Linux gaming poised for a boost with new hardware, Vulkan graphics

For decades, Windows has remained the gaming platform of choice for PC users. Linux gaming has suffered from poor hardware support and lack of titles, but that could slowly change. Hardware upgrades, including faster GPUs and CPUs, are poised to improve Linux gaming. The latest gaming titles will come to Linux much faster with Vulkan, a graphics technology that should drive gaming forward on the OS. At E3 this week, Dell announced new Linux-based Alienware Steam Machines gaming PCs with Intel's latest Skylake CPUs and Nvidia GTX 960 GPUs. The catalog of top-line titles -- also called AAA titles -- for the Linux-based SteamOS will grow by the end of the year, said Chris Sutphen, senior marketing manager at Alienware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Big thinkers leave Cisco

The industry is reeling from Monday’s report that four of Cisco’s best-known executives are leaving the company. An internal memo from Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, announced the resignations of Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain, Luca Cafiero and Soni Jiandani, effective June 17. The four formed a team that many referred to as MPLS — letters that represent the initials of their first names. -Channel Partners

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Apple reveals macOS Sierra with Siri, Apple Pay, and other new features

Don’t call it OS X anymore, and if you do, Siri will probably correct you. Apple unveiled on Monday at its 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference that the Mac operating system is now called macOS, and the next version will feature the Siri vocal interface and digital assistant.Siri is the headline feature in what will be macOS Sierra. As had been rumored, a new Siri icon will be accessible in the Dock; clicking on it will launch a Siri window that iOS users will be familiar with. During the macOS Siri demo at WWDC, Apple VP Craig Federighi used Siri to find files and followed up the search to refine the results. Federighi also showed how Siri results can be integrated into other Apple apps, such as Reminders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

15% off Amazon Tap Alexa-Enabled Portable Bluetooth Speaker – Deal Alert

Amazon is currently discounting its Tap speaker by 15% to $109.99. It averages 4 out of 5 stars from 1,300 customers (read reviews). The Tap is a more portable version of their popular Echo speaker. The tap lasts for up to 9 hours on a single charge and is Alexa-Enabled, so you just "tap" and ask it to play your favorite music from most streaming music services, check sports scores, request an Uber, order a pizza, and much more. Learn more about the discounted Tap and explore buying options now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

After a slow start, Dell turns up the dial on Steam Machines

Dell had high hopes for the Alienware Steam Machine after its delayed release last year, but it did not become as popular as its twin, Alienware Alpha, a Windows-based PC gaming console.The viability of Steam Machines, a family of Linux-based PC gaming consoles with SteamOS, has been questioned, but Dell isn't giving up yet. With better hardware and an expanding list of gaming titles, Dell is hoping that interest in Alienware Steam Machines will grow.The Steam Machine's rectangular console is based on a concept design from Valve, the world's largest independent game distributor. At the E3 show this week, Dell is announcing Steam Machines with faster graphics processors and chips. The systems will start shipping this week. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple Pay comes to the web

Apple Pay will soon be let users make online purchases, the company announced Monday at the WWDC 2016 keynote speech.“Now when you’re shopping online, you’ll have a ‘Pay with Apple Pay’ button,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering. The new feature will be available when the latest version of macOS, Sierra, becomes available to Mac users this fall.Federighi said the online “Apple Pay” button will require users to authenticate their identity from a TouchID device—iPhone or Apple Watch—to preserve the security of their transactions.Apple Pay first went into operation in October 2014, but it’s been confined to real-world brick-and-mortar transactions—with iPhone owners using that device to pay for items when checking out at such stores—as well as purchases made from iOS apps. Today’s announcement expands the service to the broader realm of e-commerce—putting the service in broader competition with online pay services like PayPal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple Pay comes to the web

Apple Pay will soon be let users make online purchases, the company announced Monday at the WWDC 2016 keynote speech.“Now when you’re shopping online, you’ll have a ‘Pay with Apple Pay’ button,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering. The new feature will be available when the latest version of macOS, Sierra, becomes available to Mac users this fall.Federighi said the online “Apple Pay” button will require users to authenticate their identity from a TouchID device—iPhone or Apple Watch—to preserve the security of their transactions.Apple Pay first went into operation in October 2014, but it’s been confined to real-world brick-and-mortar transactions—with iPhone owners using that device to pay for items when checking out at such stores—as well as purchases made from iOS apps. Today’s announcement expands the service to the broader realm of e-commerce—putting the service in broader competition with online pay services like PayPal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedIn, in pictures

5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedIn, in picturesImage by MicrosoftMicrosoft is making its biggest tech acquisition ever, spending $26.2 billion for enterprise-focused social networking company LinkedIn. Why did it do it? On Monday, Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner discussed five compelling reasons. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

