IT Executive news

• Cybersecurity and recalls will mean over-the-air updates for 203M cars by 2022

  15-03-2016 23:29
  
  Imagine having to go to a retail store or use a thumb drive just to upgrade the software on your smartphone or tablet. Soon, consumers may consider it just as outrageous to do the same when updating the software in their vehicles.
  Like a smartphone, cars are increasingly defined by computer hardware and software. They're quickly becoming a consumer's largest electronic mobile device -- a fact not lost on manufacturers who are racing to make over-the-air software updates standard.
  By 2022, there
  
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• Privacy issues hit all branches of government at once

  15-03-2016 23:15
  
  In a rare confluence of events, all three branches of the federal government are weighing changes that would affect when and how personal data is accessed.
  The approaches are somewhat contradictory: Some moves would protect citizen privacy, while others could result in more access by government agencies to records kept by businesses and smartphone users about personal information. Encryption technology is usually at the center of the discussions, with intelligence officials eager to find ways t
  
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• Higher ed network managers talk headaches and rewards

  15-03-2016 21:57
  
  Institutions of higher education can often feel like self-contained worlds of their own, and their wireless networks are much the same – subject to unique demands and rules, the campus network is a distinctive challenge for the IT pro.Keeping the various plates spinning can be a challenge. Having to deal with a combination of regulatory, capacity, and hardware issues, all interrelated, is a complex task, requiring an ability to shift gears quickly, as network pros told us last week at WLAN
  
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• Act-On vs. Hubspot vs. Marketo: 3 top marketing automation tools compared

  15-03-2016 21:51
  
  If you’re in the process of researching marketing automation solutions, Marketo, Act-On and Hubspot are probably on your short list.
  These tools promise to free your marketing staff from tedious, manual processes so that they can get on with the business of nurturing quality leads for your sales organization. But how do they deliver on that promise?
  [ Related: 12 questions to ask marketing automation vendors (before you buy) ]
  Here’s what some enterprise users say are the standout f
  
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• Users seethe as Windows 10 arrives while their backs are turned

  15-03-2016 21:36
  
  Some Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users have begun to howl over Microsoft's practice of automatically upgrading their PCs to Windows 10, saying that they were never given a chance to decline the upgrade before it installed itself.
  That was contrary to how Microsoft has described its aggressive strategy of pushing Windows 10 to devices running older versions of its operating system.
  It stuck to that today. "Customers continue to be fully in control of their devices, and can choose to not install th
  
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• AMD open to making graphics chips for mobile devices

  15-03-2016 21:28
  
  AMD hasn't truly said goodbye to mobile devices.The company is open to making a graphics processor for mobile devices based on its Radeon product line, but only in select circumstances, said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect of AMD's Radeon Technologies Group.AMD could make a mobile GPU as part of a partnership or a licensing deal, but otherwise has no active plans to build an end product for mobile devices, Koduri said this week.The company currently makes GPUs for PCs and
  
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• Microsoft continues Linux lovefest with open source network software SONiC

  15-03-2016 21:10
  
  Microsoft has been on an open source binge lately.
  It brought Red Hat Enterprise Linux to its Azure public cloud last year. Redmond database gurus opened up SQL Server to run on Linux earlier this month. And last week at the Open Compute Project Summit Microsoft announced SONiC – a set of open source software components that can be used to create networking equipment, such as switches.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• How far have we come with HTTPS? Google turns on the spotlight

  15-03-2016 20:36
  
  HTTPS is widely considered one of the keys to a safer Internet, but only if it's broadly implemented. Aiming to shed some light on how much progress has been made so far, Google on Tuesday launched a new section of its transparency report dedicated to encryption.Included in the new section is data highlighting the progress of encryption efforts both at Google and on popular third-party sites."Our aim with this project is to hold ourselves accountable and encourage others to encrypt so we can mak
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Encryption dispute mirrors gun debate — with a different conclusion

  15-03-2016 20:35
  
  Tech companies argue that if encryption is weakened for consumers only criminals will have encryption. The gun lobby argues that if guns are made illegal, then only criminals will have guns. I would never argue that everyone should own a gun. We’d likely all shoot each other. But I do think everyone should have access to strong encryption.Tackling the boiling encryption debate, my hacker friends have convinced me to see it their way. That is, strong encryption is more of a benefit than a l
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: CIO alert: Purchasing is not positioned for emerging IT models

