The Technology Behind Apple Photos and the Future of Deep Learning and Privacy

There’s a war between two visions of how the ubiquitous AI assisted future will be rendered: on the cloud or on the device. And as with any great drama it helps the story along if we have two archetypal antagonists. On the cloud side we have Google. On the device side we have Apple. Who will win? Both? Neither? Or do we all win?

If you would have asked me a week ago I would have said the cloud would win. Definitely. If you read an article like Jeff Dean On Large-Scale Deep Learning At Google you can’t help but be amazed at what Google is accomplishing. Impressive. Wide ranging. Smart. Systematic. Dominant.

Apple has been largely absent from the trend of sprinkling deep learning fairy dust on their products. This should not be all that surprising. Apple moves at their own pace. Apple doesn’t reach for early adopters, they release a technology when it’s a win for the mass consumer market.

There’s an idea because Apple is so secretive they might have hidden away vast deep learning chops we don’t even know about yet. We, of course, have no way of knowing.

What may prove more true is that Continue reading

Worth Reading: Who is responsible for your application security?

The dividing line between developers and IT operations used to be distinct. Developers were responsible for adding new features securely, but it was IT operations who had responsibility for infrastructure and network security. For the most part, developers didn’t have to think too much about the wider security context. With the advent of the cloud, and of devops, things changed radically. Now developers are quite capable of deploying cloud infrastructure at will, and the tools exist to make infrastructure deployment programmatic. These changes mean that developers do have to think about security, both within the scope of the code they are responsible for and within the wider organizational scope. – CircleID

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IDG Contributor Network: Dude, where’s my phone? BYOD means enterprise security exposure

Sally called the security desk. She can’t find her personal smartphone. Maybe she lost it. Perhaps it fell behind her sofa. Maybe she left it at a restaurant last night. Perhaps someone stole it. Or maybe she put it down somewhere this morning.Whatever the case may be, it's not good—especially since Sally is a well-regarded and trusted mid-level manager with mobile access to many corporate applications and intranet sites that have a lot of sensitive and proprietary information.Now what?There are several types of dangers presented by a lost Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) smartphone or tablet, and many IT professionals and security specialists think only about some of them. They are all problematic. We’ll run through some of the scenarios in a moment, but first: Does your company have policies about lost personal devices?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Dude, where’s my phone? BYOD means enterprise security exposure

Sally called the security desk. She can’t find her personal smartphone. Maybe she lost it. Perhaps it fell behind her sofa. Maybe she left it at a restaurant last night. Perhaps someone stole it. Or maybe she put it down somewhere this morning.Whatever the case may be, it's not good—especially since Sally is a well-regarded and trusted mid-level manager with mobile access to many corporate applications and intranet sites that have a lot of sensitive and proprietary information.Now what?There are several types of dangers presented by a lost Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) smartphone or tablet, and many IT professionals and security specialists think only about some of them. They are all problematic. We’ll run through some of the scenarios in a moment, but first: Does your company have policies about lost personal devices?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: IoT decision making improved with impact-sourced human experts

Drowning in data is a real hazard with the Internet of Things (IoT). How should decisions be made with this flood of sensor data? A hybrid approach combining human intelligence and computing power works well. People are good at making decisions that require nuance and judgement, such as identifying hate speech in online postings. Computerized analytics is better at quickly processing large volumes of data. How do you combine the human thought-making process with the scalability of computing power? In machine learning, this is called supervised learning, where a computer program is taught to "mimic" the thought making-process of a human expert. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world

Looking like the world’s most important and uncomfortable furniture…It’s the six-month anniversary of the last list, which means it’s time for a new one. Terrible shelf-life, these supercomputer lists, but that means there’s a whole new hierarchy of unfathomably powerful computing machines ranked by Top500.org for our ooh-ing and aah-ing pleasure. Here’s a look at the top 10.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world

Looking like the world’s most important and uncomfortable furniture…It’s the six-month anniversary of the last list, which means it’s time for a new one. Terrible shelf-life, these supercomputer lists, but that means there’s a whole new hierarchy of unfathomably powerful computing machines ranked by Top500.org for our ooh-ing and aah-ing pleasure. Here’s a look at the top 10.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Container Networking an Opportunity for NV Overlays

With users citing container networking technology as a challenge, it opens the door for virtualization overlay technology to help.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: A guide to the builds

This summer, one year after the initial launch of Windows 10, Microsoft will release its first major update: the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. It will be delivered in the usual way -- via Windows Update -- and will install automatically on its own.However, if you're curious (or apprehensive) about the upcoming update, you don't have to wait until the final release date to check it out. Microsoft has been releasing public preview builds, each one a little bit closer to the final version. Anyone can get and install those builds by first becoming part of Microsoft's Windows Insider Program, then joining what's called the Fast Ring.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

16 ways to build a better dev team

For all the talk of rock-star developers, we all know it takes a strong, coherent team working in concert to get the best work done. So here’s the question: What does it take to establish a great team of developers who create great products and work well across departments?We reached out to tech executives and engineering managers who have done exactly that and asked them to share their hard-earned wisdom of team building.[ Find out how to handle the real-world problems faced by developers, with InfoWorld's professional programmer's business survival guide. | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's Application Development newsletter. ] From finding the best fit for your next hire to keeping your team fresh and motivated, the following collective advice will have your team coding at its best.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Trying to track down a phisher

