IT Executive news

• Can AI beat you at Foosball? Yes. Yes it can

  26-04-2016 23:20
  
  AI has already proved its prowess in chess, Jeopardy and the ancient game of Go, but it's now come out victorious in yet another arena: the classic game of Foosball.A group of computer engineering students at Brigham Young University have spent the past semester creating a robotic, computer-controlled Foosball table with the goal of beating human players. The table is constructed so that a camera mounted above can track the movement of the ball, while an algorithm controls the rods on which the
  
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• Intel declares independence from the PC as it lays out a broader 5-point strategy

  26-04-2016 23:18
  
  The message has trickled down in speeches, earnings calls, and analyst presentations, but on Tuesday, Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich drew a line in the sand: Intel is not a PC company any more. 
  In what only can be called a manifesto of Intel’s new values, Krzanich described how Intel is transforming itself “from a PC company to a company that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices.” To drive the point home, Krzanich noted that the PC is
  
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• Up to 30% off Amazon Kindle and Fire Tablets - Deal Alert

  26-04-2016 22:56
  
  Through May 7th, in honor of Mother's Day, Amazon has discounted various models of Kindle and Fire Tablets, some up to 30% off their regular list price. Use the links below to learn more and explore buying options.Save $30 on the Fire HD 6
  Save $50 on the Fire HD 10
  Save $50 on Fire HD 6 Kids Edition, 6" HD Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB
  $20 Off Kindle Paperwhite -- Amazon's best-selling Kindle.
  $20 Off Kindle -- small, light, and perfect for reading.
  To read this article in full or to leave a comment, p
  
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• Is Facebook playing catch-up with possible camera app?

  26-04-2016 22:09
  
  Facebook may be developing a stand-alone camera app, but industry analysts say it's likely too late for the company to displace Snapchat, the highly popular photo-messaging app.
  On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reportedthat Facebook has created a prototype of the app, which has both the ability to take photos and to shoot video. It's a strategy that fits with the company's push to get users to post live-streaming video.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Why it's time for CIOs to invest in machine learning

  26-04-2016 21:02
  
  LinkedIn Dan Olley, CTO of ElsevierCornell University wants to help whales avoid getting hit by ships, so it is working on an algorithm that uses audio recordings to alert ships to the whales' whereabouts.Dassault Systèmes is creating a 3D model of a human heart that will allow surgeons to test the performance of pacemakers before opening up patients.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Skype for Business finally makes its way to the Mac

  26-04-2016 20:27
  
  Microsoft's new business communication product is finally coming to the Mac after the company launched it for PC users last year.The company announced the first technical preview of Skype for Business for Mac on Tuesday morning, giving users of Apple computers an easy way to connect to meetings they have scheduled through Microsoft's professional audio and videoconferencing software. When users sign into the app, they'll see their Skype for Business meetings for the current day and the foll
  
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• GitHub Enterprise 2.6 streamlines workflows

  26-04-2016 20:26
  
  If the last update to GitHub Enterprise was all about size, this one's all about speed.
  GitHub Enterprise 2.6 includes a new feature mix to "create efficient, flexible, and friendly processes [for teams] at every step of their development cycles." In other words, this isn't about the speed of the application, but about streamlining how teams work with GitHub -- how they collaborate on code, merge it, manage it, and discuss it.[ Get the most out of collaborative programming with InfoWorld's
  
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• Google, Uber, Lyft team up on self-driving cars

  26-04-2016 20:21
  Google and ride-sharing rivals Uber and Lyft have formed an unlikely alliance to attempt to influence politicians and steer forthcoming self-driving car regulations in their favor.Together with automakers Ford and Volvo, the five have formed the "Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets" -- a lobby group that will try to convince lawmakers that self-driving car technology has safety and societal benefits and needs less regulation to thrive, according to Reuters.Like most lobby groups,
  
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• T-Mobile cashes in big time at AT&T's expense

  26-04-2016 20:06
  
  T-Mobile, historically better at making big talk than big money, is now doing both. On Tuesday, the "Uncarrier" announced a tidy first quarter 2016 profit that more than met Wall Street's expectations. The company brought in $1 billion in cash from operations and earned $0.56 cents a share, compared to a loss of $0.09 per share during the same period last year.
  That's obviously great for T-Mobile shareholders, but it's also good news for T-Mobile customers. The company shook up the wi
  
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• Financial analysts forecast first-ever year-over-year decline in iPhone sales

