IT Executive news

• CIOs must know their customers to know the business

  11-03-2016 22:04
  
  CEOs are seeking to generate more revenues from their emerging digital businesses, forcing CIOs to become more familiar with their company's customers. Digital agendas are devouring CIOs' attention and forcing them to partner with the CEO and the CMO.The trend represents a sea change of sorts for the CIO, whose role evolved sharply from that of a custodian of back-office systems to a curator of customers. Three CIOs who manage technology for global businesses discussed what that evolution means
  
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• NASA tests rocket engine, a big step in sending humans into deep space

  11-03-2016 21:53
  
  NASA has hit a major milestone in its mission to send humans into deep space and travel to Mars.
  The space agency today for the first time successfully tested its new deep space RS-25 rocket engine at Stennis Space Center, a NASA rocket testing facility in Mississippi. The engine was fired up for 500 seconds, or about 8.5 minutes.
  The next time the rocket fires for that long, it will be carrying humans on their first deep-space mission in more than 45 years.
  "What a great moment for NASA and St
  
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• Microsoft's new OneNote import tool makes it simple to switch from Evernote

  11-03-2016 21:51
  
  For longtime Evernote users, switching to a different note-taking app is kind of a big deal. Like switching from Windows to Mac, or Android to iOS, it can be done. But it's painful.
  Microsoft this week made the switch from Evernote to OneNote easier when it released the new OneNote Importer tool. I downloaded and tested the utility, and it worked well, making my Evernote content available in OneNote anywhere I want it, including on my Mac computer, Windows tablet, and all of my iOS and And
  
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• Government hints it may demand iOS source code, signing key

  11-03-2016 21:24
  
  The government yesterday hinted that it may demand that Apple hand over the iOS source code and the encryption key the Cupertino, Calif. company uses to sign updates if it won't comply with a court order to help authorities unlock an iPhone.
  In a footnote in a Thursday brief, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would be happy to have Apple's source code and digital signing key.
  "For the reasons discussed above, the FBI cannot itself modify the software on Farook's iPhone without access to t
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 50 shades of Microsoft's flirtation with Linux

  11-03-2016 20:53
  
  I am full of praise for Microsoft’s display of love for Linux. Since Ballmer's departure, Microsoft has become more realistic in their approach to Linux and instead of trying to destroy it they are now embracing it. They love it.
  The reason behind this is clear: Linux and open source dominate the enterprise. Microsoft has said that 25% of machines on Azure are running Linux. They can’t ignore these paying customers. They have to support Linux; they have to make their developer tools
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The White House opens its doors to open source

  11-03-2016 20:30
  
  As someone who covers open source extensively I am constantly (and happily) amazed how widespread open source has become -- from industry to governments of some of the most powerful countries.
  Yesterday the Obama administration released for public comment a draft Federal Source Code policy to support improved access to custom software code. The US government is inviting comments on the draft especially around “considerations regarding the release of custom code as OSS.” From the pol
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Embracing change as IT leaders

  11-03-2016 20:19
  
  Technology is often at the nexus of any major change happening in an organization. In most cases, IT is not neutral; it is either considered a catalyst to drive transformation, like a new ERP implementation, or an inhibitor that must be conquered like, an infrastructure revamp to support a merger.CIOs cannot stay on the sidelines when it comes to change; they are expected to lead or get out of the way. But what does it mean to lead during transformation? It boils down to two components: a leader
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What to do when the project that got away comes back to you

  11-03-2016 19:10
  
  We've all had those project and consulting gigs that we wanted but that got away from us. Maybe the potential client kept the project in house or went with another vendor. You priced it out accurately, you documented the work, you showed your experience, you wooed the client, you probably even came back with a lower price if you really wanted the project. At the end of the day, the other deal that they were mulling over from another vendor or the implied savings by taking the work inside their o
  
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• Educational IT crying out for better analytics, BYOD management

  11-03-2016 19:07
  
  A panel discussion at Aruba’s Atmosphere conference on Wednesday talked up the need for better analytics and options for managing floods of personal devices on educational networks.
  The need for more extensive mobility management options is clear, according to Aruba, which cited statistics saying that 45% of undergraduate students own three or more mobile devices, and 61% generally connect two devices at once to wireless networks.
  +ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Obama expands STEM education and t
  
