IT Executive news

• Most Americans support the FBI over Apple, Pew study finds

  22-02-2016 23:48
  
  Most Americans think that Apple should help the FBI unlock a smartphone used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino mass shooting, according to a study released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.Fifty-one percent of those asked said they think Apple should unlock the iPhone to help the FBI with its investigation, while 38 percent said it should not unlock the phone to protect the security of its other users. Eleven percent of respondents had no opinion either way.Pew Pew found that a ma
  
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• Amazon's free shipping minimum cost is now $49

  22-02-2016 23:45
  
  If you want free shipping on your Amazon order, it’s going to cost you a little more. That’s because Amazon revealed it is raising the minimum amount you need to spend to $49—up from $35—in order to get the perk.
  The only exception is for an order of $25 worth of “eligible” books, which should be welcome news to those who rely on Amazon for textbooks or for their pleasure-reading needs.
  Along with boosting Prime subscriptions, such a move will help the bottom
  
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• SURFnet kiest Quanza voor operationeel beheer

  22-02-2016 23:22
  Na een Europese aanbesteding heeft SURFnet gekozen voor Quanza Engineering als partner voor het 24x7 operationeel beheer en een upgrade van het SURFnet-netwerk, dat hoge-snelheidsnetwerkdiensten biedt aan het Nederlandse onderwijs en aan onderzoeksinstituten. Door state-of-the-art DWDM en 100G... lees meer
  
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• Smart city tech connects cars and bikes with big data at MWC

  22-02-2016 23:05
  
  Smart city technologies are on display again at Mobile World Congress (MWC). This year, they are bigger than ever -- and more advanced.
  AT&T and a host of smaller companies worked with the MWC's organizer, GSMA, to pull together dozens of Internet of Things (IoT) demonstrations in a major portion of Hall 3. The advances include taking data from cars on the road to help weather trackers, and augmenting that information with big data.
  For example, if a car's wipers get turned on, that could b
  
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• Nutricia Research verlengt partnership met OCS Consulting

  22-02-2016 22:58
  Nutricia Research, de R&D-organisatie achter de divisies Early Life Nutrition en Advanced Medical Nutrition van Danone, zet zijn strategische samenwerking met OCS Consulting voor data-analyse en statistische dienstverlening voort. De onderneming heeft zich via een ‘preferred partnership’ met de... lees meer
  
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• Congress to hear from replaced Disney IT worker in new hearing

  22-02-2016 22:15
  The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration will hold a hearing Thursday on "The Impact of High-Skilled Immigration on U.S. Workers." Its first witness will be an IT worker who trained his visa-holding replacement.
  Leo Perrero, an IT worker at Disney until he was laid off in January 2015 --along with 200 to 300 co-workers -- is one of six scheduled to testify.
  This is not the first time lawmakers will hear this story.
  Patricia Fluno, a computer programmer in Orlando, testified before Congress in 200
  
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• FBI rebuts criticism that it reset terrorist's iCloud password after attack

  22-02-2016 22:09
  
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) today rebutted accounts in the media, and implications by Apple, that it or San Bernardino County messed up when the iCloud password for the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook was reset days after a shooting that left 14 dead.
  On Dec. 6, FBI investigators, with the approval of San Bernardino County and the assistance of its IT staff, reset the password of Farook's iCloud account. San Bernardino County owned the iPhone 5C, had supplied it to Farook for hi
  
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• Time Warner Cable CIO transforms IT as Charter merger looms

  22-02-2016 20:31
  
  CIOs who want to test their mettle should join a company where the IT department is disorganized and disconnected from the business. Then throw in the potential issues associated with a megamerger for good measure.Sven Gerjets, CIO of Time Warner Cable.Sven Gerjets is facing such challenges as the CIO of Time Warner Cable (TWC), which sits between its failed 2015 acquisition by Comcast and a pending merger with Charter Communications. “It’s an interesting transformation opportunity b
  