  15-03-2016 20:12
  
  Purchasing has driven substantial costs out of enterprise IT spend, so it has been an important part of IT for the last 15-20 years. That makes it rather like the monster under the bed that figures prominently in American stories because employees tend to look for ways to avoid or fight this monster that imposes disciplines on acquiring goods and services. Purchasing has succeeded in its mission for years, but today it’s in the wrong position for understanding Digital Age integrated servic
  
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• After PCs and mobile, a chip battle for VR devices is brewing

  15-03-2016 19:42
  
  Millions of people will buy VR headsets in the coming years to play games and view 3D content, and those sales could spark a real-world war among chip-makers.
  Some new VR headsets announced at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco are full-on computers, and others need to be hooked up to PCs with powerful graphics cards, similar to Oculus Rift.
  The VR devices, designed for gaming and for roaming 3D worlds, are a showcase for the graphics technologies of chip makers like AMD an
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What makes good content in ecommerce

  15-03-2016 19:21
  Content creation in ecommerce isn’t something that is by any means easy to get right but when you do, the results will speak for themselves in terms of conversions, brand recognition and engagement.2015 was a great year for brands beginning to really leverage content on their ecommerce stores and 2016 is set to continue this tradition as more and more become aware of its importance in the customer experience and journey. These days, it’s is a crucial component of remaining competitiv
  
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• 3 patterns of successful IT leaders

  15-03-2016 19:08
  
  Deloitte Consulting's global 2015 CIO survey of more than 1,200 IT executives, with nearly half coming from Fortune 500 companies, asked respondents to select the top competencies that an effective technology leader needs today. Respondents overwhelmingly selected the following six traits:Influence with internal stakeholders.
  Talent management.
  Technology vision and leadership.
  Communication skills.
  Understanding of strategic business priorities.
  The ability to lead complex, fast-changing enviro
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Knowing when it's time to replace your aging enterprise software

  15-03-2016 18:46
  
  Recently a client asked if they should keep their existing ERP software or consider replacing it. Like many companies, they had purchased various software products over the years to tackle different problems in their environment. These purchases inevitably resulted in creating silos where it is hard to keep duplicated information synchronized. Old software meant new hires had no experience in that technology (think green screen terminals) and needed extensive training. Also, reporting was simply
  
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• 4 emerging technologies that will drive digital businesses

  15-03-2016 18:35
  
  Tasked by their CEOs to use technology to better align the business with shifting customer preferences, CIOs across every industry are leveraging the now-standard social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC) technologies to modernize, stabilize and accelerate digital transformations. But those tools will get some company from augmented and virtual reality, the Internet of Things, blockchain software and advanced analytics over the next 18 to 24 months. Internet of Things. (Click for larger image.)
  
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• Google woos enterprise marketers with a new analytics suite

  15-03-2016 18:24
  
  It was challenging enough for marketers to try to understand their customers back in the desktop era, but today's multidevice world makes it even more difficult. Enter Google, which just launched a new suite of tools designed specifically to make that process easier.Unveiled on Tuesday, the Google Analytics 360 Suite is a set of integrated data and marketing analytics tools designed to help enterprise marketers reach customers with the right message at the right time.Six tools make up the new su
  
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• Drones present minimal threat to aircraft, says study

  15-03-2016 18:11
  
  Just how likely is it that a drone hits an aircraft and causes a death or injury? Not very, according to research from George Mason University. The study suggests the Federal Aviation Administration could significantly loosen rules regarding private drone use and not endanger general aviation.Citing a number of "near misses" with drones, the FAA recently began requiring pilots to register before flying their drones and agree to abide by several basic rules of the sky. Almost 400,000 pilots have
  
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• IT outsourcing customers cling to cost-savings mindset

  15-03-2016 18:01
  
  If you keep doing what you’ve always done, the old adage goes, you’ll always get what you always got. And today’s outsourcing customers are still chasing cost savings with their IT services deals. However, they’re not necessarily getting them — at least not with traditional outsourcing deals, which are reaching a point of diminishing returns.“A big issue with diminishing returns is that the other top organizational priority is investments in new and innovative
  
