAV formats, and features a bright backlit display, a built-in USB for direct connection to your computer, and a microSD card slot to add memory. It boasts up to 30 hours of recording time on a single charge. The unit averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 200 customers (read reviews). Amazon indicates that its typical list price of $99.99 has been reduced 23% to $76.95, saving you $23. See the discounted ICD-UX533BLK digital recorder on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AWS buys Cloud9 IDE in snub to Google

Amazon Web Services has bought Cloud9, a popular web-based developer environment that recently aligned itself with the Google Cloud Platform.Cloud9 is a browser-based IDE (integrated development environment) with a fairly rich feature set for building and deploying applications. Because it runs in a browser, developers can pick up their work from any machine, and Cloud9 has tools that let developers collaborate on projects.Along with Codenvy, it was one of the few remaining popular, independent cloud IDEs."While the cloud IDE space is hot, as a market, IDEs are not an easy way to make money," said IDC analyst Al Hilwa. "The technology is better used as a sweetener to make broader platforms more attractive to developers."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Salesforce1 update will leave many mobile devices out in the cold

An upcoming update to the Salesforce1 mobile app will dramatically reduce the number of supported devices and effectively leave users of all but the latest and most popular devices out in the cold.With its Winter '17 release, due to arrive this October, Salesforce is dropping support for all Android phones except the Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, and S7 along with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Google Nexus 5X and Google Nexus 6P.All Android tablets are being dropped as well, with the exception of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the Samsung Tab A 9.7.Also being excluded are the iPhone 5 and 5C and the iPad Mini 2, Mini 3, and iPad 4, according to an end-of-support announcement uncovered Thursday by The Register.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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