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• How analytics are misused to support an agenda

  11-03-2016 18:44
  
  One of the big concerns I have about analytics is that it’s used badly more often than not. When I say badly I mean analytics gets used to confirm a bad decision that was already made rather than using it to assure the right decision gets made.You see this most obviously in politics and contentious issues where the desire to prevail exceeds significantly the desire to do the right thing. One of the most painful instances to watch was in the last presidential election. Democrats and Republi
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 3 ways to keep top performers from leaving

  11-03-2016 18:34
  
  While the unemployment market in the U.S. is constantly shifting, IT continues to be a bright spot on the hiring front. With relatively low unemployment in technology roles, your top IT talent has numerous career options. There are many reasons IT pros look for new jobs, but it’s often for one (or a combination) of these reasons: There aren’t advancement opportunities, they need a new challenge, they feel they are underpaid or want better company benefits, or they can’t build t
  
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• Microsoft slips Windows 10 upgrade ads into Internet Explorer security patch

  11-03-2016 18:18
  Microsoft is adding a new weapon to its aggressive Windows 10 push—or at least it appears that it is.
  Earlier in the week, Microsoft added what sounds a lot like an advertisement for Windows 10 to its Patch Tuesday release for Internet Explorer, bundling it in with a critical security patch. The new update affects only Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs and brings an upgrade prompt to Internet Explorer 11.
  In its description of update KB3146449, Microsoft says it “adds functionality to Internet
  
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• CIOs who master digital transformations will win CEO jobs

  11-03-2016 17:47
  
  It might seem ironic for the leader of the company that blazed the trail for shadow IT to acknowledge that the CIO's role has ratcheted up several notches in importance. Yet in a sign of how, in the words of Marc Andreessen, “software is eating the world” and perhaps irrevocably altering the business landscape, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff says that the CEO is working closely with the CIO to architect digital transformations. Eventually, some of those CIOs will become CEOs, he sai
  
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• GM accelerates in race toward self-driving cars with Cruise Automation acquisition

  11-03-2016 17:42
  
  Car giant General Motors plans to acquire autonomous vehicle technology vendor Cruise Automation in an effort to accelerate its efforts to develop self-driving capabilities.
  GM, which manufactures Chevrolets, Buicks, Cadillacs and other vehicles, is interested in Cruise Technology for its "deep" software expertise and rapid development capabilities, the car maker said Friday. Cruise will give GM an "unmatched" tech advantage, Mark Reuss, the company's vice president for global product developme
  
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• CIO March 2016 Digital Magazine: IoT has big buzz, dearth of talent

  11-03-2016 17:12
  
  Download the CIO March 2016 Digital Magazine.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Government again lays into Apple with angry attack against company's 'corrosive' attitude

  11-03-2016 17:06
  
  The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday criticized Apple with the sharpest words yet over the firm's refusal to help authorities unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, calling its legal arguments "corrosive" to American democracy.
  In a rebuttal filed Thursday with a California federal court, the DOJ issued a scathing attack against Apple in the case involving an iPhone 5C used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife, Tafsheen Malik, killed 14 in San Bernardino, Ca
  
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• Facebook’s Open Compute Project helps competitors build hyperscale data centers together

  11-03-2016 15:58
  
  The conversion from free to paid registration and a spike in Open Compute Project Summit keynote attendance signaled that open hardware innovation is trending up. Summit attendees are companies like Facebook that buy land, build big data center buildings and fill them with commodity computing and networking hardware. Their mission is to build hyperscale, hyperefficient infrastructure that is flexible in handling workloads and agile in delivering new services in minutes.
  Jason Taylor, OCP CEO, i
  
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• Nederlandse datacenterbranche doet het goed

  11-03-2016 15:27
  De Nederlandse datacenterbranche is in 2015 wederom fors gegroeid en blijft aan de top in Europa. Daarop duidt een onderzoeksrapport van het Brits-Amerikaanse vastgoedadviesbureau CBRE. In het rapport worden de vier grootste datacentermarkten in Europa onder de loep genomen: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Londen en... lees meer
  
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• Two-year-old Java flaw re-emerges due to broken patch

  11-03-2016 15:10
  
  A patch for a critical Java flaw released by Oracle in 2013 is ineffective and can be easily bypassed, security researchers warn. This makes the vulnerability exploitable again, paving the way for attacks against PCs and servers running the latest versions of Java.
  The flaw, tracked as CVE-2013-5838 in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database, was rated by Oracle 9.3 out of 10 using the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). It can be exploited remotely, without authent
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Interviewing for the executive suite (and be careful what you wish for...)

