IT Executive news

• Intel taps former Qualcomm exec to run PC, IOT and software businesses

  20-11-2015 23:20
  
  Poaching top executives is common among chip rivals. So it's unexpected but not too surprising that the man who will run Intel's  PC, mobile, IoT and software businesses was a top executive at Qualcomm until yesterday.Intel has appointed Venkata Renduchintala as president of the Client and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses and Systems Architecture Group. He will take charge of the direction, chip design and products in those areas.Renduchintala will effectively become the number-two execu
  
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• New IBM tech lets apps authenticate you without personal data

  20-11-2015 22:25
  Back in January -- on Data Privacy Day, no less -- IBM announced Identity Mixer, a new technology for protecting users' personal data during authentication. On Friday, it announced that the technology is now available to developers on its Bluemix cloud platform.
  It's common for apps today to require that users prove their identity and other credentials, but all too often that authentication process exposes a raft of unnecessary and potentially sensitive personal information along the way.
  To ac
  
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• iPad Pro problems: Apple acknowledges mysterious shutdowns, but no fix yet

  20-11-2015 22:07
  Some iPad Pro owners have noticed some strange behavior in their new 12.9-inch tablets. Normally when you charge a device, unless the battery has completely died, the screen remains responsive. But some iPad Pros are completely freezing, then dying, after a recharge. The problem appears to be widespread—Apple’s support communities are filled with complaints about the issue.
  Apple knows about the problem, but hasn’t said why it’s happening. There doesn’t seem to be
  
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• How Ixia and Apple prove scrum works

  20-11-2015 22:07
  
  I was catching up recently with old friend and CEO Bethany Mayer. I’d identified her as one of the important movers to the HP turnaround years ago and we stayed in touch when she left to head up Ixia, and she shared how she was able to bring one of their most powerful product to market in less than a year.It was by using the scrum approach, also known as agile, to product management. As an old process guy at IBM I was fascinated about what appeared to be a far better approach to product cr
  
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• Amazon to build massive wind farm to power web services

  20-11-2015 22:07
  
  Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Thursday announced it will build and operate a 100-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Ohio that will power its current and future cloud service data centers.
  The project, called the Amazon Wind Farm US Central, is expected to generate about 320,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of wind power per year beginning in May 2017; that's enough electricity to power more than 29,000 U.S. homes a year.
  While AWS's latest wind farm is dwarfed by previously announced projects, it is still large
  
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• More Black Friday 2015: Verizon data freebie, Amazon starts early, Newegg boasts of 5,000 deals

  20-11-2015 22:06
  
  While it might seem as though all the big retailers and tech vendors have exhausted their Black Friday 2015 marketing schemes, a few more came to light this week.Free Data from VerizonVerizon Wireless is offering customers 1GB of data free now and another on their next billing cycle simply by visiting this page. The idea being that you're likely to chow down more data over the holidays, especially those who might want to stick their faces in their phone to avoid relatives and do Black Friday sh
  
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• Nearly 35,000 comment on new federal visa rule

  20-11-2015 22:05
  
  The U.S. received nearly 35,000 comments on its plan to extend the Optional Training Program (OPT) for STEM students from 29 months to 36 months. The deadline for comments was this week.
  By increasing the length of time someone can work on a student visa, the U.S. is trying to give these students more time to get an H-1B visa. Demand for H-1B visas, especially from IT offshore outsourcing firms, is making it harder for studentswho graduate from U.S. schools to get a work visa.
  The majority of c
  
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• NASA needs robotic upgrades for work on Mars

  20-11-2015 22:05
  
  After not faring well in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, NASA is hoping its Valkyrie humanoid robot will do much better working on Mars.
  The space agency has given two robotic prototypes to scientists at MIT and Northeastern University to build software and put together hardware adjustments that will make the robots autonomous and dexterous enough to aid human astronauts or even take their place on "extreme space" missions.
  "Advances in robotics, including human-robotic collaboration, are critica
  
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• Yahoo surrenders all search share gains from Firefox deal