  26-04-2016 20:03
  
  Later today, Apple will announce downbeat results from the first quarter of 2016, nearly three dozen financial analysts bet today.
  According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt, who formerly blogged about Apple for Fortune but left the magazine earlier this month to kick off his own Apple 3.0 subscription-based site, all 11 independent and 19 institutional analysts pegged rare year-over-year declines in Apple's revenue and a fall in unit sales of its iPhone and iPad lines. Most of the 30 analysts also bet t
  
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• Europe places a billion-euro bet on quantum computing

  26-04-2016 19:56
  The European Commission plans to invest a billion euros in quantum computing as part of a larger initiative to strengthen Europe's competitiveness in the digital economy.The investment, about US $1.1 billion, will be made through an effort called Quantum Flagship, akin to existing "flagship" projects in the European Union focused on graphene and on the human brain. It is expected to be partly funded by EU research and innovation programs.The aim is "to place Europe at the forefront of the second
  
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• Gmail for Android now supports Exchange on all devices

  26-04-2016 18:16
  
  Google has thrown open the door for Microsoft Exchange accounts in Gmail. Previous support was limited to Nexus devices, but an update now lets anybody add their corporate email address to the Android Gmail app.
  All your mail in one place. An update to the Android Gmail app is now rolling out with support for Exchange accounts pic.twitter.com/yV6zjI0e6U— Gmail (@gmail) April 25, 2016This move now allows Google to position Gmail as the all-in-one solution for your email needs. Most recentl
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to shape your IT-as-a-Service strategy

  26-04-2016 18:00
  
  If you’ve read a couple of my blogs about the IT-as-a-Service model, you probably realize it’s a game-changer. To refresh your memory, it maximizes the value IT delivers because it aligns IT much closer with the business – a top objective for most CIOs today. It also enables agility, facilitates a consumption-based cost model and on-demand management. You probably think switching to ITaaS sounds wonderful. But you’re also likely asking, “What’s the catch?&rdqu
  
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• Facebook’s rumored camera app sounds like a Snapchat-Periscope hybrid

  26-04-2016 17:55
  
  Facebook is reportedly building a new camera app that crosses the spontaneity of Snapchat with live streaming.
  The Wall Street Journal’s unnamed sources describe the app as a “camera-first” format, similar to Snapchat. Users who are shooting a video may also be able to switch to a Facebook Live stream. This would not be a separate network, but rather a way to feed more photos and videos into Facebook proper.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Dropbox Infinite is what OneDrive placeholders should've been

  26-04-2016 16:50
  Dropbox recently announced a revolutionary new concept it says re-imagines how people will manage their files in the cloud. Called Dropbox Infinite, this new service for PC and Mac differentiates between whether a file is stored locally on your PC or only available online in Dropbox. All your files still appear in File Explorer, but if it’s not saved to your PC the file takes up zero space.
  If that sounds familiar, you were (or are) a Windows 8.1 user.
  The truth is there’s nothing a
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: OpenStack is about disruption and technological diversity: Jonathan Bryce

  26-04-2016 16:45
  
  When OpenStack Summit kicked off in Austin, Texas this week, I was amazed at the scale of the event. It was massive.There was an R&B band, Soul Track Mind, playing inside the keynote hall spreading positive energy across the room.Austin holds a special place for OpenStack as that’s where the first OpenStack summit took place back in 2010 and it was attended by 75 people. Fast forward to 2016 and there were over 7,500 people representing 62 countries.When Jonathan Bryce, Executive Direc
  
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• Empty DDoS threats earn extortion group over $100,000

  26-04-2016 16:35
  Extorting money from companies under the threat of launching distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) against their online properties has proven lucrative for cybercriminals. So much so that one group has managed to earn over $100,000 without any evidence that it's even capable of mounting attacks.
  Since early March, hundreds of businesses have received threatening emails from a group calling itself the Armada Collective, asking to be paid between 10 and 50 bitcoins -- US$4,600 to $23,000 -
  
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• SWIFT banking network warns customers of cyberfraud cases

  26-04-2016 16:24
  SWIFT, the international banking transactions network, has warned customers of "a number" of recent incidents in which criminals sent fraudulent messages through its system.The warning from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) suggests that a February attack on the Bangladesh Bank, in which thieves got away with US $81 million, was not an isolated incident.SWIFT is aware of malware that "aims to reduce financial institutions’ abilities" to find evidence of fr
  
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• Save $105 on iRobot Roomba 880 Vacuum Cleaning Robot - Deal Alert

  26-04-2016 15:49
  
  If you've been thinking about outsourcing some of the housework to robots, then this deal might be for you. The highly rated Roomba 880 is currently discounted by $105 on Amazon. It averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 1,300 people, with 70% rating it a perfect 5 stars (read reviews). With a regular price of $699.99, it can be purchased now for $594.99. Not exactly cheap, but this unit comes fully loaded to get the job done right:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click
  