  11-03-2016 14:41
  
  “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stood”–Robert Frost ("The Road Not Taken")
  A big part of my job in executive search is to assess a candidate’s motivation and drive. A big part of my job in executive performance coaching is helping my clients align their motivation and drive with their companies. One of the questions I ask in an interview is: “Regardless of how happy you may be, what would you like to
  
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• Why Snapchat is the next big thing in digital marketing

  11-03-2016 14:00
  
  Snapchat plays by its own rules. The video-centric social media app recently invaded mainstream consumer awareness, especially among people under the age of 35, by fusing its "disappearing" video with unique design, addictive content-delivery methods and a fresh twist on marketing.During a private presentation with investors last week, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said its users now view 8 billion videos a day, which is a fivefold increase from a year ago, according to Bloomberg. Snapchat also has
  
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• Betere testresultaten door ICT’ers met autisme

  11-03-2016 13:19
  Specialist in digitale werkplektechnologie RES en Authentict, een ICT-dienstverlener die voornamelijk medewerkers met autisme in dienst heeft, hebben recent een testtraject afgesloten dat tot een succesvolle eerste service-release van software heeft geleid.Initiatiefnemer en eigenaar van Authentict, Daan Beukers,... lees meer
  
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• Obama expands STEM education and training efforts

  11-03-2016 13:11
  
  Marking a milestone in a major job-training initiative, the Obama administration says that IT skills will be at the heart of the continued economic recovery and the expansion not just of the technology sector, but all areas of the economy.Ahead of Obama's visit to the tech-centric South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, White House officials this week announced a series of new partnerships aimed at training and hiring highly skilled tech workers, addressing what they see as a critical sh
  
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• Disney's IT layoffs fuel Trump, Rubio H-1B attacks at debate

  11-03-2016 13:06
  
  In Florida Thursday night, Republican presidential candidates took on the H-1B visa program in a way they have never done before. They said the program is being abused, needs reform and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, in particular, seemed to recommend ending it.
  The attention is due to the layoff last year of Disney IT workers, most who were working in Orlando. Some of those workers had to train visa-holding replacements. Disney laid off between 200 to 300 IT workers after bringing in IT contrac
  
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• Government websites best Amazon, Google in user satisfaction

  11-03-2016 13:05
  
  Show of hands: Who thinks the best site on the Web is maintained by the federal government?By one measure, a well-established gauge of user satisfaction, the government actually beats out many of the top business sites on the Web, including perennial consumer favorites Amazon, Expedia and Google."Government leaders are doing a good job in the digital channel," says Dave Lewan, vice president at the research firm ForeSee and the author of a new report measuring customer satisfaction with federal
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Should the iOS and Mac app stores have a 15 minute refund window?

  11-03-2016 13:00
  Apple has had a great deal of success with its iOS App Store, and somewhat less success with its Mac App Store. But one of the common problems of both stores is the lack of usable demo versions of apps.This has led some users to buy an app while still unsure of whether it will do what they need it to do. Sometimes users get stuck with apps that looked good at first but turned out to be duds. And the user ends up frustrated about picking the wrong app.A 15 minute refund window for the Mac and iOS
  
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• Got a new USB-C device? 19 accessories that will help

  11-03-2016 12:30
  
  The new USB-C connectionThere's a new USB in town -- the Type-C port. Smaller than the familiar USB Type-A, the USB-C plug uses the latest USB 3.1 specification, which means it's not only faster but reversible, eliminating the frustration of trying to insert a USB plug upside-down. Able to carry up to 100 watts of power (six times the USB 3.0 limit), a USB-C port can deliver up to 10Gbps -- double that of current USB 3.0 devices.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click he
  
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• Websites’ automatic-renewal policies can lead to trouble