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• Facebook to begin testing its Internet drone this year

  22-02-2016 20:27
  
  Facebook will begin test flights of its solar-powered Internet drone later this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday.The Aqulia aircraft has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 but weighs about the same as a car. Its wings are covered in solar panels that provide enough energy to keep it aloft for three to six months at an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 feet, well above aircraft.It's one of Facebook's answers to the problem of extending low-cost Internet access to parts of the world that don't curren
  
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• How CIO-enabled innovation can shape the digital business

  22-02-2016 20:24
  
  Never has there been a better time to work in technology. Technology innovation increasingly defines our world, from new products and services, to new ways of doing business and the breakdown of traditional industry barriers. Yet most CIOs are not at the heart of their company’s innovation agenda.David QuinneyWhen we asked more than 1,200 business and technology leaders, 90 percent said that new IT-led innovation is critical to their company’s growth and survival. Yet, only 57 percen
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg on Apple vs. FBI: 'We're sympathetic with Apple'

  22-02-2016 19:57
  
  Mark Zuckerberg is the latest tech leader to voice his support of Apple against the FBI.“We’re sympathetic with Apple,” the Facebook CEO told the audience at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. “We believe encryption is a good thing that people will want.”[ Related: Why Apple is right to fight FBI over iPhone access ]Even though Zuckerberg was clearly in support of Apple’s case for user privacy, the Facebook CEO acknowledged both sides. “A
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 9 Linux desktop environments to watch in 2016

  22-02-2016 19:44
  
  A cup full of LinuxImage by atzerok/FlickrIt’s that time of the year when I return with some of the most exciting desktop environments to look forward to. The Linux world is extremely dynamic; a lot can happen within a year so it’s interesting to see where these desktop environments stand today. For the sake of this story I tried out all these desktop environments in a virtual machine so that you don’t have to.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her
  
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• Startup touts four-factor authentication for VIP-level access

  22-02-2016 19:43
  
  Startup Trusona is launching what it claims to be a 100% accurate authentication scheme aimed at corporate executives, premiere banking customers and IT admins who have unfettered authorization to access the most valued corporate assets.
  The system uses four-factor authentication to assure that the person logging in is the person they say they are. It requires a dongle that is tied to a set of specific devices (phones, tablets, laptops), certain cards with magnetic stripes that the user already
  
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• Despite setbacks, Facebook is still committed to India, Zuckerberg says

  22-02-2016 19:40
  
  Facebook remains committed to spreading the availability of the Internet in India, despite the recent prohibition of its free Web service by the Indian government, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday.
  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's ruling earlier this month to stop free data services was disappointing for the mission of connecting people, he said, but Free Basics will continue to expand to other countries.
  Free Basics is a service that offers no-cost access to 38 websites, incl
  
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• VMware turns to IBM in the public cloud

  22-02-2016 19:36
  
  VMware and IBM today announced a broad new partnership that will allow VMware customers to extend their virtualized workloads into IBM’s public SoftLayer cloud.
  +MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: IBM says its software links all of your IT to the cloud +
  For the public cloud market, the move is seen as somewhat of a reckoning on VMware’s public cloud strategy. VMware has had fits and starts building up its own IaaS public cloud. In the past year VMware has opted to not invest billions of dollar
  
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• Philip Hennemann nieuwe directeur PBLQ

  22-02-2016 19:28
  Philip Hennemann is per 1 april door het bestuur van PBLQ benoemd als nieuwe directeur. Hij volgt Leo Smits op die met pensioen gaat na ruim twaalf jaar directeur van het ict-adviesbureau voor overheden te zijn geweest. “PBLQ heeft met Philip Hennemann een ondernemende strateeg in huis die in staat is de... lees meer
  
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• Vier strategische aandachtsgebieden voor de retail

