IT Executive news

• 2016’s biggest cloud computing conferences

  04-01-2016 21:19
  Some predict 2016 will be the year of the cloud. While that may be up for debate, what’s not is that there are a whole slew of cloud computing-related conferences on tap for the year.
  + MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: Rain clouds ahead – 10 bold predictions for the cloud market in 2016 | Video: 2015 a Year in Review in the cloud +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Global geopolitical risk predictions for 2016

  04-01-2016 20:30
  
  The previous 25 years have been marked by globalization. A number of forces acted together to bring our planet closer together. Trade pacts, peacekeeping alliances, the Internet.
  But now, according to Christopher Swift, a professor of national security studies at Georgetown, we're in a new era of localization and fragmentation.
  "The global economic system is reorganizing into regional blocks, and those blocks are putting more barriers around themselves," he said.
  Russia, China, and the NAFTA re
  
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• Is Dropbox planning a P2P option? New patent suggests it's looking beyond the cloud

  04-01-2016 20:11
  Dropbox has been granted a patent on a new peer-to-peer file-sharing technology that suggests it may be planning an alternative to its existing cloud-based service.Designed to facilitate file sharing across devices without the need for content to go through its own cloud servers, the new technology promises faster download speeds, Dropbox said.It can "eliminate bottlenecks, thereby increasing the speed" at which content items can be shared among individuals, Dropbox explained in U.S. Patent Appl
  
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• Top 10 breaches of personal data in 2015

  04-01-2016 20:03
  
  It was a bountiful year for hackers who gained unauthorized access to countless corporate and government databases. Here are the online breaches that hauled in the largest amount of personal data -- most of them tallying into the millions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Intel wants to guide drones in the right direction with Ascending acquisition

  04-01-2016 19:42
  Intel has agreed to acquire a Germany company that's working to help drones with 3D cameras move in the right direction and avoid collisions.The chip-maker is buying Ascending Technologies, which makes drones and offers "auto-pilot" software and algorithms so drones can sense and avoid obstacles. Intel hopes to combine the technologies with the 3D RealSense camera technology, which can provide a three-dimensional view of surroundings.An Ascending Technologies drone called Firefly with six RealSe
  
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• 802.11ah Wi-Fi standard approved, will underpin Internet of Things

  04-01-2016 19:41
  
  A new wireless standard that extends Wi-Fi’s reach down into the 900MHz band will keep the 802.11 family at the center of the developing Internet of Things, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced today.
  The new standard, 802.11ah, combines lower power requirements with a lower frequency, which means that those signals propagate better. That offers a much larger effective range than current Wi-Fi standards, which operate on 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, and lets the newer technology penetrate walls a
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Desktop Linux starts 2016 with a bang thanks to Acer and Chrome OS

  04-01-2016 18:12
  
  On the very first day of CES 2016, Acer announced two Chrome OS powered devices: Chromebook 11(CB3-131) and Chromebase 24.
  The Chromebook 11 is, as far as I know, the first rugged Chromebook that looks premium yet offers durability. In a press release Acer claimed that the Chromebook, "can handle up to 60kg of downward force on the top cover, while the corners can tolerate up to 60cm drops without damage. The reinforced case results in greater resistance to twisting and stress."Also on CIO.com:
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Where the IT dollars flow in the Digital Age

  04-01-2016 18:02
  
  We’re all looking at digital technologies and how powerful they are in shaping an organization’s future. If you read the press, you’d likely think that digital is all about the CMO-driven digital agenda for growth and changing the relationship with users (customers, employees and partners). But the press can be deceiving.At Everest Group, we recently conducted research around digital tech implementations. One of the most interesting parts of this research is that we found that
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The New Value of CIOs In 2016

  04-01-2016 17:59
  
  Holiday parties, performance reviews and annual reports are just a few reminders that the year is coming to a close. Over the past several months, this blog series has followed the CIO’s evolving role across 2015 into one of even greater responsibility, leadership and opportunity. 2016 will be no different. This year, the CIO will have even more opportunities to lead by conveying the value of investments. In Gartner’s 2016 CIO Agenda Report, CIOs reported their top barriers to succes
  
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• How predictive analytics changes the customer conversation

  04-01-2016 17:44
  
  Lone Star CollegeLink Alander, Vice Chancellor and CIO, Lone Star College SystemTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Should you buy the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus?