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• BlackBerry to Android rivals: 'Our updates are faster than yours'

  15-03-2016 17:25
  
  Last week, BlackBerry published a provocative blog post to detail the timing of its monthly Android security software updates for the PRIV smartphone and rank them against rival Android OEMs (or original equipment manufacturers, for ye hardware layman). The company called out its competitors for relatively slow updates … sort of. BlackBerry didn't cite any specific OEM names, but instead it referred to its Android maker rivals as "OEM 1" or "OEM 2."[Related:BlackBerry PRIV, a new standard
  
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• The $15 Pine 64, a Raspberry Pi 3 competitor, finally ships

  15-03-2016 16:40
  
  A war in low-cost computers could be in the making as a new $15 board computer that could challenge Raspberry Pi 3 finally ships.On paper, the Pine 64 is as powerful as the $35 Raspberry Pi 3. It can be a PC replacement, and the most expensive model, with Wi-Fi, is priced at $29.The initial shipments are going to backers that poured a total of US$1.7 million into a Kickstarter campaign to develop the computer. Pine64, the computer's maker, is shipping out small batches after delays and slowly ra
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: DAASI, Collabora team to bring identity management to CloudSuite, LibreOffice Online

  15-03-2016 14:34
  
  Collabora Productivity, the company that offers commercial solutions based on LibreOffice, has partnered with DAASI International, a provider of open source authentication, single sign-on (SSO) and federated identity management products to provide identity management integration solutions for CloudSuite. DAASI will also offer support and implementation services for companies who want to integrate CloudSuite into their IT landscape.
  Speaking of the partnership, Michael Meeks, GM at Collabora Pro
  
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• Manufacturers’ resistance to the cloud is weakening

  15-03-2016 14:32
  
  Manufacturers are slowly warming up to the idea of putting portions of their complex ERP systems in the cloud, according a report by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Microsoft Azure close to several key government certifications

  15-03-2016 14:30
  
  Microsoft announced Tuesday that it is on track to land a series of key certifications in its continuing effort to provide cloud services to the U.S. government.
  Matt Rathbun, a cloud security director at Microsoft, said in a blog post that the company was part of a pilot creating the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High Impact Baseline — a set of requirements from the federal government that will set out what companies need to do in order to handle the go
  
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• Online tax software roundup: H&R Block, TaxAct, and TurboTax compared

  15-03-2016 14:00
  
  Here we go again. The glorious comeback of the tax return. Our yearly reminder that your first financial overlords await your annual offering.
  This year I looked at three apps, all of which are Web-based. In addition to these Web apps you’ll find that each of these companies offer desktop versions with similar features. Truth is, the online versions of these apps are near, if not exact, mirrors of their desktop counterparts. All offer the same features, the only difference being that your
  
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• SAP's HANA Vora bridges divide between enterprise and Hadoop data

  15-03-2016 13:46
  
  Aiming to help bring contextual analytics to the data organizations have stored in Hadoop, enterprise systems and other distributed data sources, SAP Tuesday announced the general availability of in-memory query engine SAP HANA Vora.SAP debuted the software last September, though Ken Tsai, vice president, head of Cloud Platform & Data Management, Product Marketing, at SAP, says the company has been working on it behind the scenes for years."We really wanted to make the distributed computing
  
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• Grote banken willen grip op blockchain krijgen

  15-03-2016 13:46
  Terwijl steeds meer bedrijven bitcoin als een geaccepteerd betaalmiddel zien, is een consortium van ruim veertig wereldwijd actieve, grote banken achter de schermen bezig om meer grip te krijgen op de onderliggende technologie, het over vele nodes gedistribueerde grootboek, blockchain genoemd. Terwijl de bemoeienis van... lees meer
  
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• How creating an alumni strategy closes the skills gap

  15-03-2016 13:40
  
  To say the tech job market is competitive is an understatement. Companies are looking for any advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent. Some of the smarter companies are actively creating communities of alumni, hoping that many top performers will choose to return to their organization.
  A recent informal poll from career management and job search site Monster.com of U.S. workers showed that more than half of respondents say they'd consider returning to a former employer, while
  
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• Project management glossary