  22-02-2016 19:25
  Terwijl e-commerce – en in zijn voetspoor mobiele commerce – het fysieke winkellandschap overhoop heeft gehaald, openen steeds meer online retailers nu ook fysieke winkels. Digitalisering en mobiele handel bieden vele kansen voor innovatie zoals personalisatie, zegt adviesbureau Manhattan... lees meer
  
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• How captive centers can drive digital transformations

  22-02-2016 18:59
  
  Captive centers currently account for less than 25 percent of the full-time employees delivering digital services, such as analytics, cloud and mobility, from offshore and nearshore locations, according to research by outsourcing consultancy Everest Group. However, these wholly owned subsidiaries are uniquely qualified to play a pivotal role in the digital transformation of their parent companies, says Everest Group practice director Aditya Verma.Unlike third-party providers, captive centers are
  
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• These three future-looking technologies are missing from Samsung's Galaxy S7s

  22-02-2016 18:56
  
  Samsung had an opportunity to be an innovator by including future-looking technologies in its new Galaxy S7 and and S7 Edge smartphones. But the company played it safe with incremental upgrades like a microSD slot and better camera.
  Here are some existing and future-looking technologies Samsung did not include in the handsets. Some technologies are still evolving and could come in successor handsets.
  USB Type-C
  Samsung's new smartphones don't have the new USB Type-C port, which is the charging
  
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• IoT's new supergroup will have one code base to rule them all

  22-02-2016 18:54
  
  The Open Connectivity Foundation plans to introduce a single open-source code base in place of the alphabet soup of standards for the Internet of Things.
  It's an ambitious goal for the group, which was announced just last week, but it may be possible given the OCF's impressive list of members. Intel, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Samsung, GE and Cisco are among the initial members.
  Getting all these companies to agree was a big relief for Aicha Evans, corporate vice president and general manager of the
  
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• How Kronos’ cloud migration makes for a better business

  22-02-2016 17:26
  
  Software companies don’t survive – thrive, in fact – for nearly 40 years without a strong aptitude for change. Kronos launched in the late 1970s with the first microprocessor-based time clock. In the decades since, the Chelmsford, Mass.-based company has become the leader in workforce management applications, navigating a rapidly changing technology landscape and the transition from startup to public company back to a private entity now generating more than a billion dollars in
  
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• 5 key steps to take before you sell an old smartphone

  22-02-2016 17:24
  
  Today's smartphones are far too expensive to simply discard when you buy a new one. Lots of people sell their phones when they no longer need them or pass them on to friends or family members. However, many of those people don't properly manage the personal and business data left on those old phones.
  It's not particularly hard to secure a smartphone before you discard it, but all too many people fail to take the process seriously. Reputable companies that buy used smartphones, such as Gaze
  
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• Galaxy S7, GS7 edge support 15w Qi wireless charging, but ...

  22-02-2016 17:15
  
  Yesterday I published an article that sums up my early thoughts on Samsung's shiny new Galaxy S7 and GS7 edge smartphones. I spent some hands-on time with the devices at a press event last week in New York City. During my briefing I asked a question that none of the Samsung product managers in attendance could answer: Do the new GS7s support the latest 15w Qi wireless power standard?The two new phones support both Qi and PMA wireless charging, the reps told me, and they also offer "wireless
  
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• Your cat will love LG's rolling robot

  22-02-2016 17:03
  
  One of the most fun smartphone accessories to come out of this year's Mobile World Congress expo has to be LG's Rolling Bot. It's a spherical ball that rolls around on command from a smartphone, and includes a camera and laser pointer.The bot can be controlled locally or remotely and is envisaged to be kept at home. When you're away, you can remotely trundle around the house and check everything is OK via livestream -- well, at least until you reach the stairs.LG also thinks it might be up to th
  
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• IBM says its new software links all your IT to the cloud

