IT Executive news

• BMW will finally integrate CarPlay later this year

  20-05-2016 23:05
  This may not be the most exciting collaboration between Apple and BMW, but it’s one that needed to happen.
  BMW is finally integrating CarPlay support in some of its models to be released later this year. According to 9to5Mac, this year’s BMW German catalog and price list mentions that the BMW 5X M and 6X M will feature “wireless” CarPlay. Previously, BMW was one of the last major car manufacturers to incorporate CarPlay technology in its vehicles. The vehicles and prices
  
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• Google's modular smartphone project sacrificed its original vision to move forward

  20-05-2016 23:02
  
  Google's Project Ara modular smartphone is coming to developers soon, but it's lost a key part of its customization vision along the way. Developers will be able to get their hands on an early release version of Ara by the end of this year, to begin building custom hardware modules for the device, Google announced at its I/O conference Friday. The modules will allow users to customize their phones with hardware like cameras, speakers, and even a rear-facing display. Ara's initial philo
  
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• SWIFT asks its customers to help it end a string of high-profile banking frauds

  20-05-2016 22:47
  
  Financial transaction network SWIFT called on its customers Friday to help it end a string of high-profile banking frauds perpetrated using its network.The SWIFT network itself is still secure, it insisted in a letter to banks and financial institutions. However, some of its customers have suffered security breaches in their own infrastructure, allowing attackers to fraudulently authorize transactions and send them over the SWIFT network, it said.That's the best explanation so far for how authen
  
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• Why Android on Chrome could have big impact on business

  20-05-2016 22:08
  
  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google this week took a big leap toward blending its two biggest OSes: Android and Chrome. The company did not merge the platforms, as was rumored last fall and subsequently denied by Google, but the distinctions between Chrome and Android apps will effectively expire starting next month. Chromebooks will get more powerful and more useful for enterprises as the devices gain access to a vast catalog of Android apps, according to Google. A trio of Chromebooks &md
  
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• Guess how much HP sold its gold- and diamond-encrusted laptops for?

  20-05-2016 21:04
  The three grand you spent on your fully configured laptop ain’t no thing. HP said Friday that it has sold two Spectre 13.3 laptops for more than $60,000. Yes, two laptops for the price of a luxury car.
  These aren’t standard laptops, though. The two in question were custom modified and blinged out with diamonds, gold and Swarovski crystals by renowned artists Jess Hannah and Tord Boontje.HPThe rear of the Tord Boontje Spectre 13.3 also features 18K gold-plated accents.
  
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• Accenture aims to accelerate AI adoption

  20-05-2016 20:41
  
  Global services juggernaut Accenture is partnering with IT and business process automation specialist IPsoft to build a new Accenture practice dedicated to bringing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to global enterprises.Earlier this week, the partners announced the creation of an Accenture Amelia practice built around IPsoft's Amelia cognitive agent, an AI that emulates human intelligence and can communicate with natural language. IPsoft has positioned Amelia as "your first digital empl
  
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• Google and Levis are releasing a smart denim jacket this year

  20-05-2016 20:26
  
  Google and Levi's want people to beta test their smart clothing, starting later this year. The companies have teamed up on a smart jacket for bicyclists that will allow wearers to control their smartphones using sensors woven into the cuff. The jacket is part of the continuing development of Project Jacquard, a system for turning fabric into a digital sensor that can then be linked with a smartphone to control applications like music players and navigation. Google first showed off the proje
  
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• BrandPost: CIO Interview with Sue Liddie, Group VP and CIO of Avon

  20-05-2016 20:16
  
  Avon may not be a big name in the tech community, but the entrepreneur-friendly beauty company has been pushing the B2C envelope for years. Group VP and CIO Sue Liddie breaks down how tech is enabling Avon’s pink sales force.What is your main goal as CIO? Putting the right technology in place to enable our stakeholders: Our Representatives, our consumers and our associates. We have 6 million Representatives, and they are the heart and soul of Avon. We want to continue to lead for the next
  
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• Criminal defendants demand to see FBI's secret hacking tool

  20-05-2016 17:54
  
  A secret FBI hacking tool, used to compromise the Tor anonymous browser in one investigation, is facing challenges from criminal defendants, perhaps putting its future in doubt.Defendants have demanded to see details of the FBI network investigative technique (NIT), the agency's name for the relatively recent hacking tool, in a handful of criminal cases, but the agency has refused to disclose the information.A judge in a high-profile child pornography case, in which a website called Playpen was
  