  15-03-2016 13:17
  
  As in many specialized fields, there is a host of terms that hold a specific meaning, and the world of project management (PM) is no exception.  Although project management professionals have an understanding of these specific complex PM terms, the vernacular may not be as intuitive for professionals in other fields. These PM terms define not only what is being done, but also provide some very specific guidelines for how, where and/or when these terms are applicable. The field of PM is
  
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• 5 lessons the DOD can teach you about innovation

  15-03-2016 13:03
  
  The Intelligence Community’s (IC) IT budget is flat-lining. Like most other federal organizations facing successive years of budget constraints, the IC has been continuously challenged to do more with less. One former IC executive quietly implemented innovative solutions that yielded millions of dollars in government savings by basing his strategy on Joi Ito’s maxim: “If you want to be innovative, lower the cost of failure.”
  In just two years as the Defense Intelligence
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Should Apple release a Mac for gaming?

  15-03-2016 13:00
  Macs are some of the best computers on the market, but they’ve always had one prominent Achilles heel: gaming. While Apple has been very supportive of gaming on its iOS devices, it has never done so for the Mac. Gaming has been an afterthought at best when it comes to Macs.But is it time for Apple to finally start taking the Mac gaming market seriously by releasing a Mac that has the graphics and CPU horsepower capable of matching PCs?Cult of Mac readers share their thoughts about Macs and
  
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• Google gets into marketing cloud with Analytics 360 Suite

  15-03-2016 13:00
  
  Google today launched a new marketing cloud platform for large enterprises. The Google Analytics 360 Suite is a set of tools designed to help marketers measure campaigns, compile data from various sources, and share insights for automated, or programmatic, marketing. Google has been working on its Analytics 360 Suite for three years, and it is the most comprehensive marketing platform from Google to date, according to the company. The new tools pit the company against notable rivals in the marke
  
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• Comparing 7 top enterprise tablets

  15-03-2016 12:11
  
  7 top enterprise tabletsDetachable PC's are growing in the enterprise, according to a recent report from IDC, with an 8 percent increase in 2015 and a projected growth of 30 percent by 2020. And as they become more popular with consumers, hybrid devices are also finding their way into the enterprise. IDC predicts that Windows tablets will see the biggest increase in adoption, which explains why the bulk of the hybrid devices currently on the market run the Windows 10 operating system.And even th
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to monetize healthcare using blockchain

  15-03-2016 12:00
  
  There are thousands of applications surrounding the multitude of blockchain applications. They all lead back to one cardinal question: how can blockchain technology be monetized for healthcare?Smart health contracts
  The global pharmaceutical market is 1.057 trillion, and the major players include Pfizer ($47.4 billion), Johnson & Johnson ($16.3 billion), Humira ($11.84 billion), and Novartis AG ($49.4 billion). The race to anonymously cross reference enormous sets of dynamic medical data wit
  
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• How to follow March Madness on Android

  15-03-2016 12:00
  
  There’s no sporting event quite like the NCAA Tournament. The opening week starts with a dizzying number of games that requires you to abandon work, sleep, and other essential life functions in order to not miss but one shining moment.
  More the reason to employ your smartphone as a basketball companion for this year’s tournament. It truly can do it all: stream live games, beam them to your Chromecast, keep tabs on your bracket, and ping you with those all-important upset alerts.
  Now
  
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• How to get started in IT security consulting

  15-03-2016 11:54
  
  IT security consulting is an excellent way to grow as a security professional. In contrast to an corporate role, consultants are exposed to a variety of business situations and industries. Those who succeed in the consulting world find themselves equipped with greater skills and cutting-edge knowledge of new technologies.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• How to respond to ransomware threats

  15-03-2016 11:17
  
  Don't jumpImage by ThinkStockRansomware is obviously analogous to kidnapping, and dealing with the perpetrators can feel much like negotiating with a jumper standing on the edge of high-rise roof. The Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology recently released a report that in part describes how to deal with criminals when they are holding your data hostage. The report talks of what to do once a breach has been found.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• SWSX highlights bright and dark tech futures

  15-03-2016 11:04
  
  Visions of the future clashed during South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive in Austin, as some experts saw an uncertain future, some saw an unbounded future and some were frustrated by the present.
  As for uncertainty, the worlds of big data, AI, and government are just beginning to collide, and public policy decisions made now will cast shadows far into the future, panelists agreed at a session titled, "Data Ethics in the Age of the Quantified Society."
  "We are at an inflection point," said Nico
  