  04-01-2016 17:33
  
  When Apple finally released larger iPhones the company also introduced a new problem for its customers: is a larger or smaller phone better? Some Apple customers have had a tough time wrestling with the issue of whether they should buy the iPhone 6s with its 4.7-inch screen, or the iPhone 6s Plus with its 5.5-inch screen.At first glance it might seem like an easy question to answer, but many people have found it very difficult to choose between the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. It's a particularly toug
  
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• BlackEnergy cyberespionage group adds disk wiper and SSH backdoor to its arsenal

  04-01-2016 17:33
  A cyberespionage group focused on companies and organizations in the energy sector has recently updated its arsenal with a destructive data-wiping component and a backdoored SSH server.The group is known in the security community as Sandworm or BlackEnergy, after its primary malware tool, and has been active for several years. It has primarily targeted companies that operate industrial control systems, especially in the energy sector, but has also gone after high-level government organizati
  
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• Farmer's Insurance eyes drones, Internet of Things

  04-01-2016 17:24
  
  Farmer's Insurance may test drones that detect wildfire hazards and sensors to detect motor vehicle damage, says new CIO Ron Guerrier. The concepts are part of a corporate imperative to embrace emerging technologies that can help its agents more quickly resolve claims.Farmer's Insurance CIO Ron Guerrier."Emerging technologies is definitely top of mind for this organization,” says Guerrier, who joined the company earlier this month from Toyota. He credits his bosses, COO David Travers and C
  
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• Samsung's latest portable SSD banks on USB-C connections

  04-01-2016 16:45
  
  Samsung is coming out with a new portable solid-state drive that's not meant only for PCs: it will also plug into smartphones and tablets that support USB Type-C connections.The new pocket-sized SSD T3 provides a speed and capacity boost over the USB Type-C thumb drives, which work on mobile devices but are not full-fledged SSDs.The SSD T3 will be available in capacities up to 2TB and start shipping next month. The drive will be compatible with the Windows, Mac OS and Android 4.4 and higher
  
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• How to use Pinterest to grow your business

  04-01-2016 15:05
  
  Pinterest, the popular online sharing site perhaps best-known for recipes and fashion, recently announced it had over 100 million active users. That’s over 100 million potential customers for your products or services. And while Pinterest initially was not so welcoming to business users, it now encourages brands and small businesses to use the site as a marketing platform. There’s even a Pinterest for Business section with helpful tips for companies looking to leverage Pinterest. And
  
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• Tech Data tekent contract met T-Systems

  04-01-2016 15:01
  Ict-dienstverlener Tech Data heeft een omvangrijk contract gesloten met T-Systems om zijn IT-systemen in Europa te migreren naar de cloud.
   
  "Cloud computing is als platform voor onze eigen systemen en e-business tools een essentieel onderdeel van de strategie om tot een grotere flexibiliteit en innovatiekracht te... lees meer
  
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• HP tackles 'visual hacking' with privacy filters in laptop, tablet screens

  04-01-2016 15:00
  
  HP is putting integrated filters in laptop and tablet displays this year so Peeping Toms can't steal confidential information when surreptitiously viewing your screen.
  HP's privacy filters will make laptop and tablet screens visible to users in direct view of the display. Moving slightly away makes what's displayed on the screen fuzzier and then virtually invisible the further you go.
  Users won't be able to see a screen from a 35 degree angle on the left or right, said John Groden, director for
  
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• 5 signs your startup is screwed

  04-01-2016 14:14
  
  Building a startup is risky business. For every Facebook, Google, or Uber, there are hundreds of once-brilliant-seeming companies that entered the tech landscape with great fanfare -- only to fizzle out and fade away a matter of months later.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Wi-Fi for the Internet of Things gets a name: ‘Wi-Fi HaLow’

  04-01-2016 14:01
  
  LAS VEGAS -- A new low-power, long-range version of Wi-Fi that bolsters Internet of Things (IoT) connections will be dubbed Wi-Fi HaLow, the Wi-Fi Alliance revealed today in advance of CES.
  Wi-Fi HaLow (pronounced HAY-Low) is based on the pending IEEE 802.11ah specification. It will be used in coming years for everything from smart homes and wearables to smart cities and connected cars where thousands of battery-operated sensors can be connected to a single Wi-Fi Access Point (AP).
  The Wi-Fi Al
  