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• Customers' digital behavior drives CIOs to partner with CDOs, CMOs

  20-05-2016 17:44
  
  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The emergence of the chief digital officer in some enterprises has revived theory that the CIO role is doomed. But CIOs say that partnerships with CDOs, CMOs and other senior executives who own different aspects of the business are essential to fostering healthy digital transformations."You read the press [about] the rise of the CDO, the demise of the CDO, the threats that the CDO places to the CIO," said CVS Health CIO Stephen Gold, on a digital transformation panel at the M
  
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• Stale beer no more: This app can tell you when it's past its prime

  20-05-2016 17:19
  
  There's a good chance your tastebuds would tell you when you're drinking stale beer, but now science has come to the rescue to spare them that pain.You can thank the chemists at Spain's Complutense University of Madrid, who have developed a sensor and Android app that can tell you when you shouldn't even bother having a sip.To monitor a beer's freshness, brewers often use chromatography techniques to measure indicative chemicals including furfural, a compound that appears during the aging proces
  
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• Microsoft tweaks IE11-Edge interoperability in Windows 10

  20-05-2016 17:18
  
  Microsoft yesterday said it will introduce changes in this summer's Windows 10 Anniversary Update to simplify switching from Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) to Edge, and back.
  The changes will be aimed at enterprises, the only customer group Microsoft recommends running IE11 in the new operating system.
  "We recognize that some enterprise customers have line-of-business applications built specifically for older web technologies, which require Internet Explorer 11," the company said in a Thursday pos
  
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• SOURCE Boston: Confronting the insider threat

  20-05-2016 17:12
  
  It is still possible for a careless or malicious employee to defeat the best security technology an organization can deploy.
  But technology is evolving to make it less likely.
  That was the bad news/good news scenario from Brian Contos, vice president and chief security strategist at Securonix, speaking at SOURCE Boston earlier this week.
  [ MORE FROM SOURCE BOSTON: Medical devices still vulnerable, but things may be changing ]
  Contos, in a talk titled, “Insider Threats: Evil Employees and
  
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• New IoT security certification aims to make the world safer

  20-05-2016 17:12
  
  If Underwriters Laboratories (UL) fills a security certification gap, will anyone care? This is often the problem for a product or service that has been well-established. If it branches out into a new area people either won’t notice, or they just won’t believe this is something the entity is capable of doing. It doesn’t have anything to do with facts, it has to do with perceptions. We have a strong idea of what UL does, and it isn’t security.  However, UL has ac
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Startups can't ignore the importance of file management design

  20-05-2016 16:50
  
  Whether your startup business is a solo operation or spanning multiple offices, you’re going to need to save and share data. And in order to do that effectively, you’ll need to design a good storage and management system that will enable you to save your business’s digital files in a way that’s safe, easy to access, and reliable.
  New businesses have a lot on their plates, and it might be tempting to put off finding the right file solution — but building an organize
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Q&A: Open source veteran Brian Behlendorf on leading the Hyperledger Project

  20-05-2016 16:26
  Brian Behlendorf is a renowned open source personality. He was one of the primary developers behind the Apache Web Server, a foundation of the Web as we know it. Behlendorf was also a founding member of the organization that later evolved into The Apache Software Foundation. In 2003 MIT Technology Review named him one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.He is now joining the Linux Foundation to lead the Hyperledger Project, a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project whose mi
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Apprenda acquires Kismatic, releases a new Kubernetes distribution

  20-05-2016 16:23
  
  Apprenda, a provider of cloud software, has acquired Kismatic, a company that offers Kubernetes support to enterprise customers. With this acquisition, Apprenda has also launched a new Kubernetes distribution, along with new enterprise support subscriptions available to any company using the Kubernetes container management system.
  Despite being a relatively new technology, “people are running Kubernetes to power microservices, highly trafficked Web properties, and as a foundation for appl
  
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• Digitale onderwereld kopieert legitieme bedrijven

  20-05-2016 15:46
  De manier waarop cybercriminaliteit tegenwoordig is georganiseerd, is vergelijkbaar met legitieme bedrijven, waardoor deze organisaties heel veel rendement uit bijvoorbeeld advertentiefraude, creditcardfraude, identiteitsfraude of medische dossiers kunnen halen. Dat meldt Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in The... lees meer
  
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• 91% off Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate: SQL Server Certification Bundle - Deal Alert

  20-05-2016 15:23
  
  Qualify for a Database Developer Position with Certified SQL Mastery.
  
