IT Executive news

• Microsoft Translator now brings your smartwatch into the conversation

  17-12-2015 23:16
  
  Translation apps are useful in two key ways: interpreting an unfamiliar foreign phrase in your native language, or else quickly translating your speech into another language as part of a conversation. The latter feature is now part of Microsoft Translator for both iOS and Android, Microsoft said Thursday—and powered by smartwatches, too.
  Microsoft incorporated smartwatches into its Android Microsoft Translator app earlier this year, allowing users to dictate a phrase into the smartwa
  
  Read more

• Microsoft delves deeper into Android with directory app for its own apps

  17-12-2015 21:31
  
  Microsoft delved deeper into providing software for Android on Thursday with the launch of Microsoft Apps, a new application that gives users of Google's operating system a one-stop shop to find apps like Word, Cortana and Bing.Users download the app to their devices, and can then browse and download any number of Microsoft apps. That's it. There's no special sauce or exclusive content that users can only get through Microsoft Apps (at this point), just a simple, straightforward directory of all
  
  Read more

• Linium Achieves Master Solutions Partner Designation from ServiceNow

  17-12-2015 21:01
  
  Linium today announced it has achieved the ServiceNow Master Solutions Partner designation.  The Master status designation recognizes Linium’s investment in required training and certification programs to provide high-quality ServiceNow implementations.  The designation also entitles Linium access to ServiceNow tools and resources enabling the company to accelerate service automation engagements for the enterprise.
  
  Read more

• Apple's biggest stories of 2015

  17-12-2015 20:55
  
  An eventful yearImage by REUTERS/Robert GalbraithAs is to be expected, Apple had a wild year in 2015. Over the past 12 months, we saw the company reach new financial highs and release a number of new products. From the highly anticipated Apple Watch to Samsung finally agreeing to pay Apple for patent infringement, not a month in 2015 went by without some sort of big and memorable Apple story. With 2016 fast approaching, we've compiled a list of the most interesting and noteworthy Apple stories f
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Why ownCloud's CEO isn't worried about the death of Safe Harbor

  17-12-2015 20:46
  Data sovereignty has become a hot-button issue ever since the EU's top court struck down the Safe Harbor agreement in October, and for many users of file-synchronization and sharing services, it poses a considerable problem. OwnCloud CEO Markus Rex sees it as more of an opportunity.That's because OwnCloud -- which in many ways competes with the likes of Dropbox and Google Drive -- does file sync and share a bit differently from many of the better-known contenders. Most notably, it doesn't provid
  
  Read more

• Microsoft to offer special version of Windows 10 for Chinese government

  17-12-2015 20:45
  Microsoft will offer Chinese government users a special version of Windows 10 as part of a new joint venture, the company announced late Wednesday. A new company, called C&M Information Technologies, will work to license, deploy, manage and optimize Windows 10 for Chinese government agencies and some businesses that are owned by the government. It's the result of a partnership between Microsoft and the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group. The resulting Windows 10 image w
  
  Read more

• How to fail fast, learn quickly and move forward

  17-12-2015 20:18
  
  GE Neeraj Vijay, CIO, GE Flow & Process Technologies, GE Oil & GasTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• 8 Linux predictions for 2016

  17-12-2015 19:58
  
  Lunduke looks ahead for LinuxAs 2015 comes to a close, the time has arrived to make predictions for what will happen in the Linux (and broader Free and Open Source Software) world in the year ahead. Will all of my predictions actually come true in 2016? Who knows? But I’m making them anyway!We still won’t be using Wayland.Image by WikipediaTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Microsoft limits unlimited OneDrive for Business storage to priciest Office 365 enterprise plans

  17-12-2015 19:37
  
  Microsoft yesterday announced that only the priciest enterprise Office 365 subscription plans will be eligible for an unlimited OneDrive for Business storage allotment.
  Coming on the heels of a decision last month to scrub unlimited storage from all consumer-grade Office 365 plans, Microsoft's latest move was no shock to Wes Miller, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft.
  "Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I surprised? No," said Miller in a Wednesday interview.
  Microsoft acknowledged the disappointme
  
  Read more

• Wondering which photo is best? Ask this deep-learning algorithm online

  17-12-2015 18:43
  
  Choosing the best photos has always been more a matter of art than of science, whether it's for a Facebook page or a marketing campaign. That may soon change, however, thanks to some new technology out of MIT.Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have created an algorithm called MemNet that can predict how memorable or forgettable an image is almost as accurately as humans can, the university announced on Wednesday.For each image, the algori
  
  Read more

• Microsoft extends SmartScreen browsing protection to foil malvertising and exploit kits

  17-12-2015 18:29
  
  Microsoft SmartScreen, the phishing and malware filtering technology built into Internet Explorer, Edge and Windows, has now been updated to block Web-based attacks that silently exploit software vulnerabilities to infect computers.Such attacks are known as drive-by downloads, because they don't require user interaction aside from browsing to a malicious website or a legitimate one that has been compromised.To launch such attacks, hackers use tools known as exploit kits that take advantage of vu
  
  Read more

• Microsoft Edge browser now includes SmartScreen protection from drive-by attacks