  22-02-2016 17:00
  
  The digital-transformation imperative looms large in the business world, but it's not always clear how on-premises software and data fit into the picture.IBM says it can help. The company on Monday announced a new series of “connect” tools for IBM Cloud that are designed to make it easier for companies to extend existing IT investments to the cloud."There are billions of dollars of investment and install-days in IT that will not and should not disappear," said Jim Comfort, CTO and ge
  
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• GitHub Enterprise is coming to Bluemix

  22-02-2016 17:00
  
  GitHub's popular code-sharing service for developers has long been available in a self-hosted enterprise version, and now it's coming to IBM's Bluemix cloud platform.
  Thanks to a new partnership announced Monday, IBM and GitHub will deliver GitHub Enterprise as a dedicated service on Bluemix across private and hybrid cloud environments. The service gives corporate developers a new way to code and work with GitHub’s collaborative development tools in a private, controlled environment.
  "It'
  
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• Cook hints at Apple car, stops short of confirming

  22-02-2016 16:57
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook isn't ready to confirm longstanding rumors that the company is designing a car, but he didn't exactly deny it, either, in an interview with Fortune.
  Asked about Apple's plans to build a car, Cook talked about the company's interest in many products and technologies. "The great thing about being here is we’re curious people," he told Fortune. "And we’re always thinking about ways that Apple can make great products that people love, that help them in some way."
  Howe
  
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• 5 things to know about the MateBook, Huawei's first-ever Windows device

  22-02-2016 16:49
  
  When you think of the name Huawei, you likely think of servers or Android devices—or you don’t think of them at all, since Huawei is hardly a major brand name in the U.S. The company is hoping to change that, though, with the introduction of its first convertible Windows tablet, the Huawei MateBook.
  The MateBook is a productivity-focused tablet akin to the Microsoft Surface. It’s lighter, thinner, and way more svelte, not to mention it’s accompanied by a trio of accessor
  
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• Acer inside cars? It's happening

  22-02-2016 16:29
  
  Acer is venturing outside PCs with new products to update car software and prevent accidents.The company's first products for cars, including a headset that monitors brainwaves for driver fatigue, are being shown at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.The Taiwan company is also showing a telematics product to track car movement and keep in-vehicle software updated.Acer is entering the automotive business as a way to make money outside the slumping PC business. Success in PCs has eluded
  
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• Is 2016 finally the year of upgradable phones?

  22-02-2016 16:08
  
  LG's new G5 smartphone comes with an innovative feature: the ability to plug in and remove hardware modules that add extra functionality to the phone.It represents a first and small step toward something that's been long proposed but never realized: modular smartphones in which users add and remove components to suit their needs.At launch, the G5 will have a couple of modules. One adds hardware camera buttons for zoom, shutter and video recording and the second module is a high-quality audio pro
  
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• Mobiele beveiliging slechts bij een op de vijf organisaties

  22-02-2016 16:03
  Slechts 21% van de organisaties in Europa en het Midden-Oosten gebruikt voorzieningen om specifiek mobiele apparaten te beveiligen. Daarop duidt een onderzoek naar cyber-deigingen en de meestgebruikte security-voorzieningen van beveiligingsspecialist ESET.Veelgebruikte toepassingen zijn antivirussoftware... lees meer
  
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• Beyond Centrino: Intel drives device changes for a 5G world

  22-02-2016 16:00
  
  Intel sparked a wireless revolution over the last decade with its Centrino processor platform, designed to connect laptops over Wi-Fi, and now believes the 5G mobile standard will fuel the next big change in the way a new generation of devices communicate.
  The move to 5G networks will provide faster wireless connectivity through a host of technologies and change the way computing devices are built, said Aicha Evans, corporate vice president for Intel's Platform Engineering Group and general man
  
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• Chinese devs abuse free Apple app-testing certs to install pirated apps

  22-02-2016 15:53
  A Chinese iOS application recently found on Apple's official store contained hidden features that allow users to install pirated apps on non-jailbroken devices. Its creators took advantage of a relatively new feature that lets iOS developers obtain free code-signing certificates for limited app deployment and testing.The number of malware programs for iOS has been very low until now primarily because of Apple's strict control of its ecosystem. Devices that have not been jailbroken -- having
  