  11-03-2016 12:00
  
  Almost anything can be ordered online and accessed immediately or delivered to your doorstep. Having an item shipped monthly, without the hassle of going online and pulling out one’s credit card over and over, is an even better idea. The automatic subscription renewal business model offers customers a convenient and easy way to shop and promotes brand loyalty.
  However, amid increasing consumer litigation targeting companies that have adopted the automatic renewal model, companies do well
  
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• Visual Studio Taco spices up Cordova error-reporting

  11-03-2016 12:00
  
  Microsoft has updated Visual Studio Taco (Tools for Apache Cordova), keying in on error-reporting and project-template improvements.
  Update 7 of the toolset works with the open source Cordova framework for building mobile apps via HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Applications can be built for Android, iOS, and Windows with wrappers for each mobile platform.[ Download InfoWorld's special report: "Extending the reach of enterprise developers." | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's A
  
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• The dirty dozen: 12 cloud security threats

  11-03-2016 12:00
  
  Enterprises are no longer sitting on their hands, wondering if they should risk migrating applications and data to the cloud. They're doing it -- but security remains a serious concern.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• ICANN stewardship transition plan sent to US government

  11-03-2016 08:46
  
  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has submitted Thursday a plan for ending U.S. oversight of key technical Internet functions in favor of a global multi-stakeholder governance model.The complex new proposals aim to create an oversight body called the "empowered community" for enforcing community powers and include tighter rules for changes to certain bylaws of the organization. The Governmental Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives of governments, will continue
  
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• At Hertz IT, sheriffs, shock and tough choices

  11-03-2016 03:40
  
  Mass IT layoffs are often small and unnoticed. They are not on the scale of the Carrier air conditioning plant layoff; its Indianapolis facility, which currently employs 2,000 people, is moving to Mexico.
  Hertz IT employees share two things with the Carrier workers: They were also angry, and they got the news on the same day, Feb. 10.
  The Carrier layoffs arrived guillotine-like; the plant is closing, period. But IT layoffs are rarely like that. There are ambiguities and uncertainties and lifebo
  
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• Twitter looks to stem 'punch in the gut' of worker exodus

  11-03-2016 03:39
  
  Facing a sinking stock price and some executive walkouts, Twitter is reportedly handing out six-figure bonuses and additional stock to keep some employees from leaving the company.
  The social media company is working furiously to retain good employees, according to a Wednesday report in the Wall Street Journal. Citing unnamed sources, the report contends Twitter is sweetening compensation packages for top-tier employees down to junior players.
  The cash bonuses reportedly range from $50,000 to $
  
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• Apple slates March 21 event, with 4-in. iPhone likely on the stage

  11-03-2016 02:00
  
  Apple will host a press event on its California campus March 21, perhaps to unveil new iPads and possibly a long-rumored smaller 4-in. iPhone, according to reports.
  Invitations went out Thursday for the presentation, which will start at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) in a small venue at Apple's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters.
  Apple will, as has been its habit, live-stream the event from its website.
  The company's spring events have typically involved new iPad tablets, and recent rumors have focused on
  
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• Facebook goes after Snapchat’s younger users

  11-03-2016 01:30
  
  Facebook is upping its Snapchat rivalry with the acquisition of a mobile face-swapping app.
  Masquerade Technologies, a start-up also known as MSQRD, lets users add special effects to faces in photos or videos.
  Want to sport an Iron Man helmet in your latest selfie -- as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did in a video announcing the deal -- or virtually don a panda outfit or wear actor Leonardo DiCaprio's eyes?
  With Masquerade, you can.
  Soon, you'll also be able to do all that within Facebook proper
  
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• Patch closes security hole in messaging encryption tool

  11-03-2016 01:18
  A software component for encrypting instant messaging clients has a flaw that could let attackers take over users' machines, but there's now a patch for the vulnerability.
  The vulnerability is contained in libotr, short for OTR Messaging Library and Toolkit. The up-to-date version is now 4.1.1.
  OTR stands for Off-the-Record Messaging. It's a a cryptographic protocol that scrambles messages sent through clients including Pidgin, ChatSecure and Adium.
  The integer overflow flaw was found
  
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