  20-11-2015 22:04
  
  A year after Yahoo struck a deal with Mozilla to make its search engine the default in Firefox in the U.S., Yahoo's share of search usage share has fallen to levels lower than before the partnership was inked, according to one Web measurement.
  In the last five months, Yahoo's U.S. search share as tracked by Irish metrics vendor StatCounter has has been under the 8.9% recorded in November 2014, the month when Yahoo and Mozilla announced the deal. For October, Yahoo's usage share was 7.6%, a new
  
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• In Sailfish struggles, a cautionary tale for alternative mobile OSes

  20-11-2015 21:55
  
  With Android and iOS dominating the mobile operating system market, it's tough going for alternatives like Sailfish, now in survival mode as its maker, Jolla, moves to lay off a large part of its personnel.The first smartphone with the Linux-based OS shipped at the end of 2013. Adoption of Sailfish has been weak, however, and Jolla is selling only one smartphone model, via the company's website, for about US$303. It's a Jolla-branded phone, made by a third-party contract manufacturer. A tablet i
  
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• Cloud services targeted as French Senate enlarges police search powers

  20-11-2015 20:26
  
  Three more months of extraordinary police powers, and the extension of warrantless searches to include cloud storage services accessible from computers in France: Those were among the changes voted unanimously by French senators Friday in response to the shootings and suicide bombings in and around Paris on Nov. 13.In the hours following the attacks, President François Hollande declared a state of emergency, allowing police authorities to restrict the movement of people and vehicles, forb
  
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• Microsoft, Volvo team up to sell cars using holograms

  20-11-2015 20:14
  
  People who want to buy a new Volvo in the future may search for the car of their dreams by looking at holographic renderings rather than walking around a physical showroom filled with vehicles. The Swedish car maker announced a new partnership with Microsoft this week to use the tech giant's HoloLens augmented reality headset in order to provide a virtual showroom experience to customers. Scott Erickson, a senior director in charge of marketing on the HoloLens team, said in a blog post anno
  
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• VMware CIO: 'I've worked for a lot of evil people in my career'

  20-11-2015 19:50
  
  When you're the CIO of a company that sells to CIOs, you've got to figure there's a good chance you're going to be asked to do more than just keep the servers running."If you ask my CEO, he'll say, 'You're the voice of customers,'" said Bask Iyer, who was hired in March as CIO and senior vice president at VMware. "'You use these products,' he'll say; 'Tell us if we're building the right products for the market.'"Only much further down on CEO Pat Gelsinger's list -- after forging customer relatio
  
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• HP Enterprise hands Windows 10 a vote of confidence

  20-11-2015 19:50
  
  HP Enterprise's decision to expand its partnership with Microsoft this week is a vote of confidence in Windows 10, an analyst said today.
  "Everything about this says good things about Windows 10 that Windows 8 didn't have," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.
  Earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard cleaved, separating into two companies: HP Inc. and HP Enterprise (HPE). The former took the PC and printing businesses, while the latter got the enterprise hardware
  
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• Free up storage space with new Google Photos features

  20-11-2015 19:49
  
  Google Photos is handing you a couple of new tools to take more control over your storage. 
  First, version 1.9 of the Android app offers a “Free Up Space” button in the settings. This will bulk-delete copies of images that have already been backed up to your cloud storage. They’ll be gone from your phone’s internal storage, but still accessible through Google Photos.
  Google Photos will make images vanish from your hard drive in order to free up space.To read this ar
  
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• Cisco acquires video collaboration company for $700M

  20-11-2015 19:24
  
  Cisco this week said it intends to acquire London-based Acano Limited, a privately held company that provides collaboration infrastructure and conferencing software, for $700 million.
  Acano’s hardware and software products include gateways, and video and audio bridges designed to allow customers to connect video systems from multiple vendors across both cloud and hybrid environments. Cisco says acquiring Acano will support its collaboration strategy of delivering video to multiple interop
  
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• What security leaders need to know about breach communication