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• Apple calls for commission to discuss FBI's iPhone unlocking demands

  22-02-2016 15:33
  
  Apple today said that the government should create an expert panel to discuss the implications of the FBI's demand that the company help it access an iPhone used by one of the people accused of killing 14 in California nearly three months ago.[ Related: Why Apple is right to fight FBI over iPhone access ]In a FAQ posted to its website early Monday, Apple added to the back-and-forth of last week, when both it and the government traded court filings, statements and heated rhetoric. Along with the
  
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• Selligent closes merger with StrongView

  22-02-2016 15:28
  
  Omnichannel marketing automation software provider Selligent announced today the completion of its merger with email technology company Strongview. Selligent says the new combined company is now the world's largest independent provider of orchestration and engagement solutions for relationship marketers."One of the top reasons that Extra Space Storage works with Selligent is its clear commitment to relationship marketers," Melissa Burdon, marketing optimization director at Selligent customer Ext
  
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• Panasonic announces two heavy-duty smartphones

  22-02-2016 15:16
  
  Panasonic is branching out from its ruggedized computer and tablet roots, announcing a pair of new smartphones on Monday at Mobile World Congress.The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-F1 and FZ-N1 are both designed to give users a handheld computer that can take a beating, when their job requires it. Panasonic calls the them "handheld tablets," but the cellular connection and the dimensions of the devices puts them into what most people would consider the smartphone category.The F1 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop
  
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• What users love (and hate) about 4 leading identity management tools

  22-02-2016 14:50
  
  Four of the top identity management products on the market are Oracle Identity Manager, CA Identity Manager, IBM Tivoli Identity Manager,and SailPoint IdentityIQ, according to online reviews by enterprise users in the IT Central Station community.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Enterprise use of hybrid tablets growing fast

  22-02-2016 14:34
  
  Most major hardware manufacturers offer some type of hybrid tablet and even Apple and Samsung jumped into the hybrid game with the iPad Pro and the Tab Pro S, which both do decent impressions of a laptop. Meanwhile, other devices, like the Microsoft Surface or Lenovo Yoga devices have offered a 2-in-1 experience for years.
  These hybrids certainly aren't a passing fad. Earlier this month, IDC reported that in Q4 of 2015, shipments for detachable tablets reached 8.1 million, which was an all-time
  
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• Apple exec: Newer iPhones aren't immune to FBI backdoor concerns

  22-02-2016 14:08
  By now, you probably know that the FBI wants Apple to build a “backdoor” that circumvents some passcode security features on iOS in order to get to data stored on an iPhone 5c as part of its investigation into the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
  [ Related: Why Apple is right to fight FBI over iPhone access ]
  The iPhone 5c is an older model and it lacks some security features, such as Touch ID and the Secure Enclave present in newer models like the iPhone 6 and 6s. But what about th
  
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• The battle of the reboot

  22-02-2016 14:07
  
  I’ve talked a lot about patching, ever since my first column for Computerworld way back in 2008. Then, I had to struggle with the IT department to get them to do any patching. The backlog was immense — not only had the Windows operating systems running on our servers never been patched, but neither had their software applications. My vulnerability scanner found literally hundreds of thousands of patchable vulnerabilities.
  It took a lot of work over a couple of years to work down tha
  
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• Hands on with the evolutionary Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

  22-02-2016 14:05
  
  After throwing every conceivable feature into the Galaxy S6, there couldn’t possibly be anything left to impress us with the Galaxy S7, right?
  Fortunately for Samsung, that’s not the case. The Galaxy S7 isn’t particularly revolutionary, but it does improve upon what made the Galaxy S6 so great. You can expect features like a bigger battery, a faster processor, and better low-light performance from both rear- and front-facing cameras.
  Samsung also appears to have finally resolv
  
