10 things I learned about global tech usage while in South America

Here in the United States and other fully developed countries, it's easy to get accustomed to always-available computing infrastructure. In other parts of the world, that's not always the case. That's why on a recent excursion to Peru, including visits to Lima, the Amazonian rain forest, and (of course) Machu Picchu, I was particularly interested in the local computing infrastructure and how people used it. So I paid close attention to the technology around me. Some of these facts may seem obvious to veteran travelers, but I thought they were worth noting.See also: 5 things I learned living with just a smartphone for 2 weeks Almost everyone has a mobile phoneTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

PSSC Labs Partnership: Delivering an Integrated, High-Performance, Big Data Application Cloudera Solution

You may have noticed that last week, Plexxi, in partnership with PSSC Labs, announced a new solution that will change how companies install and operate new big data infrastructure. This partnership combines Plexxi’s SDN switching and control with PSSC’s high-performance servers and Cloudera Enterprise big data platform.

The Scale-out Network Comes to Big Data

We already know that the way Enterprise applications are built is changing rapidly. New applications are being written to be far more distributed and designed to scale horizontally across the infrastructure. This allows companies to easily scale performance, storage, and networking power as the application needs grow. Scale-out applications like Cloudera Enterprise’s CDH (Cloudera’s Adache Hadoop distribution) are already built to easily scale across compute and storage – meaning administrators can incrementally add new servers that add more processing power and data storage capabilities to the application. Yet the “state of the art” way to build the network is to pre-determine the total number of servers needed and to build a scale-up (2-tier) leaf/spine network. Plexxi’s network is a true scale-out network – no hierarchies, no pre-determined ceilings for number of server ports, and just a single cable to add a new switch to the Continue reading

8 reasons to use 1Password that don’t involve storing passwords

Available for Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android, 1Password is a must-have for desktop and mobile users seeking equal parts online security and convenience. But there’s far more to this software than its single-purpose name might imply.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Free security tools you should try 1Password owners managing only logins and passwords are missing out on tons of other goodies already bundled inside the desktop versions. (The mobile versions require a paid Pro upgrade to unlock some additional features.) Read on and learn how to make your old password manager perform a few new tricks!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Benefits RTMT Features in CUCM and CUC

Finally, it’s the blog you’ve all been waiting for! Yes, that’s right folks; the time has come to discuss the benefits of Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) in CUCM and CUC. All right, I know it’s not the most exciting subject to discuss all the topics on the CCIE Collaboration lab blueprint, but it can help you perform troubleshooting tasks in a very efficient manner. The goal for this blog is to point out a couple useful features of RTMT to give you a nice boost when tackling different lab topics.

For those that are not familiar with RTMT, it can be used to pull traces (log files) for troubleshooting in all Cisco UC servers, monitor real-time platform statistics, check syslog messages, and display a host of “Performance” parameters that can assist the engineer in gathering system information. While those are all great features worthy of our attention, I’d like to focus specifically on a new RTMT feature available in CUCM 9.x called “Session Trace Log View.” This feature is an excellent troubleshooting tool, especially when used with SIP. Essentially what this does for us is organize the traces in such a way as to provide a cohesive view Continue reading

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for April 14

Former Office chief DelBene returns to Microsoft to head strategyKurt DelBene, who left Microsoft as president of its Office group in 2013, is coming back to Microsoft as executive vice president of corporate strategy and planning, reporting to CEO Satya Nadella. After leaving Microsoft last time, he did a stint helping the federal government recover from the bungled Healthcare.gov launch, and has been a partner in a venture capital firm. He’ll be on the lookout for acquisition targets for Microsoft.Turing manuscript sold for more than $1 millionTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nokia wants to buy Alcatel-Lucent, seeking growth and integration of fixed and mobile

Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent are in advanced merger talks, the companies confirmed Tuesday following media speculation that a deal was in the works.The talks could still fall apart, but a deal is on the table that would see Nokia acquire Alcatel-Lucent in a stock swap, the companies said.A merger would give the combined entity a broader product portfolio and greater scale, but would bring its own challenges.It makes sense for Nokia, a mobile broadband specialist, to merge with Alcatel-Lucent, which has a strong position in fixed networks, according to Mark Newman, chief research officer of Ovum’s telecoms research business.As mobile and fixed networks become increasingly integrated, not having the latter is becoming a disadvantage for Nokia, Newman said. The growing worldwide popularity of smartphones has increased the focus on mobile networks, but fixed broadband networks are still needed to deliver high-resolution video content and to provide backhaul for Wi-Fi networks in homes. The integration of Alcatel-Lucent’s fixed offering with the best parts of the two companies’ respective mobile offerings could in that regard be a boon for end-users, he said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nokia wants to buy Alcatel-Lucent, seeking growth and integration of fixed and mobile

Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent are in advanced merger talks, the companies confirmed Tuesday following media speculation that a deal was in the works.The talks could still fall apart, but a deal is on the table that would see Nokia acquire Alcatel-Lucent in a stock swap, the companies said.A merger would give the combined entity a broader product portfolio and greater scale, but would bring its own challenges.It makes sense for Nokia, a mobile broadband specialist, to merge with Alcatel-Lucent, which has a strong position in fixed networks, according to Mark Newman, chief research officer of Ovum’s telecoms research business.As mobile and fixed networks become increasingly integrated, not having the latter is becoming a disadvantage for Nokia, Newman said. The growing worldwide popularity of smartphones has increased the focus on mobile networks, but fixed broadband networks are still needed to deliver high-resolution video content and to provide backhaul for Wi-Fi networks in homes. The integration of Alcatel-Lucent’s fixed offering with the best parts of the two companies’ respective mobile offerings could in that regard be a boon for end-users, he said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Deterrence will keep a lid on cyberwar, former spy chief says

Major sponsors of cyberwarfare forces are reaching a state of deterrence resembling the mutually assured destruction in nuclear weapons standoffs, former U.S. national intelligence director Dennis Blair said Tuesday.All nation states would suffer if countries engaged in cyberattacks against civilians, and world leaders including those in China and Russia are reluctant to unleash such forces, Blair, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who oversaw U.S. intelligence from 2009 to 2010, told a news conference in Tokyo.Military and civilian systems are often intertwined, Blair said, pointing to GPS as an example of a military technology that is now used in widespread civilian applications from navigation to financial transactions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Indian net neutrality backers get boost from Flipkart retreat on free app access

Indian online retailer Flipkart has abandoned a plan to give customers of mobile operator Bharti Airtel free access to its mobile app after criticism that the move posed a threat to net neutrality.Earlier this month, Airtel launched a marketing platform, Airtel Zero, that allows app developers to pay for their customers to access their services without data charges. The move was, however, criticized by activists as a threat to net neutrality in the country, putting Internet startups and smaller players that can’t afford the fees at a disadvantage.Flipkart’s CEO Sachin Bansal said on Twitter recently that the so-called zero-rating deals reduced data costs for users.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Sharp develops 4K smartphone display, undecided on manufacturing plan

Sharp has developed a 5.5-inch display with 3860 x 2160 pixel resolution, which is equivalent to “ultra high definition,” also known as 4K.The prototype LCD display, which could be used in smartphones in the future, has a pixel density of 806 pixels per inch (ppi) and was shown off last week at the China Information Technology Expo in Shenzhen, China. It was part of a larger, 12.5-inch IGZO panel.Sharp hasn’t decided on a schedule for mass production yet. “Currently there are no driver ICs for small 4K panels, so the panel is not ready for mass production at this point,” Sharp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama said via email.The company wants to develop and mass-produce 4K screens for clients’ phones but it’s too early to say whether they will be used in Sharp’s own Aquos line of smartphones, she added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

RadioShack presses ahead plan for sale of customer data

RadioShack will press on with its plan to sell its customer data, despite opposition from a number of U.S. states.The company has asked a bankruptcy court for approval for a second auction of its assets, which includes the consumer data.The state of Texas, which is leading the action by the states, has opposed the sale of personally identifiable information (PII), citing the online and in-store privacy policies of the bankrupt consumer electronics retailer.The state claimed that it found from a RadioShack deposition that PII of 117 million customers could be involved. But it learned later from testimony in court that the number of customer files offered for sale might be reduced to around 67 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