  20-11-2015 19:23
  
  The importance of communication Image by Anne WornerAccording to a recent Ponemon Institute study, 89 percent of board members recognize that security failures or breaches can hurt both the reputation of the company and its market value.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• New EFF website highlights content that social networks don't want you to see

  20-11-2015 19:22
  We already know that Facebook and other social networks tailor our feeds based on what is likely to interest us instead of showing us everything our friends post by default. But what else aren’t they showing us? A new site from the Electronic Frontier Foundation aims to tell us all about the types of content social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are reluctant to let us see.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Yahoo Mail begins blocking users with ad block enabled

  20-11-2015 19:18
  
  Yahoo may be hoping that access to your email is more important than freedom from advertisements.
  Some users of AdBlock Plus have reported that they can’t access Yahoo Mail in Chrome or Firefox on the desktop. Instead of seeing their inboxes, the get the following error message: “Uh oh… We are unable to display Yahoo Mail. Please disable Ad Blocker to continue using Yahoo Mail.”
  The reports, first spotted by Digiday, surfaced in the AdBlock Plus forums on Thursday. Andr
  
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• Microsoft Lumia 950 review: Continuum makes it the first flagship for Windows 10 Mobile

  20-11-2015 19:17
  
  I can’t help but be hopeful for the future of Microsoft’s Lumia smartphones after using the Lumia 950. A few bugs detract from the wow factor of Continuum—a key feature that transforms the phone into a PC-like device—but as a total package the Lumia 950 shows Microsoft is moving in the right direction.
  The camera is excellent, as is traditional for the Lumia line. The phone’s overall performance is satisfying, and the 950’s 5.2-inch, 2560x1440 display is
  
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• Rhapsody music streaming app gets in-car mode

  20-11-2015 19:16
  
  One of the problems with streaming music in the car is that it takes too much effort. Thumbing through an app while you’re still in the driveway can mean delaying your trip, and trying to set up songs while driving is just dangerous.
  That’s the issue Rhapsody is trying to solve with a new Auto mode for its subscription streaming service. It’s basically a set of jumbo-sized buttons with quick access to playlists, and it becomes available when users plug in an auxiliary cord or
  
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• How machine learning will affect your business

  20-11-2015 19:15
  
  Machine learning techniques may have been used for years, but recently there has been an explosion in their applications. In fact, in a recent Q3 earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said “Machine learning is a core, transformative way by which we’re re-thinking how we’re doing everything.” And they’re far from the only business making that claim.In the past, successful use of machine learning algorithms required bespoke algorithms and huge R&D budgets, but a
  
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• IBM forms practice to improve engagement for sports fans

  20-11-2015 18:32
  
  Sports fans are passionate about their teams. While that passion generates plenty of revenue for franchises, leagues and broadcasters, the explosion in mobile technologies, social media and data offers significant growth potential.The combination of sporting events and sales of sporting goods, apparel and equipment now generates as much as $700 billion a year, according to global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.[ Related slideshow: 8 ways analytics are changing pro sports ]"The sports in
  
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• Ingenico's new card payment terminals make room for apps

  20-11-2015 17:25
  
  There's an app for everything, it seems, and increasingly an app on everything: phones, TVs, robots... and soon even the payment terminals used with chip-based bank cards.Chip-based payment cards that require a PIN rather than a swipe and a signature are only just reaching the U.S., but they've been around for decades in Europe.On gas pumps and at supermarket checkouts, it seems many of the payment terminals the cards slot into have barely changed in all that time: Their cramped displays and min
  
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• How to tackle change management in an era of automation

  20-11-2015 17:09
  
  The proliferation of advanced analytics, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies are paving the way for increased automation in the corporate sector, according to new research from McKinsey Global Institute. As these technologies converge, it's incumbent on CIOs to prepare their departments to manage the impact the tools will have on their IT systems architecture, vendor relationships and staff, experts say.As many as 45 percent of the activities individuals are paid to perfo
  
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• IBM Watson Trend iOS app promises Black Friday insights, but mostly fails