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• Predictions: What we expect from Apple in 2016

  04-01-2016 14:00
  
  2015 was a huge year for Apple, and you know all eyes will be on the company in the year to come. Will the Apple TV make a strong showing this holiday season? Will the iPad Pro be enough to reverse the iPad line’s recent sales slump? Will the so called Apple Car remain a secret? We take our best guesses at Apple’s destiny for the next 12 months.Apple CarWe think the Apple Car will stay a secret—an official secret, anyway—throughout 2016. Tim Cook will stay mum, Phil Schi
  
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• Acer's Aspire Switch 12 S tablet packs 4K screen, 3D camera, Thunderbolt 3 port

  04-01-2016 14:00
  
  Are you looking for a 4K screen, 3D camera and Thunderbolt 3 port in one tablet? If so, Acer's latest 12.5-inch Switch 12 S hybrid could be for you.
  The hybrid is essentially a tablet that ships with a secondary keyboard attachment for laptop usage. The 800-gram device is packed with some of the latest technologies available today, and is a major upgrade from other Switch models.
  The 4K screen, which will display images at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, is optional. Standard features in th
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The 31 fantastic flavors of cloud-accounting applications

  04-01-2016 13:55
  
  During 2015, I have advised nine different companies on their application/back-office strategy. These companies included small not-for-profits to large multibillion-dollar organizations. The most common reasons they are looking for new solutions include:Reason No. 1: A desire to simplify IT operations. Many of these companies are spending a large amount of time and money on supporting their back office applications. They have a strong desire to simplify their infrastructure to focus on more stra
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 3 ways to improve project team performance by lunchtime

  04-01-2016 13:41
  
  Surprise...there's a problem on the project. It may be a team member, it may be cooperation among team members, it may be performance of the entire team or even just progress on the major project tasks with no obvious source of origin. But something needs to be done and it has to start somewhere.Here's how to get started and make a difference tomorrow – before lunch time. I think any project manager with a problem on their project should be interested in a fast fix before sitting down to t
  
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• 6 TED talks that will inspire you in the New Year

  04-01-2016 13:29
  
  TED talks take exactly 18 minutes, cover a wide range of topics and are amazingly profound. Yet, it can be hard to find the best presentations because there are so many of them and, in some cases, they apply only to a specific niche. As we enter 2016, consider watching these six talks that should be of interest to IT leaders.1. Rethink the workplace 
  You don’t need a psychologist to tell you there is life outside of work and that being too focused on your tasks can be stifling. Or may
  
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• Tech Salary Guide 2016

  04-01-2016 13:15
  
  IT and tech salary statistics from the Robert Half Technology's Tech Salary Guide 2016Image by ThinkstockTechnology remains a fast-growing and competitive field, and the salary changes for 2016 reflect that. Robert Half Technology reported on the salary changes for job titles across 10 tech verticals, and the average salary range has increased for every title. Some of the titles with the highest raises in salary include chief security officer, developer, business analyst, big data engineer, data
  
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• Security blunders that will get you fired

  04-01-2016 12:49
  
  MistakesImage by ThinkstockGetting fired from an IT security job is a rare event, but there are certainly ways to ensure or accelerate your own unemployment. Trust your skills, follow corporate directives, and concentrate on the basics, and you’ll have a long career in IT security. Help your employer right-size its defenses in the right places, and you’ll excel. But fall prey to one of the following mistakes, and you’ll be looking for new work -- maybe a new career -- more ofte
  
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• IT careers: How long should you stay in your job?