  17-12-2015 18:12
  
  Drive-by attacks are among the sneakiest types of browser malware, but Microsoft has a plan to keep Windows 10 users safe.
  As part of the Windows 10 “November update,” both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11 include a new version of SmartScreen, the website filtering tool that Microsoft first launched with IE7. SmartScreen now protects against drive-by attacks, which attempt to silently install malware by exploiting known PC software vulnerabilities.
  Typically, a drive-by attac
  
  Read more

• CIO of healthcare giant drives the need for speed

  17-12-2015 17:21
  
  In mid-July, on Johnson & Johnson’s second-quarter earnings call for 2015, Group Worldwide Chairman Sandi Peterson outlined some of the critical IT initiatives that would help the $74 billion company compete — and win — in the rapidly evolving world of digital healthcare.Included in her remarks was a simple statement: “We are at a tipping point where technology is becoming the medium through which healthcare can become a more effective and efficient system.”That
  
  Read more

• Public cloud vs. on-premises, which is more secure?

  17-12-2015 17:00
  
  Which is more secure: the public cloud or on-premises infrastructure?
  “Is it more secure to run in the cloud or more secure to run in my data center?” asks John Treadway, senior vice president at consultancy Cloud Technology Partners. “I can do it better. You can do it better… It becomes a religious debate.”
  Large enterprises invest a lot in security, Treadway says and so do large cloud providers. “Whether it's more secure or less secure, [the cloud is] at l
  
  Read more

• IDG Enterprise editors predict IT trends for 2016

  17-12-2015 16:09
  
  As 2015 winds down and we start to focus on 2016, one thing can be predicted quite easily. Analysts, editors and others will start making their own predictions about what we can expect in the upcoming year.
  We’re no different here at IDG Enterprise – we asked some of the top editors from the IDG enterprise brands (Computerworld, Network World, CIO.com, CSO) to take a few minutes out of their busy day to predict a few trends for enterprise IT in 2016.
  The video above shows their fina
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Will Apple let iOS users rename Siri?

  17-12-2015 15:47
  
  Siri has been around a long time now in iOS, but the name has never really clicked with me. The word "Siri" just doesn't roll of my tongue very well and it seems incredibly bland and almost totally lacks personality. I doubt I'm alone in feeling this way, and it got me wondering: will Apple ever let users rename Siri?iOS users can already customize Siri in some waysFrankly, I can't think of a single reason why Apple shouldn't let users rename Siri. The company certainly has the programming resou
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Why social media needs to have a code of ethics for clinical research

  17-12-2015 15:13
  
  According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center on social media usage in the United States, 65 percent of all adults and 76 percent of adult Internet users spend time online on at least one social networking site. That’s nearly a tenfold increase in the last decade. Given the vast public use of social media, it should come as no surprise that clinical researchers have come to view Facebook, Twitter and other social media as treasure troves of minable information and data. Amid th
  
  Read more

• Amazon Fire HD 8 Reader's Edition is great for bedtime reading, but ...

  17-12-2015 15:04
  
  In case you're not already aware, "blue light" at night is bad for you. (Blue light has "very short wavelength, and so produces a higher amount of energy," according to BlueLightExposed.com.)Amazon has a potential solution in its "Blue Shade," a clever new feature designed to let you use its devices in bed at night without affecting sleep. Blue Shade works well, but it won't give light sleepers carte blanche to read whatever they want before turning in.Blue light and electronics
  Electronic devic
  
  Read more

• All your consumer tech gear should be cheaper come July: that's the end-date for import tariffs

  17-12-2015 14:50
  
  In a move meant to cut the cost of IT and consumer electronics products, the World Trade Organization is ending tariffs on imports including game consoles, TVs, GPS receivers and advanced chips from July 2016.The tariffs -- in some countries as high as 35 percent on products such as video cameras -- will be phased out over seven years under an agreement finalized Wednesday, and applies to all 192 member countries of the WTO.The vast majority of the savings will take effect next July, when tariff
  
  Read more

• Reflecteren en vooruitblikken tijdens OM Dinershow

  17-12-2015 14:07
  Omgeven met verbluffende magie en subtiel harpspel werd in de Koepelkerk in Amsterdam het jubileumjaar van Outsource Magazine waardig afgesloten met alweer de zesde editie van de Outsource Magazine Dinershow – dit jaar in het teken van het tienjarig bestaan van Outsource Magazine.De TOMMIE Awards werden dit... lees meer
  
  Read more

• It’s time for IT teams to digitize like the startups do

  17-12-2015 14:04
  
  Review any survey of senior business executives’ IT priorities conducted in the last few years and you’ll find digitization hovering at the top of each list. Executives see it as essential for growing their businesses, improving customer experience and upgrading their business models. Yet they admit they aren’t sure how to do it, as Gartner found when it surveyed CEOs. All the while in the same industries, thousands of venture-funded technology startups are discovering digitiza
  