  20-11-2015 16:24
  
  Answer: IBM Watson Trend.Question: Which new iOS app combines cognitive computing and smart shopping?Sorry. I just couldn't resist an homage to "Jeopardy!," to kick off the review of a new app from the artificial brain that beat the pants off that gameshow's contestants in 2011.The app, IBM Watson Trend, aims to "help shoppers understand what is trending and why," by putting super-computer Watson's sophisticated combination of natural language and machine learning to work, to help you shop smart
  
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• Google+ updates aim to breathe new life into ailing social network

  20-11-2015 15:56
  
  Companies that build social networks do not have an infinite number of chances to get things right before users lose interest and flee. Google likely ran out of time to achieve its original goal with Google+ (to become the end-all, be-all social network), but the company this week made a significant move to salvage what remains of its once grandiose vision for social. Google+ has been redesigned, or "reimagined" as the company puts it, to focus on the four-year-old social network's strength
  
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• 4 simple ways to secure your Internet-connected car

  20-11-2015 15:49
  
  Chances are you heard about the pair of clever guys who earlier this year hacked into a Jeep Cherokee's onboard system over the Internet and turned off the engine while the car was on the highway. Although the hack was a controlled demonstration, it proved that such actions are possible, and that scared a lot of people. Arxan Technologies Click for full size connected car security infographicTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Startup Humanyze's 'people analytics' wants to transform your workplace

  20-11-2015 14:20
  
  The lowly coffee machine may be a common company gathering spot and an essential part of many workers' daily lives, but few would consider it a management tool capable of bringing about organizational change.That, however, is just the kind of thing that becomes possible when you begin using "people analytics," according to Ben Waber, cofounder, president and CEO of Humanyze.Waber's Boston-based company has developed a wearable device called the Sociometric Badge that can be used to track people'
  
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• Head to head with 2 USB Type C thumb drives

  20-11-2015 14:17
  
  Even though the USB Type-C connector specification was released more than a year ago, you'll still be hard pressed to find smartphones or laptops with compatible ports.
  While USB Type-C compatible devices are still rare, you can expect all devices to eventually adopt it, the Thunderbolt spec or both. USB devices, however, have vastly outpaced the others, with more than three billion USB ports shipped every year.
  USB Type-C connectors use the USB 3.1 data and power delivery specification, which
  
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• New Facebook tools help you manage awkward romantic break-ups

  20-11-2015 14:15
  
  Wow, Facebook is getting downright emo. In a Thursday blog post titled “Improving the Experience When Relationships End” (and, no, that’s not a Morrissey song), Facebook introduced features that mitigate the awkwardness of break-ups in the social media age.
  If you’ve ended a romance in the last seven or eight years, you probably know that “it’s complicated” barely begins to describe the weirdness of seeing your ex’s posts in your news feed&md
  
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• Adobe kills off its photo-sharing service Revel

  20-11-2015 14:15
  
  First it was called Adobe Carousel. Then it was renamed Adobe Revel. But regardless of the moniker, it was the company’s cloud-based platform for amateur photographers to privately save and share photos and videos free from prying eyes. And soon it will cease to exist.
  Adobe has announced that Revel’s run is coming to an end, and that users can opt to transfer the assets stored and shared by the service into Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography Plan. February 23, 2016, will be t
  
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• 7 high-tech gadgets for wine, beer and cocktail lovers

  20-11-2015 14:14
  
  People have been drinking wine for 8,000 years. Beer goes back 5,000 years. Distilled spirits, about 2,000 years. That’s 15,000 collective years of drink hacking, yet in 2015 we’re still finding new ways to improve the basic boozing experience.Beer pong was a bright idea, but the following seven gadgets speak to real innovation. They’re all imbued with clever engineering, and should appeal to the nerdier, geekier drinkers among us.Coravin Model Two
  Coravin is a must for anyone
  
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• Android Studio upgrade improves memory profiler