  04-01-2016 12:41
  
  Over the past eight years, Michelle Ufford has had five different jobs at Web hosting company GoDaddy, including her current role as engineering manager. There once was a time when Ufford would have been considered hazardous to the workplace — an IT professional with a penchant for tossing aside years of costly training for a technology du jour.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• The 7 most intriguing products we can't wait to see at CES

  04-01-2016 12:30
  The smart way to CES: Focus on the good stuffImage by Rob SchultzYou could wade into the CES trade show like some people wade into an all-you-can-eat buffet, gobbling every pluggable doodad in sight, waddling out the other end feeling slightly ill and not remembering what you saw. Or you could be strategic, zero in on the things that matter most and still have energy to vsit some great nightclubs or try your luck at the slots. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click
  
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• How Google's Project Tango will change your life

  04-01-2016 12:01
  
  Project Tango is a Google platform for giving phones and tablets a sense of space.
  Right now, your phone can't do this. By this time next year, it probably will.
  I love moments like these -- a fundamental technology is poised to change what people do every day and how they do it, yet the general public remains ignorant of what's coming.
  That ignorance is about to be shattered. CES will usher in a new awareness about Project Tango. I'll detail below what's going to happen this week. But first, l
  
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• Review: Cisco, Linksys lead the way in smart switches

  04-01-2016 12:00
  
  Smart switches offer functionality found in managed switches, such as VLANs, port mirroring, and link aggregation. However, smart switches are typically targeted towards small and midsized networks that don’t need the complete management capabilities and fine-tuning offered in fully managed switches.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Review: Best smart switches for under $500

  04-01-2016 12:00
  
  Smart switchesSmart switches offer functionality found in managed switches, such as VLANs, port mirroring, and link aggregation. However, smart switches are typically targeted towards small and midsized networks that don’t need the complete management capabilities and fine-tuning offered in fully managed switches. We looked at switches from six vendors, the same vendors from our recent small business router review. So if you’re building an SMB network, reference both reviews to find
  
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• Internet of Things brings new era of weather forecasting

  04-01-2016 12:00
  
  You are driving down the road and your smartphone or vehicle alert system announces that black ice is 1.5 miles ahead. As you move closer there's a countdown: 500 feet, 300 feet, and now urgently: Warning, Warning -- 100 feet to black ice.
  How can you know the location of black ice so precisely?
  Weather systems will collect data from other vehicles on that same road. The vehicles will wirelessly transmit road condition and weather data. Vehicles' data points will include barometric pressure, ai
  
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• Best of CES 2016 in pictures: The year IoT took over

  04-01-2016 12:00
  
  IoT, home networking dominate CES 2016CES 2016 kicked off this week with a clear shift in focus from the smartphones and tablets of the past few years to the increasingly connected home and the spread of the Internet of Things. Smart home-related technology can be found anywhere at CES this year, while maximizing the home network has reemerged as a top priority to accommodate both the IoT and the rise of streaming content.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Robotisering is vorm van automatisering

  04-01-2016 10:15
  Door Alex van den Bergh – Veel Nederlanders krijgen, als ze ‘robotisering op de werkplek’ lezen, het beeld van een blikken pop in een bureaustoel. Maar robots op kantoor bestaan doorgaans uit software. Er bestaan dus nog heel wat misverstanden over robotisering.Robotisering is de nieuwe hype. Er... lees meer
  
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• Ford to support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on Sync 3

  04-01-2016 08:33
  
  Ford is increasing the number of smartphone functions that can be controlled from car interfaces by adding support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and introducing more apps for its Sync in-vehicle connectivity system.Apple CarPlay and Google's Android Auto have been designed for users to be able to continue to use their phones to access information and make calls from the vehicle's native interface while driving, by connecting the phone to the car.The car company is adding these capabilities
  
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• OLED finally comes to laptops with Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga hybrid

  04-01-2016 04:30
  
  Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 products boast some glitzy new technology, including an OLED display on its X1 Yoga hybrid and newfangled docks for its X1 Tablet.
  With the new X1 products, which include the X1 Carbon laptop, Lenovo wants to change staid PC designs. Lenovo has also slimmed down devices, pumped in more performance and added longer battery life.
  Lenovo claims the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is the first hybrid in the world with an optional Samsung OLED screen, which offers crisper images than conve
  
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• What you need to know about home IoT standards at CES

  04-01-2016 00:00
  
  When Internet of Things devices debut at this year's CES, one of the biggest questions will be how they'll connect to all the other smart-home gear on display. But anyone who expects a clear answer to that is like a kid who gets up Thanksgiving morning looking for a bunch of gifts under a tree.
  The fact is, it's too early to say what standard or protocol will become the glue that can turn a pile of cool gadgets into a system that runs your whole house for you. New systems are just starting to e
  
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