RadioShack presses ahead plan for sale of customer data

RadioShack will press on with its plan to sell its customer data, despite opposition from a number of U.S. states.The company has asked a bankruptcy court for approval for a second auction of its assets, which includes the consumer data.The state of Texas, which is leading the action by the states, has opposed the sale of personally identifiable information (PII), citing the online and in-store privacy policies of the bankrupt consumer electronics retailer.The state claimed that it found from a RadioShack deposition that PII of 117 million customers could be involved. But it learned later from testimony in court that the number of customer files offered for sale might be reduced to around 67 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows vulnerability can compromise credentials

A vulnerability found in the late 1990s in Microsoft Windows can still be used to steal login credentials, according to a security advisory released Monday.A researcher with security vendor Cylance, Brian Wallace, found a new way to exploit a flaw originally found in 1997. Wallace wrote on Monday the flaw affects any PC, tablet or server running Windows and could compromise as many as 31 software programs.He wrote the flaw was not resolved long ago, but that “we hope that our research will compel Microsoft to reconsider the vulnerabilities.”The vulnerability, called Redirect to SMB, can be exploited if an attacker can intercept communications with a Web server using a man-in-the-middle attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows vulnerability can compromise credentials

A vulnerability found in the late 1990s in Microsoft Windows can still be used to steal login credentials, according to a security advisory released Monday.A researcher with security vendor Cylance, Brian Wallace, found a new way to exploit a flaw originally found in 1997. Wallace wrote on Monday the flaw affects any PC, tablet or server running Windows and could compromise as many as 31 software programs.He wrote the flaw was not resolved long ago, but that “we hope that our research will compel Microsoft to reconsider the vulnerabilities.”The vulnerability, called Redirect to SMB, can be exploited if an attacker can intercept communications with a Web server using a man-in-the-middle attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Saltstack – Using Pillars and starting to template

In our last post about SaltStack, we introduced the concept of grains.  Grains are bits of information that the Salt minion can pull off the system it’s running on.  SaltStack also has the concept of pillars.  Pillars are sets of data that we can push to the minions and then consume in state or managed files.  When you couple this with the ability to template with Jinja, it becomes VERY powerful.  Let’s take a quick look at how we can start using pillars and templates. 

Prep the Salt Master
The first thing we need to do is to tell Salt that we want to use Pillars.  To do this, we just tell the Salt master where the pillar state files are.  Let’s edit the salt master config file…

vi /etc/salt/master

Now find the ‘Pillar Settings’ section and uncomment the line I have highlighted in red below…

image 
Then restart the salt-master service…

systemctl restart salt-master

So we just told Salt that it should use the ‘/srv/pillar/’ directory for pillar info so we need to now go and create it…

mkdir /srv/pillar/

Now we’re all set.  Pillar information is exported to the Continue reading

The Verizon SuperCookie Won’t Go Away

Update 4/21/2015:
It's been pointed out to me that Relevant Mobile Advertising (RMA - the thing responsible for the SuperCookie) and Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) are not the same thing. That may be, but the link in the opt out instructions on Verizon's RMA info page goes to the CPNI settings below. If there's an RMA opt-out lever available to me somewhere on verizonwireless.com, I sure can't find it. I spoke with a new Verizon phone rep today. She claims to have sorted things out. My HTTP traffic still has the extra header attached. We'll see if that changes in the next few days...
Verizon Wireless made the news a few months ago when somebody noticed that they were adding extra HTTP headers which uniquely identified subscribers to every web request which traversed their network.

There was something of an uproar about it. I checked at least one of my phones, and was disappointed to find the tracking header attached to my traffic.

Then, less than two weeks ago, Verizon announced that customers would be allowed to opt out of having their web requests marked in this way. Many news outlets covered the announcement, Twitter rejoiced, and I Continue reading
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