Tracking down the phisherImage by REUTERS/Danish IsmailSeveral weeks ago, a key member of the WatchGuard Technologies finance team was targeted by a spear phishing attempt. Spear phishing is a type of phishing attack in which the perpetrator customizes their attack to a particular individual or group of individuals. The attacker gathers information on the victim and then tailors the attack to be more likely to fool the target. The would-be attack arrived as an email appearing to come from the finance employee’s manager, requesting an urgent wire transfer.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Trying to track down a phisher

Tracking down the phisherImage by REUTERS/Danish IsmailSeveral weeks ago, a key member of the WatchGuard Technologies finance team was targeted by a spear phishing attempt. Spear phishing is a type of phishing attack in which the perpetrator customizes their attack to a particular individual or group of individuals. The attacker gathers information on the victim and then tailors the attack to be more likely to fool the target. The would-be attack arrived as an email appearing to come from the finance employee’s manager, requesting an urgent wire transfer.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Massive Acer security breach exposes highly sensitive data of 34,500 online shoppers

Computer maker Acer recently revealed to California’s Attorney General (AG) that hackers broke into the company’s online store and grabbed sensitive customer data. The leaked data includes information such as customer names, addresses, and credit card numbers including expiry dates and three-digit CVC security codes. The hack affects 34,500 customers based in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, as first reported by ZDNet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Massive Acer security breach exposes highly sensitive data of 34,500 online shoppers

Computer maker Acer recently revealed to California’s Attorney General (AG) that hackers broke into the company’s online store and grabbed sensitive customer data. The leaked data includes information such as customer names, addresses, and credit card numbers including expiry dates and three-digit CVC security codes. The hack affects 34,500 customers based in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, as first reported by ZDNet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT talent biggest roadblock to digital transformation

A global study from IDT, conducted in collaboration with SAP, surveyed 81 executives (65 percent of which identified themselves as CIOs) and found that 80 percent of businesses cite digital transformation as a priority. However, according to the report, only 35 percent of respondents said their business actually had a "clearly defined digital transformation strategy."Although digital transformation is important to businesses, companies are still dragging their heels on developing a strategy. One thing that might be holding businesses back the most is hiring, according to a study from The Hackett Group. The study found that for midsized and large businesses, one of the biggest roadblocks with digital transformation has been actually finding and sourcing talent with the right skills.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple may finally get clearance for stores in India

Apple may finally get clearance to set up its stores in India, following the Indian government’s decision Monday to liberalize rules requiring local sourcing of some products sold in foreign-owned, single-brand stores.The iPhone maker operates in the country through third-party owned, exclusive stores run by partners like Imagine, in addition to selling through retail chains and online e-commerce websites. But Apple considers the design and layout of its own stores a key element of its branding and retail experience.The Indian government, in a statement Monday, said the local sourcing requirements, which had been a hurdle for Apple to get clearance for its own branded stores, have been relaxed for up to three years. The new rules include a relaxed “sourcing regime” for an additional five years introduced for “entities undertaking single-brand retail trading of products having ‘state-of-art’ and ‘cutting edge’ technology."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Spearphishing attacks target boards

With great power comes great responsibility -- and also a great big target painted on your head. At least, that's the case lately with corporate boards of directors and cybercriminals launching spearphishing attacks."Since the beginning of the year we have serviced about 350 different clients that have had spearphishing attacks," said Michael Bruemmer, vice president for data breach resolution at Experian Information Solutions. "About a third were specifically targeted at board members."Board members get emails asking them for tax information or requesting bank transfers, which they typically forward to the company employee who is responsible and asking them to take care of it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Spearphishing attacks target boards

With great power comes great responsibility -- and also a great big target painted on your head. At least, that's the case lately with corporate boards of directors and cybercriminals launching spearphishing attacks."Since the beginning of the year we have serviced about 350 different clients that have had spearphishing attacks," said Michael Bruemmer, vice president for data breach resolution at Experian Information Solutions. "About a third were specifically targeted at board members."Board members get emails asking them for tax information or requesting bank transfers, which they typically forward to the company employee who is responsible and asking them to take care of it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to make mobile apps with FileMaker 15

The business world is full of inventories, catalogs and other lists that sit in spreadsheets or databases that would be more useful if you could take them out of the office. With FileMaker Go and FileMaker WebDirect, you can.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

5 Reasons We Started the Ansible Container Project

Here at Ansible, we recently announced a new project called Ansible Container. Its purpose is to allow users to build, deploy, and orchestrate containers at scale, all from Ansible playbooks.

It’s still a young project, barely a month old at this point -- but we’re excited by it, and we think it has a great deal of potential. Here are five reasons why.

1. Because our community has been using Ansible to manage containers for quite a while now.

Ansible has been successful, in large part, by following where our community leads, and our community has been using Ansible to help manage containers for nearly as long as Ansible has been around.  Our community wrote the original Docker module in October 2013, and that module and other container modules have been among the most frequently used Ansible modules ever since. There are hundreds of community-maintained Ansible container images in Dockerhub, and there are excellent blog posts in which Ansible community members describe their own best practices for building and deploying containers. The next logical step was to start a project to bring together some of these best practices into tools that anyone could use.

2. Because the new Docker Continue reading