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• Dell adopts Aerohive WLAN management for its wired switches

  26-04-2016 15:00
  
  Ethernet switches and wireless LANs are just two ways to get on the same network in most enterprises, so it makes sense to manage them together if you can.
  Wi-Fi grew up as a separate realm from wired networks, with different monitoring and management tools, but these worlds have started to collide in the past few years. Among other things, wireless specialist Aruba added Ethernet switches to its architecture and Meraki took administration of both network components into the cloud. Rivals Hewle
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Verizon and AT&T are putting their networking eggs in the OpenStack basket

  26-04-2016 14:36
  
  US telecommunication giants AT&T and Verizon are betting big on open source and OpenStack. Well, betting is not quite right because they _are_ building their networks on top of OpenStack.
  During the OpenStack Summit at Austin, Sorabh Saxena, senior vice president, software development & engineering at  AT&T delivered a keynote where he talked about how AT&T has been virtualizing its networking infrastructure on top of OpenStack.
  For its part, Verizon recently finished a mas
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Your technology roadmap: navigating to the destination

  26-04-2016 14:06
  
  In my last post “3 and a half fundamentals of IT investment…,” we discussed focusing IT investment decisions on one of three basic business objectives: mitigate risk, manage growth and leverage new technology. Assuming you’ve make some general decisions on where to focus your budget, let’s run through some fundamental building blocks of your technology roadmap.Outcomes – start with the end in mind
  You may find it a bit counterintuitive to start your journey a
  
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• Mozilla taps possible homes for Thunderbird email client

  26-04-2016 13:49
  
  Mozilla has identified potential homes for its Thunderbird email client, the long-time project it decided last year to cut loose, according to a published document and a supporting post by the open-source foundation's executive director.
  The top two landing places for Thunderbird: The Software Freedom Conservatory, a U.S.-based nonprofit that centralizes funding and provides infrastructure for more than three-dozen open-source projects; and the Document Foundation, a German nonprofit whose best
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why don't more people use FaceTime Audio for voice calls?

  26-04-2016 13:43
  FaceTime Audio is one of those features on the iPhone that many people overlook. This is a shame since it’s a great alternative to cellular phone calls, often has better sound and doesn’t use nearly as much data as people think it does.And yet many people just don’t bother with FaceTime Audio. It’s almost as if the feature doesn’t exist on their iPhones. It’s probably used significantly less than even FaceTime video calls, and that’s a real shame.How muc
  
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• Enterprises fall behind on protecting against phishing, detecting breaches

  26-04-2016 13:32
  
  The ninth annual Verizon Data Breach Report came out this morning with bad news on multiple fronts, including click-through rates on phishing messages, how long it takes companies to detect breaches, and even whether companies spot the breaches at all.Phishing emails continued to be a primary starting point for attacks, said Bryan Sartin, executive director, global security services at Verizon.The number of phishing email messages that were opened hit 30 percent in this year's report, up from 23
  
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• Phishing emails leverage unique subject lines, Office docs

  26-04-2016 13:26
  
  Phishing emails continued to evolve last year, according to a new report from PhishMe, with Microsoft Office documents and unique subject lines used to get past enterprise filters.
  Malicious Office macros have been around since the 1990s, said David MacKinnon, director of research at PhishMe, because there's little that companies can do to block them.
  "Office documents are part of everyday use," he said.
  And although many Office users don't take advantage of the macro functionality, if a compan
  
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• 5 tips for defending against advanced persistent threats

  26-04-2016 13:04
  
  The aptly named advanced persistent threat (APT) is a type of network attack in which an attacker selects a specific target, uses social engineering and advanced technologies to break into a network and then focuses on that target for weeks, months or years until the attack has successfully played out (or been thwarted). Once inside a network, the attacker's goal is to remain undetected while using some type of malware to capture confidential information, which is ultimately sent to a different
  
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• What the Google I/O schedule tells us about the future of Android

  26-04-2016 13:00
  
  Google I/O may be a conference for developers, but what happens there will have a major impact on how you interact with Android and Google’s other services in the near future.The conference covers all of Google's projects, but Android is definitely the star of this year’s show, which will be held in Mountain View from May 18 to 20. Some of the focus will be on better app performance and design, which is always in demand. Google will also have plenty to say about how Android will ushe
  
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• Dropbox wants to stretch desktop file storage to infinity

  26-04-2016 12:30
  
  Dropbox has a futuristic vision for how its users will be able to share massive files and have quick access to them on their computers, without their hard drives overflowing.The cloud storage company announced a new initiative at its Open conference in London on Tuesday called Project Infinite. It's a push to create a new Dropbox interface that allows users to see all of the files they've stored in the cloud in their computer's file explorer without requiring them to keep local copies of each do
  
