No, it wasn’t just you: Super Mario Bros. is tougher than NP-hard

It’s OK, you’re old enough to admit it – you stunk at Super Mario Bros. The vaunted “feel” of Mario’s movement had you skidding into Koopas and off of cliffs, and the game eventually made you so frustrated that you eventually just played outside instead.And hey, now there’s scientific proof that the game really is just that hard, despite what your friend Jesse – who beat the whole thing with sickening ease – told you. A new paper co-written by researchers at MIT, the University of Ottawa, and Bard College at Simon’s Rock says that Super Mario Bros. belongs to the complexity class PSPACE, meaning it’s more difficult to “solve” algorithmically than the famous traveling-salesman problem or factoring large numbers, which are referred to as NP-hard.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Sirin Labs unveils luxury smartphone for security-conscious traveling executives

Today, Sirin Labs announced an ultra-secure luxury smartphone called the Solarin for the international business person who wants both style and security. It will compete with the category of phones produced by Silent Circle, GranitePhone, BlackBerry and Samsung phones with KNOX mobile security software.This is a well-timed introduction, matching the shift to mobile from PCs.Even with price of the Solarin starting at £9,500 (~$13,750), there is a market for smartphones that prove to be impenetrable. That’s because the cost of providing managed services to secure executives’ devices can be quite high. Also, the price of the phone is far less than the cost of a breach should a phone fall into the wrong hands.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft Launches VC Arm to Fund Cloud, Security Startups

Former Qualcomm exec Nagraj Kashyap will lead Microsoft Ventures.

Hey Rocket Turtle, Pimp My Ride!

This colloquialism for “make my vehicle better” is an appropriate perspective on our recently released Cumulus Linux 3.0, or as we like to say around the office, “3.0.” Our engineering team looked at the upcoming market changes and decided to give Cumulus Linux a pretty sweet makeover.

Starting with the “IP mindset” that prevails in modern deployments, our team worked with the Linux kernel community to add Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) to the kernel and hardware support to Cumulus Linux. VRF is coupled with BGP unnumbered interfaces as an even simpler way to deploy multi-tenant dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 networks.

In parallel, we looked at the image installation and upgrade mechanisms, revamping the build, packaging, and base installer. As a result, 3.0 is based on Debian 8 (Jessie) and Linux kernel 4.1 tied together with an entire system that enables the development flexibility of Linux coupled with the testing and support required for wide-scale, enterprise production deployments.

All of this functional horsepower is applied to seven new hardware platforms continuing Cumulus Networks’ industry leading support for Open Networking systems. These platforms cover the gamut of speeds, feeds, and functions; introducing Mellanox Spectrum alongside Broadcom Tomahawk and Continue reading

Intel Lines Up ThunderX ARM Against Xeons

The datacenter is a battleground with many fronts these days, with intense competition between compute, memory, storage, and networking components. In terms of revenues, profits, and prestige, the compute territory is the most valuable that chip makers and their system partners are fighting for, and the ARM and OpenPower collectives are doing their best to take some ground from a very powerful Intel.

As such, chip makers end up comparing themselves to Intel Xeon or Atom processors, and Intel sometimes makes comparisons back. At the high end, Intel is battling the Power8 processor championed by IBM and to a lesser …

Intel Lines Up ThunderX ARM Against Xeons was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

How to craft a security awareness program that works

Employees are often considered the weakest link in organizations' efforts to create a strong security posture. Even organizations with security awareness programs in place struggle to instill strong security behaviors. Steve Conrad, managing director of MediaPro, a learning services company that specializes in information security, data privacy and compliance, says organizations can and should do better.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to craft a security awareness program that works

Employees are often considered the weakest link in organizations' efforts to create a strong security posture. Even organizations with security awareness programs in place struggle to instill strong security behaviors. Steve Conrad, managing director of MediaPro, a learning services company that specializes in information security, data privacy and compliance, says organizations can and should do better.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Atari’s going to build IoT devices that talk over a low-power network