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• Lenovo's Tab3 10 for Business brings out the serious side of Android

  22-02-2016 14:03
  
  Your Android tablet may be an entertainment device, but Lenovo’s Tab3 10 for Business has a job to do. Announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday, this $199 tablet (with Android 6.0 Marshmallow) is cheaper than your typical Windows device or iPad, but it’s built to withstand the rigors of a mobile worker, such as someone walking a retail or a manufacturing floor. It also supports Android for Work’s enhanced security and manageability features. 
  Once your bo
  
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• Cities, not cornfields, draw data centers

  22-02-2016 14:02
  
  Google built a data center in an Oregon town with a population of about 15,000. Yahoo established chicken-coop style data center in New York state farm country. And Apple runs an iCloud data center in rural North Carolina.
  But building big data centers in rural areas may be more the exception than the rule. Most data centers are located in, or at least close to, major Metro areas, acording to a new study.flickr/Tony Webster
  Google Data Center - The Dalles, OregonTo read this article in full or
  
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• 7 cheap alternatives to the Microsoft Surface

  22-02-2016 14:01
  
  (Insider Story)
  
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• Apple wants government to form commission over FBI demand

  22-02-2016 13:45
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook has asked the U.S. government to withdraw its court action demanding tools that will allow the FBI to hack the passcode of an iPhone, and instead set up a commission of tech, intelligence and civil liberties experts to discuss "the implications for law enforcement, national security, privacy and personal freedoms.""We have done everything that’s both within our power and within the law to help in this case. As we’ve said, we have no sympathy for terrorists," Cook s
  
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• Top 10 metro areas for STEM jobs

  22-02-2016 13:30
  
  The best metro areas for those looking for STEM careersImage by Thinkstock Businesses continue to scramble to hire tech professionals with skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in order to keep up with the growing demands of technology in the enterprise. It's also lucrative employees, with an average annual salary of $85,570, according to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's nearly 81 percent higher than the national average. To determine where the STEM workers ca
  
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• Apple’s GPU designer aims to bring high-power graphics to low-cost phones

  22-02-2016 13:24
  
  The designer of the graphics chips for the iPhone 6s and HTC One M9+ is setting its sights lower for its next generation of products, a move that spells good news for mobile gamers with a smaller budget.Imagination Technologies is improving the performance of its graphics chip designs for low-cost devices, and providing an extra boost as it opens the way for more efficient software too.Like ARM, Imagination designs processor cores but does not make chips. In ARM's case, it designs the eponymous
  
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• How to market your business on Instagram

  22-02-2016 13:00
  
  Last September, Instagram announced it had over 400 million active users, many of which are businesses. In fact, eMarketer predicts that in 2016, nearly half of U.S. companies will be using Instagram as part of their marketing strategy (about a third did in 2015), with the number climbing to 70 percent in 2017.While Instagram isn’t necessarily right for every business, for brands marketing products or services (e.g., food, fashion and photography) that could benefit from being seen, it can
  
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• Epson's latest smart glasses pack an OLED display into a light package

  22-02-2016 13:00
  Epson announced an update on Monday to its Moverio smart glasses at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, bringing a nice but incremental enhancement to a device that’s aimed at enterprise users and consumers alike.The new Moverio BT-300 headset got a major upgrade in the form of organic light emitting diode (OLED) display technology. Using OLEDs allows the black parts of the glasses' displays to appear more transparent to the user. That means applications that want to mix digital and physic
  
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• How long does it take to build a custom app?

  22-02-2016 12:59
  
  Your company wants a custom app for that? It's possible – and not just if you're the CIO of a big bucks corporation. New advances in app-building technology have lowered the cost of making apps, and the time and knowledge to make, test and deploy them, too.Much like how the power of website building used to be in the hands of only those who knew HTML but can now be built by anyone with a Squarespace or Wordpress account, new programs are letting non-developer employees to make apps wi
  
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