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• OpenJDK plan would make Java coding easier

  15-03-2016 11:00
  
  A new plan proposed for OpenJDK would give Java a local-variable type inference capability so that it's easier to write code while continuing with static type safety.
  The measure was proposed earlier this month in JEP (JDK Enhancement Proposal (JEP) 286. Documentation currently does not cite a version of Java where the improvement would be featured.[ See InfoWorld's full coverage of Java at 20: The programming juggernaut rolls on | The JVM, Java's other big legacy | Its successes, failures, and
  
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• Google's AlphaGo scores 4-1 against South Korean Go player

  15-03-2016 10:33
  
  Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo artificial-intelligence program won the last round in a five-game contest against top Go player Lee Se-dol, despite making a bad mistake during play.The 4-1 margin for AlphaGo in the games played in Seoul, South Korea was not as large as the 5-0 win by the program against an European Go player in October, but carries more impact because of Lee's standing in the Go game.For the most part of the game, commentators were not sure AlphaGo would win. Google DeepMind CEO
  
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• Symantec partners with hosting providers to offer free TLS certificates to website owners

  15-03-2016 09:33
  
  Symantec wants to see the encrypted Web grow and will offer free basic SSL/TLS certificates to domain owners through Web hosting companies that join its new Encryption Everywhere program.The company has already signed partnerships with more than ten hosting providers, including InterNetX, CertCenter, Hostpoint and Zoned in Europe, and is close to finalizing deals with ten others. The customers of those companies will receive a basic website encryption package that includes a standard TLS certifi
  
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• Top websites affected by Angler exploit kit malvertising, security vendors say

  15-03-2016 04:41
  
  Tens of thousands of Web browsers may have been exposed to ransomware and other malware over the last few days after malicious advertisements appeared on high-profile websites, security vendors said Monday.The malicious advertisements are connected to servers hosting the Angler exploit kit, a software package that probes a computer for software vulnerabilities in order to deliver malware, Trend Micro said.Security vendor Trustwave wrote on Monday that it also detected a large Angler-related
  
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• How AMD plans to conquer virtual reality

  15-03-2016 02:49
  
  AMD's Raja Koduri is a soft-spoken and mild-mannered man, but bring up the topic of virtual reality, and he's unstoppable.As AMD's graphics chief, he's at the center of developing cutting-edge technology so VR headsets provide life-like visuals in virtual worlds. He's now driving AMD's aggressive plan to provide underlying technology to turn VR headsets from a niche into a mainstream product.Koduri's plan entails providing technology to make VR headsets lighter while making visuals more realisti
  
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• 400M people will rely on robotic car sharing by 2030

  15-03-2016 01:05
  
  A new car-sharing economy has already taken root, and it will continue to grow as self-driving vehicles come to market.
  According to a report today by ABI Research, 400 million people will rely on robotic car sharing by 2030. Robotic cars, like Google's in-house pod car, are completely autonomous. Google's pod car doesn't even have a steering wheel; it uses technology such as exterior cameras to see lanes and LIDAR, a type of radar, that uses lasers to illuminate objects around the car.Goo
  
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• AMD's Radeon Pro Duo is a monster graphics card

  15-03-2016 00:15
  
  AMD has just taken the wraps off of what could be the world's highest performing graphics card, the Radeon Pro Duo.The monster card has two GPUs based on AMD's Fiji architecture. It delivers 16 teraflops of single-precision performance, which AMD claims is the highest performance offered by a single graphics card.Announced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the Radeon Pro Duo will go on sale in the next few months priced at $1,499.The card follows Nvidia's Titan X, whose si
  
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• AMD bets big on virtual reality with new cards, partnerships

  15-03-2016 00:00
  
  Having trailed behind both Intel and Nvidia in the PC graphics market in recent years, AMD is preparing to go all in on virtual reality.
  AMD highlighted its VR play at the the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco, announcing a comprehensive platform that the chipmaker clearly hopes will evolve into an ecosystem.
  AMD claims that a new dual-GPU Radeon Pro Duo will be the hardware that powers future VR content creation, using its existing LiquidVR software development kit. That co
  
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