The latest entrant in the Internet of Things is legendary gaming company Atari, which plans to make consumer devices that communicate over the SigFox low-power network.The devices will be for homes, pets, lifestyle, and safety. Over the SigFox network, users will be able to see the location and status of their devices at all times, the companies said. They’re set to go into production this year.The Atari brand dates back to the 1970s, when the company introduced the early video game Pong and went on to make a series of popular video games and consoles. The company in its current form hasn’t been selling any form of hardware.SigFox is one of several startups building specialized networks for IoT devices. Its technology is designed to carry tiny amounts of data in two directions with low-power consumption so small, battery-operated devices can run for years without recharging.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

29% off FlashForge Finder 3D Home Printer – Deal Alert

The Finder from FlashForge is a 3D printer designed for the beginner. It averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon (read reviews) and it's $699 list price has been reduced by 29% to just $499. Perfect for home or a school, being both wallet friendly as well as user friendly makes this a good model for anyone who has ever wanted to get hand-on with this cutting edge technology. The unit features a slide-in build plate, assisted bed-leveling, and an intuitive color touchscreen. All heated components are encased, and the PLA is non-toxic, making it safe to use as well. Learn more about the FlashForge 3D printer and take advantage of this 29% discount now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Could the iPhone lose FaceTime and iMessage?

Back in February, Apple took a big hit when it lost to patent troll VirnetX to the tune of $626 million for supposedly violating four patents related to Apple's messaging technology. Now, VirnetX wants more money and for a federal judge to permanently turn off those features.  download Download the VirnetX vs. Apple injunction court document (pdf)   VirnetX has been labeled a patent troll because it is a patent holding company and sells a single product, the Gabriel Security Platform, but has more than 80 patents. With just 14 employees in its Nevada office, the company makes most of its money by licensing patents to other firms and by suing businesses that it believes has infringed on its intellectual property. It has also sued Microsoft and Cisco.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Marketo gets scooped up into the private world for $1.79 billion

Marketing-software maker Marketo has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners for $1.79 billion, the company announced Tuesday.Marketo shareholders will receive $35.25 in cash per share -- a sum the company says represents a 64 percent premium over its closing price earlier this month, before reports emerged that it was exploring strategic alternatives.The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016. Marketo's headquarters will remain in San Mateo, California, the company said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: It’s hard to leave Google

What I do respectfully challenge is that first, Google essentially doesn’t “collect all of that information” because they do (see here), and second, that Google somehow is easy to escape,when it comes to collecting one’s private information, because it is not, as I will prove below. Somewhat Reasonable

The post Worth Reading: It’s hard to leave Google appeared first on 'net work.

Broadcom Rival Innovium Raised $50M

Surprise backer: Qualcomm.

Kaby Lake starts strong as Intel retools PC strategy

Intel's upcoming 7th Generation Core processor family, code-named Kaby Lake, is off to a quick start.More than 400 devices with Intel's upcoming chip design will reach the market, said Navin Shenoy, corporate vice president and general manager for Intel's Client Computing Group.One of those devices will be Asus' Surface-like Transformer 3, which will ship in the third quarter starting at US$799. The device has a 12.6-inch screen that displays images at a resolution of 2880 x 1920 pixels. It weighs 695 grams and is 6.9 millimeters thick. The device has a 13-megapixel camera, and it can be configured with a 512GB SSD and up to 8GB RAM.Shenoy, speaking during a keynote at the Computex trade show in Taipei, also showed a 2-in-1 made by Compal during the keynote. It's not clear if the first Kaby Lake chips to reach PCs will be low-power Core M or the faster Core i chips.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Enterprise 911 — Lost in translation