In pictures: 5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedIn

In pictures: 5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedInImage by MicrosoftMicrosoft is making its biggest tech acquisition ever, spending $26.2 billion for enterprise-focused social networking company LinkedIn. Why did it do it? On Monday, Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner discussed five compelling reasons. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26 billion, in one word: Cortana

The image above says it all: Microsoft spent $26.1 billion to ensure that you’ll never walk into a meeting “cold” again.Picture a typical business trip: meetings all day, drinks at night. A good salesperson knows his or her contacts before he or she steps foot in the door. But that goes for coworkers as well: How you you make them feel comfortable? How do you make them part of a team? How do you let them know who to approach, both inside and outside the company?All of this usually takes some effort on your part, or at least a competent assistant. And that’s the role that Microsoft hopes to play, especially with its digital assistant, Cortana, and Office 365.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T and Samsung detail security gaps

Cybersecurity would seem to be a top priority for enterprises, but there are still breaches and apparent gaps in their defenses and the way that companies respond to attacks.In separate announcements on Monday, both AT&T and Samsung drew attention to the dilemma. They recommended new enterprise security assessments that build on the services already offered by both companies.Samsung announced a new partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton to help enterprises find and address gaps in their mobile security. This approach includes a two-day, on-site mobile security assessment for each client, using a model based on security standards from the bodies like the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, among others.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T and Samsung detail security gaps

Cybersecurity would seem to be a top priority for enterprises, but there are still breaches and apparent gaps in their defenses and the way that companies respond to attacks.In separate announcements on Monday, both AT&T and Samsung drew attention to the dilemma. They recommended new enterprise security assessments that build on the services already offered by both companies.Samsung announced a new partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton to help enterprises find and address gaps in their mobile security. This approach includes a two-day, on-site mobile security assessment for each client, using a model based on security standards from the bodies like the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, among others.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T and Samsung detail security gaps

Cybersecurity would seem to be a top priority for enterprises, but there are still breaches and apparent gaps in their defenses and the way that companies respond to attacks.In separate announcements on Monday, both AT&T and Samsung drew attention to the dilemma. They recommended new enterprise security assessments that build on the services already offered by both companies.Samsung announced a new partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton to help enterprises find and address gaps in their mobile security. This approach includes a two-day, on-site mobile security assessment for each client, using a model based on security standards from the bodies like the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, among others.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

NERSC Preps for Next Generation “Cori” Supercomputer

The powerful Cori supercomputer, now being readied for deployment at NERSC (The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center), has been named in honor of Gerty Cori. Cori was a Czech-American biochemist (August 15, 1896 – October 26, 1957) who became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize.

Cori (a.k.a. NERSC-8) is the Center’s newest supercomputer. Phase 1 of the system is currently installed with Phase 2 slated to be up and running this year.  Phase 1 is a Cray XC40 supercomputer based on the Intel Haswell multi-core processor with a theoretical peak performance of 1.92 petaflops/sec. It …

NERSC Preps for Next Generation “Cori” Supercomputer was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

When prepend fails, what next? (3)

We began this short series with a simple problem—what do you do if your inbound traffic across two Internet facing links is imbalanced? In other words, how do you do BGP load balancing? The first post looked at problems with AS Path prepend, while the second looked at de-aggregating and using communities to modify the local preference within the upstream provider’s network.

There is one specific solution I want to discuss a bit more before I end this little series: de-aggregation. Advertising longer prefixes is the “big hammer” of routing; you should always be careful when advertising more specifics. The Default Free Zone (DFZ) is much like the “commons” of an old village. No-one actually “owns” the routing table in the global Internet, but everyone benefits from it. De-aggregating don’t really cost you anything, but it does cost everyone else something. It’s easy enough to inject another route into the routing table, but remember the longer prefix you inject shows up everywhere in the world. You’re fixing your problem by taking up some small amount of memory in every router that’s connected to the DFZ in the world. If everyone de-aggregates, everyone has to buy larger routers and more Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Flash flood alerts: How sonar IoT systems help protect communities in Honduras

Rivers in Honduras flood frequently and suddenly, wreaking havoc, washing away houses, ruining crops and displacing families. Could IoT help provide early warning of floods?Robert Ryan-Silva took on this challenge with the Hidrosónico project. As director of the DAI maker lab, he’s an expert in applying technology for humanitarian projects around the world.Many villages and farms in Honduras are prone to flooding because they are on river banks. Designing a solution was challenging. It had to detect rising flood waters and alert families to evacuate in time. The solution had to be affordable, rugged and easy to install. Making things harder was the fact that mobile phones had only 20 percent penetration in Honduras.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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