  Read more

• 9 ways corporate fitness and wellness programs will change in 2016

  17-12-2015 14:00
  
  Employee fitness and wellness programs continued to grow in popularity during recent years. For example, 70 percent of U.S. employers now offer some kind of employee wellness program, up from 58 percent in 2008, according to a study released in June 2015 by the Society for Human Resource Management.Despite this notable increase, enterprises will face challenges in 2016 related to their fitness and wellness programs, including ongoing security and privacy concerns among employees and the need to
  
  Read more

• 5 enterprise software predictions for 2016

  17-12-2015 13:11
  
  Enterprise software predictions for 2016Image by ThinkstockSoftware is the backbone of IT in the digital age, touching almost every aspect of our lives. So what does the future hold for one of the hottest industries in the world? Here, experts from Skyport Systems, Ceridian, Tasktop and Travel Tripper share their opinions on what to expect in in 2016.Prediction #1: Say goodbye to software-centric securityImage by ThinkstockTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
  Read more

• The hottest security certifications, most in-demand skills

  17-12-2015 13:00
  
  Network and Application Security, GRC/Information Assurance, and Malware and Threat Intel were cited as the most important jobs in a new survey of cyber security job trends announced today by Cybrary, a provider of free online cybersecurity courses.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• How three old-school companies became digital platform players

  17-12-2015 12:30
  
  For more than 120 years, McCormick & Co. seasoned its growth by adding new products, slowly simmering its spices, sauces and packaged foods into a $4.2 billion global business.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• Experience matters

  17-12-2015 12:29
  
  The end of the year always brings about thoughts of what changes should occur in the coming year. If a change of job is in your thoughts, security executives say they look  at prospective employees’ experience before they even take a step through the door.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• Open source unleashes blockchain's enterprise potential

  17-12-2015 12:00
  
  Blockchain technology makes cryptocurrency like bitcoin possible, but it has a lot of potential beyond tracking currency transactions. The Linux Foundation wants to tap into that potential and is spearheading a collaborative effort to develop an enterprise-grade open source distributed ledger called Hyperledger.
  At its core, blockchain is a record-keeping system running across a global network of independent computers. The distributed ledger, which records and verifies transactions, is write-on
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Lessons from UbuCon: Canonical needs its own live events

  17-12-2015 02:25
  
  Canonical is one of the big three of the Linux world (the other two being Red Hat and SUSE), but the company no longer organizes events that bring people together in person. The company used to have Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS), but they changed it from an in-person event to an online event called Ubuntu Online Summit (UOS), which is organized over Google Hangouts.
  UDS was not, of course, the only Ubuntu event; the Ubuntu community organizes many events on its own. UbuCon, which used to be a s
  
  Read more

• Windows Hello comes to older PCs with upgrade to Tobii's EyeX eye tracker

  17-12-2015 01:43
  
  Windows 10’s Windows Hello face authentication one of the most innovative conveniences in Windows 10—but only a handful of new PCs have the depth-sensing cameras needed to use it. Tobii’s eyeX eye tracker is about to change all that.
  Tobii said Wednesday that a firmware update to its $129 peripheral allows the device to recognize your face and log you in, duplicating the functionality of cameras built into the Microsoft Surface Book and other devices.
  Tobii’s eyeX isn&rs
  
  Read more

• IoT startup Afero goes end to end for security

  17-12-2015 01:42
  Internet of Things startup Afero says it can secure small and large IoT devices with a Bluetooth radio module and a cloud service.
  Afero's platform is just the latest approach to building an infrastructure that ties together a variety of connected devices. The company says its system can be applied to both the home and enterprise realms of IoT and encrypts data all the way from devices to the cloud.
  The Internet of Things is widely expected to blossom into billions of devices for consumers, cit
  
  Read more

• Microsoft restarts Windows 10 Insider delivery with new beta build

  17-12-2015 01:41
  
  Microsoft today restarted distribution of Windows 10 previews by delivering the first new build since the November upgrade of five weeks ago.
  The new version, identified as build 11082, was offered to Windows Insider participants who have selected the "Fast" ring, or delivery track.
  According to Gabriel Aul, engineering general manager for Microsoft's operating systems group, build 11082 has few visible changes from the upgrade issued Nov. 11. "You won't see big noticeable changes or new featur
  
  Read more

• Google Now on Tap aims to ease holiday stress with new flight, package tracking feature

  17-12-2015 01:00
  
  Google Now on Tap might save you a few steps with some of those usual holiday chores like checking a flight status or tracking packages. 
  According to Google’s Inside Search blog, should someone text you a flight number you’ll be able to touch and hold the home button (the usual procedure for launching Now on Tap) and get a card with updated status information.Inside Search Blog
  Get flight details quickly by launching Google Now on Tap.To read this article in full or to leave a
  
  Read more

• The 10 best PC games of 2015

  17-12-2015 00:00
  A year to rememberImage by Flavio EnsikiWhat a wonderful year to be a PC gamer.Sure, there’s been some portentous gaming hardware releases in 2015, from the launch of thefirst graphics cards capable of 4K gamingto the long-awaited introduction ofValve’s Steam Machines. But that’s not what I’m talking about. When it comes down to brass tacks, gaming is all about the games—and 2015’s blitz of new top-tier games was so outstanding that it gives the legendary 2004
  
  Read more

Follow @ITExecutiveNews on Twitter!