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• A cord-cutter's guide to digital TV antennas

  20-05-2016 14:47
  
  Back in the day, people had "rabbit-ear" antennas on their TV sets and spindly metal antennas on their roofs. Cable and satellite TV practically led those devices to extinction, but now that millions of people are "cutting the cord," or slimming down their cable bundles, antennas are making a comeback.For a relatively modest sum — often less than $50 — you can connect an antenna to a modern HDTV and watch much of the same local programming you'd pay for on cable.Do dig
  
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• SOURCE Boston: Medical devices still vulnerable, but things may be changing

  20-05-2016 14:38
  
  For years, since the Internet of Things (IoT) made it possible to connect things that had never been designed to be connected, there have been increasing warnings that medical devices were vulnerable to attacks – potentially catastrophic attacks.
  If online attackers can control your implanted heart device, they can blackmail you, damage you, even kill you.
  Based on a couple of sessions at the SOURCE Boston conference this week, the bad news is that things have not measurably improved in t
  
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• Rapid review: Uno Noteband wearable

  20-05-2016 14:09
  
  As a longtime gadget reviewer, my office mailbox is often packed with tech toys — some cool … and some not so cool. During the past week or so, I put the Uno Noteband wearable notification monitor and fitness band through a number of hoops, alongside my Apple Watch for comparison. (Why, yes, I am a total a nerd — but I'm a very awesome nerd, mind you.)
  Does Uno fall in the Cool category? Or the Not So Much pile? Check out the clip below to find out.
  (WARNING: This video
  
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• Integratie populaire cloudoplossingen helpt digitale transformatie

  20-05-2016 14:03
  SAP en Microsoft gaan hechter samenwerken in de cloud en helpen daarmee de digitale transformatie bij organisaties. SAP HANA is nu beschikbaar via Azure en later dit jaar komen er diverse koppelingen tussen Microsoft Office 365 en cloudoplossingen van SAP beschikbaar.
   
  SAP HANA, inclusief de business suite SAP... lees meer
  
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• Google I/O 2016: Every Android app – really – is coming to Chrome

  20-05-2016 14:02
  
  Google’s bringing its entire Android mobile app library to Chromebooks – the company announced today at its annual I/O developer conference, thanks to an innovative system of containerization.
  Every Android app on Google Play will run on Chrome OS devices – as long as their hardware is compatible. (For example, an app requiring a cellular modem might not work on most Chromebooks.) A list of compatible devices will be maintained here. The feature will be rolled out to the devel
  
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• Why CISO is the hardest tech role to fill

  20-05-2016 14:00
  
  Companies are under constant threat from cyberattacks and the situation is only getting worse with the rise of ransomware and whaling scams as a variant of phishing, according to recent cybersecurity reports. Yet the shortage of seasoned CISOs, inconsistent policies around compensation and a lack of proper metrics means some companies are under-investing in cybersecurity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Zes op de tien bedrijven lijken noodzaak eigen transformatie te ontkennen

  20-05-2016 13:49
  Een meerderheid van bedrijven heeft te maken met een gebrek aan interne overeenstemming, adequate kennis of culturele weerstand tegen transformatie. De technologische beperkingen van individuele organisaties maken het alleen maar moeilijker om een digitale transformatie te vervolmaken. Daarop duidt wereldwijd onderzoek... lees meer
  
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• Werknemer zit vast aan technologie uit de jaren ’90

  20-05-2016 13:49
  Ondanks dat technologische vernieuwingen het leven van consumenten de afgelopen twintig jaar ingrijpend hebben getransformeerd, gaan de vernieuwingen die informatie en communicatietechnologie brengt aan de meeste organisaties voorbij. De meeste werknemers doen het grootste deel van hun werk met de technologie van... lees meer
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Apple News: Mute channels you don’t like

  20-05-2016 13:00
  
  The Apple News app can be a useful tool for reading your favorite news sites. But sometimes you might find that certain news sources don’t interest you, and you might not want to see them again in the For You feed or in your topics feeds.No problem, it’s easy to mute channels that you don’t like in the Apple News app.How to mute channels you don’t like in Apple News
  Here’s how you can mute unwanted channels:1. Tap on the For You tab.2. Find a story from the channel
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 4 important communication tools for tech biz entrepreneurs