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• MacBook 2016 review: Ultraportable laptop satisfies with speed gains

  26-04-2016 12:15
  
  When it comes to hardware, Apple isn’t afraid to force its uses to adapt, to change habits. Longtime Mac users remember when Apple stopped including floppy and optical drives, or when FireWire was discontinued. More recently, Mac users have had to accept the inability to upgrade hard drives and RAM, or that the Magic Trackpad 2 is the preferred input device, with its support for gestures that can’t be performed on a Magic Mouse 2.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, p
  
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• Node.js 6 taps V8 update for more speed, security

  26-04-2016 12:00
  
  Node.js, the popular server-side JavaScript platform, moves to a version 6 release today, focusing on performance and security improvements as well as getting nearly a full dose of compliance with the most recent JavaScript standard specification.
  Version 6 of Node.js is four times faster than Node.js v4, which is the latest deployment release line. "Imports [of code modules] and startup time [are] dramatically faster than it used to be," Node.js Foundation Community Manager Mikeal Rogers said.
  
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• Nokia to buy connected health gadgets firm Withings for $191 million

  26-04-2016 11:43
  
  Nokia is paying 170 million euros (US$191 million) to acquire French fitness gadgets company Withings in a bid to get into the digital health market.
  For the Espoo, Finland company, which sold its handset business to Microsoft two years ago, and has been since mainly in the area of selling telecom equipment, the acquisition marks a strong push into connected healthcare and home products, ranging from activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and home and baby mo
  
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• Microsoft launches two-for-one Lumia phone deal to slash excess inventory

  26-04-2016 03:22
  
  Microsoft today kicked off a two-for-one deal for its Windows-based smartphones, tossing in a free Lumia 950 when customers buy a $649 unlocked top-tier Lumia 950 XL.
  The give-away will run until May 1, or while supplies last, Microsoft said on its e-store.
  Last week, Microsoft told Wall Street that sales of its Lumia devices -- virtually the only smartphones powered by Windows 10 Mobile -- plummeted 73% in the March quarter compared to the year before, falling from 8.8 million in 2015 to 2.3 m
  
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• U.S. efforts to build next-gen supercomputer take shape

  26-04-2016 03:20
  
  For decades, the U.S. took for granted the doubling of supercomputing power every 10 years, roughly in line with Moore's Law. But once a petascale system was reached in 2008, it gradually became clear that the next leap -- a system 1,000 times more powerful -- would be difficult.
  Initially, some believed such a system -- an exascale computer -- was possible in 10 years, or by 2018. But problems emerged. It took too much power, and it required new approaches to applications to utilize an almost
  
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• For the remotest IoT gear, cellular and satellite are coming together

  26-04-2016 02:45
  Many enterprises are looking to the Internet of Things to monitor and control assets they can't physically reach. Building networks that can cover all those assets is one of the big challenges of industrial IoT.Cellular networks cover people well, at least in developed countries, but total land area not as well. LPWANs (low-power wide-area networks) are emerging as an alternative for reaching endpoints over longer distances, thanks to their lower speed and power levels and designs optimized for
  
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• Top 10 mobile apps for business executives

  26-04-2016 01:37
  
  Mobile apps for business executivesImage by ThinkstockApps make your life easier. You can place an order for nearly anything with the touch of a button, you can call a cab to your door or schedule an appointment all without talking to a live person. It seems only natural that as apps make our personal lives more efficient, they're also making our business lives more productive and functional."Over the last five to 10 years we have seen enterprises move away from in-house apps to off-the-shelf or
  
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• 3 misconceptions CIOs have about agile

  26-04-2016 01:27
  
  By now, CIOs should be aware of the benefits of the agile methodology. But a few persistent misconceptions get in the way of even greater outcomes. We asked our experts to name the most common misconception around agile -- to tell us what CIOs just don't "get" about the framework.
  Budget bafflement"I moderated a panel discussion at the Premier CIO Forum a few weeks ago, and one question that seemed to stump the panelists was, 'Tell me how you've adjusted your CapEx budget process to incorporate
  
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• Dienst Justitiële Instellingen krijgt nieuw informatiesysteem

  26-04-2016 00:01
  De Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen (DJI) heeft na een Europese aanbesteding  Unisys gekozen voor de realisatie van een nieuw basisprocessensysteem bij de gevangenissen in het hele land. Het nieuwe systeem wordt eind 2016 opgeleverd en vanaf 2017 in gebruik genomen.Unisys zal het volledige... lees meer
  
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