  20-11-2015 14:12
  
  Version 1.5 of the Android Studio IDE has been released, featuring improvements focused on stability. Chief among the new features is an improved memory profiler that assists developers in detecting commonly known causes of leaked activities.
  "This new analysis feature can analyze a heap dump to look for known problems, such as leaked activities," said Reto Meier, of Google, in a video accompanying the release. Several lint checks for static code analysis have been added as well, including one
  
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• Intuit upgrades Quicken even as it seeks buyer for the iconic software

  20-11-2015 14:11
  
  Intuit on Tuesday released Quicken 2016, the newest version of its 32-year-old personal finance program, even as it is in the midst of trying to sell that part of its portfolio to focus on cloud-based tax and small business accounting services.
  Quicken 2016, with separate editions for Microsoft's Windows and Apple's OS X, was priced at between $40 and $165. The most popular version, Quicken Deluxe, costs $75. Those with earlier editions will get a $10 discount if they upgrade.
  Although Intuit t
  
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• 10 essential Mac utilities

  20-11-2015 14:09
  
  Whenever I set up a new Mac, I install a number of utilities that make me more productive, that save me time, or that protect my data. I bought a new MacBook recently, and, as with every Mac, I installed some essential utilities. I’ve been using some of these apps for many years; others are recent additions to my roster of essential software. Here’s a look at my 10 essential Mac utilities.LaunchBarThe first two apps I install on a new Mac are the ones that help me get everything els
  
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• 5 high-tech toys to delight kids of all ages

  20-11-2015 14:08
  
  Having kids around makes the holidays more magical, and to be honest, the toys they have nowadays makes our basic Lincoln Logs and Lego blocks look a little old fashioned. True, Lincoln Logs and Legos will always be awesome, but these toys are decidedly more high-tech. Like the classic toys of our own youth, they’re still designed to stimulate the imagination, help kids master new concepts, and provide hours and hours of entertainment. Now they just require charging a little more often.
  W
  
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• 5 IT industry predictions for 2016 from Forrester and IDC

  20-11-2015 13:47
  
  Over the past month, IDC and Forrester Research, two of the largest and most venerable analyst firms, have released 2016 predictions – and many readers will find their reports disquieting indeed (unfortunately, neither IDC’s FutureScape 2016 or Forrester’s Predictions 2016: The Cloud Accelerates are freely available to the general public). I believe that we’re in the beginning stages of an IT landscape transformation and, from these reports, it appears these firms sh
  
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• StartMonday eerste Watson-partner

  20-11-2015 12:49
  Technologiereus IBM heeft de eerste Watson-partner in Nederland bekendgemaakt. Het Amsterdamse StartMonday heeft een door de cognitieve Watson-technologie aangedreven vacatureplatform ontwikkeld, dat werkzoekenden helpt passende functies en werkgevers te vinden door hun natuurlijke taalgebruik en social media data te... lees meer
  
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• Jonge meiden enthousiast maken voor technologie

  20-11-2015 12:02
  Jonge en talentvolle technologie-ondernemers verdienen een plek in de spotlights. Project Prep organiseert daartoe op 13 december in Amsterdam zijn eerste jaarlijkse Award-gala om jonge meiden enthousiast te maken voor technologie.Slimme en creatieve meiden worden in het kader van de Project Prep Awards uitgedaagd na... lees meer
  
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• Why Apple keeps its distance from enterprise IT (and why it works)

  20-11-2015 11:00
  
  Apple is never going to bend to the demands of today's enterprise. It doesn't have to, or even want to, and doing so might hamper its user experience. The company is, however, slowly approaching businesses from a relative distance, empowering new partners, such as Cisco and IBM, to fill in the enterprise gaps it wants to avoid.Apple doesn't do things differently just to be different. The company wants to maintain a unique balance in its enterprise strategy, one that allows it to sell devices at
  
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• FTC allows 'selfies' for parental consent under COPPA

  20-11-2015 06:52
  Rules under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act require websites and online services directed at children to take the consent of the child's parent before collecting personal information of the child.The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, after a long debate including public comment, has allowed the use of a new method involving facial recognition and phone or webcam photographs of parents to verify that the person providing consent for a child to use an online service is indeed the c
  