If you work in an office, your work days include the standard routine of commuting to work and taking your place at a cubicle in a corporate facility amid your fellow employees.Most likely, your employer has provided you with a desk and a laptop, and on your desk is a telephone connected to the corporate multi-line telephone system (MLTS) known as an MLTS/PBX. Alice in accounting or David in sales is easily reached by directly dialing that person's extension number. Reaching someone outside of your company is just as easy. First, an access code is dialed, then the 10- or 11-digit telephone number of the desired remote party. The rest is telephone network magic that is likely out of sight and out of mind.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

OEM software update tools preloaded on PCs are a security mess

Serious vulnerabilities have crept into the software tools that PC manufacturers preload on Windows computers, but the full extent of the problem is much worse than previously thought.Researchers from security firm Duo Security have tested the software updaters that come installed by default on laptops from five PC OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) -- Acer, ASUSTeK Computer, Lenovo, Dell and HP -- and all of them had at least one serious vulnerability. The flaws could have allowed attackers to remotely execute code with system privileges, leading to a full system compromise.In most cases, the problems resulted from the OEM software updaters not using encrypted HTTPS connections when checking for or downloading updates. In addition, some updaters didn't verify that the downloaded files were digitally signed by the OEM before executing them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

OEM software update tools preloaded on PCs are a security mess

Serious vulnerabilities have crept into the software tools that PC manufacturers preload on Windows computers, but the full extent of the problem is much worse than previously thought.Researchers from security firm Duo Security have tested the software updaters that come installed by default on laptops from five PC OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) -- Acer, ASUSTeK Computer, Lenovo, Dell and HP -- and all of them had at least one serious vulnerability. The flaws could have allowed attackers to remotely execute code with system privileges, leading to a full system compromise.In most cases, the problems resulted from the OEM software updaters not using encrypted HTTPS connections when checking for or downloading updates. In addition, some updaters didn't verify that the downloaded files were digitally signed by the OEM before executing them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EFF challenges patent troll’s vaporous claim to the emailing of USPS tracking numbers

So we live in a world where a guy can’t begin to sell vaping-related goods over the Internet without being shaken down by a patent troll claiming a legal right to the courtesy of sending USPS tracking codes via email. From an Electronic Frontier Foundation press release: In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, EFF is representing Jason Cugle, who last year began running a small business selling accessories for electronic cigarettes. Cugle, a Maryland resident, received a letter accusing his company and website (Triple7vaping.com) of violating Shipping & Transit’s patents, which relate to ideas for monitoring and reporting the status of delivery vehicles. Cugle simply sent customer shipments through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and manually emailed each customer a message saying the package had been shipped and providing the USPS tracking number. Florida-based Shipping & Transit claims its patents cover a variety of methods of notifying people when a vehicle is about to reach its destination, including Cugle’s.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EFF challenges patent troll’s vaporous claim to the emailing of USPS tracking numbers

So we live in a world where a guy can’t begin to sell vaping-related goods over the Internet without being shaken down by a patent troll claiming a legal right to the courtesy of sending USPS tracking codes via email. From an Electronic Frontier Foundation press release: In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, EFF is representing Jason Cugle, who last year began running a small business selling accessories for electronic cigarettes. Cugle, a Maryland resident, received a letter accusing his company and website (Triple7vaping.com) of violating Shipping & Transit’s patents, which relate to ideas for monitoring and reporting the status of delivery vehicles. Cugle simply sent customer shipments through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and manually emailed each customer a message saying the package had been shipped and providing the USPS tracking number. Florida-based Shipping & Transit claims its patents cover a variety of methods of notifying people when a vehicle is about to reach its destination, including Cugle’s.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

12 reasons why mobile already ate the world, according to Ben Evans

Evidently discarding any reservations he might have had about mobile becoming the dominant computing platform, Benedict Evans, Andreesen Horwitz venture capital analyst and blogger, says mobile is no longer in the process of eating the world, but that “mobile ate the world.”Evans made the statement during his yearly mobile presentation, which he published at the end of March. Over Memorial Day weekend, I read his presentation, which has become a high-tech industry touchstone, and summarized the tall tent poles of this 76-slide tome for those short on time. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here