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• Usability is the secret sauce that's fueling Docker's growth

  20-11-2015 02:40
  
  Docker, the company behind the open-source container technology of the same name, has been growing rapidly as more businesses rush to adopt its wildly popular technology. But while containers are the new hotness in development these days, they actually aren’t totally new. Docker is standing on the shoulders of giants, thanks to the technology underpinning Docker’s products that it didn’t invent, said Marianna Tessel, the company’s senior vice president of engineering
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 4 things CEOs can learn from project teams

  20-11-2015 01:41
  
  I think most CEOs have a great deal of skill in terms of budget oversight, customer management, task management and resolving conflicts. However, I think much of this is far removed from their current tasks and a refresher course in each would probably be in order. Think, “Undercover Boss.” I've never watched that show, but I think all CEOs could learn from project managers and teams based on what they are doing daily on their projects – making key decisions on the run, en
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Apple Pencil reviews: Is it worth buying?

  20-11-2015 01:37
  
  The Apple Pencil is one of the coolest things about the iPad Pro. It's a whole different way of interacting with and using your iPad. But is it really worth buying? Many people are unfamiliar with what the Apple Pencil has to offer and might not be sure if it's right for them if they buy an iPad Pro.I've compiled some helpful reviews of the Apple Pencil that will shed some light on its features and its faults, and they will hopefully help you decide if the Apple Pencil is worth buying for the iP
  
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• Oracle cries foul over expert in Java case against Google

  20-11-2015 01:20
  The accusations have been flying for five years now in Oracle's bitter legal battle with Google, and on Thursday the companies reportedly appeared in a San Francisco District Court to hear Oracle argue its latest charge: that the expert brought in by the federal judge presiding over the case is biased in Google's favor and should be disqualified.James Kearl, a professor at Brigham Young University, was asked to serve as an expert on the case by Judge William Alsup for an unbiased view of the fac
  
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• Google updates Hangouts with guest access

  20-11-2015 00:57
  
  Google just made it a bit easier to have a business meeting – or any kind of meeting – via Google Hangouts.
  The company announced Wednesday that people no longer need to have a Google account to use Hangouts. They just need to be invited to one.
  "Joining a meeting should be as easy as walking into a room," wrote Patrick Wynn, a product manager for the company's Google for Work group, in a blog post. That should be the case whether you're meeting in person, or face-to-face over video
  
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• Windows 10 hits another growth spurt

  20-11-2015 00:56
  
  Windows 10's usage share gains have jumped since last week's release of the operating system's first upgrade, part of another "wave" of increases that started at the beginning of the month, new statistics released today indicate.
  Data from Irish analytics company StatCounter showed that Windows 10 entered a distinctive fourth "wave" of usage share growth starting Nov. 2. That wave quickly grew, but as of Thursday there were signs it has crested.
  StatCounter measures operating system usage by tr
  
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• Tech trade group objects to weakening smartphone encryption

  20-11-2015 00:56
  
  The Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) on Thursday objected to weakening encryption used on smartphones, even as some officials in Washington favor doing so.
  "After a horrific tragedy like the Paris attacks, we naturally search for solutions: weakening encryption is not a solution," said Dean Garfield, president of ITIC, in a statement provided to Reuters late Thursday.
  The ITIC represents 63 major tech firms, includingApple, Google and Microsoft.To read this article in full or to l
  
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• Help desk hiring is strong as IT gets more complex

  20-11-2015 00:55
  
  Support center ticket volumes have been increasing, and this may be good for job seekers.
  Nearly 65% of all organizations surveyed by HDI, an industry group, report that ticket volumes have increased in their organization. Only 10% reported a decrease, according to HDI's 2015 Support Center Practices & Salary Report. The survey is based on data collected from 803 technical support professionals.
  This is part of an ongoing trend. Since 2009, around two thirds of all organizations have report
  
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