  20-05-2016 12:58
  
  Communication is at the core of marketing, selling and after-sales servicing whether it is communication within the organization, mass communication with customers or audio-video conferences that are so popular in tech businesses.A century ago video conferencing would have seemed like stuff made for Christmas. Alexander Graham Bell too dismissed the concept as nothing but fairy tale. And yet, we have video conferences, podcasts, live streaming and the humble written text today. However, despite
  
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• Google goes after the enterprise, but at I/O, proof is MIA

  20-05-2016 12:55
  
  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google executives say the company isn't the consumer-oriented business of its youth.
  Now, they say, Google is focused on the enterprise.
  But some users and industry analysts attending Google I/O here this week said they didn't see evidence of a business focus at the developer conference.
  "You don't see it in the announcements. You don't really see it in the sessions," said Jorel Perez, a San Antonio-based mobile web developer who works for a Fortune 500 financial servic
  
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• 7 Android features from Google I/O that Apple should borrow

  20-05-2016 12:55
  
  Google wrapped up its annual I/O keynote presentation on Wednesday after unveiling its version of FaceTime, its version of Apple Watch Complications, and its version of Siri on steroids. But Google also announced a few new features, especially as part of Android N and Android Wear, that Apple users have not experienced yet.
  Here are a few features that we hope Apple “borrows” from Google for its upcoming iOS and watchOS. You can read about all the new Android N and Android Wear 2.0
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How CIOs can guide digital business transformation

  20-05-2016 12:54
  
  In my last article I discussed how legacy businesses have failed to proactively participate in developing a digital business, and that the CIO is in a perfect position to address this concern. Their business acumen and technology prowess are a formidable combination that all evolving digital businesses depend on. The following five characteristics separate the digital thinkers and best position them as the business leaders of tomorrow.Evolution is imperative for survival
  CIOs at traditional busi
  
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• Review: 3 financial tracking apps for busy contractors

  20-05-2016 12:30
  
  Now that tax time for 2015 is over, it's time to think about preparing for 2016 -- especially if you're an independent worker.
  While the full-time job market for IT workers is, according to many industry workers, quite healthy, there are also those who choose the freelance life, either through necessity or preference. However, whether they operate under contract or job-by-job, there is at least one thing that most independent workers have in common: The need to deal with the business side of fr
  
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• I'm a believer: How HTC's Vive convinced me that VR has legs

  20-05-2016 12:30
  
  There seems to be only two points of view on VR today: Either it’s overhyped and doomed to fizzle, or it’s the next big thing.
  My experience with VR—in particular, with HTC’s Vive—tells me this is the next big thing. The proof, for me, is people’s excitement when they use the tech—it’s to a degree I haven’t witnessed with a new technology before.
  When we set up an HTC Vive here at the PCWorld office, people practically lined up to try it out
  
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• Silicon Valley's tech workforce diversity has long way to go, say feds

  20-05-2016 12:00
  
  In recent years, major high-tech firms have started releasing workforce diversity data, along with a promise to improve. And there is much room for improvement, according to federal officials.
  Among the top 75 Silicon Valley tech firms, whites make up 47% of the workforce, Asian Americans 41%, Hispanics, 6% and African Americans 3%, according to an analysisby the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The commission held a hearing Wednesday on diversity in technology and to consid
  
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• Google's Android N strengthens security core

  20-05-2016 12:00
  
  Google continues to hone Android's security capabilities, with features in the Android N upgrade due this fall prefaced by the Android for Work security apparatus and other security updates in last year's Android Marshmallow release.
  Speaking at the Google I/O developer conference on Thursday, Adrian Ludwig, head of the Android security team at Google, noted three key security features planned for Android N, the new Android version expected to debut this fall: file-based encryption, Medias
  
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• US agency releases privacy 'best practices' for drone use

  20-05-2016 07:09
  
  The National Telecommunications & Information Administration released Thursday a list of voluntary privacy best practices for commercial and non-commercial drone users, in the wake of concerns that drones could encroach on individual privacy and open a new front in the collection of personal data for commercial use.The privacy guidance, arrived at in consensus with drone organizations and companies like Amazon and Google's parent Alphabet, recommends that drone operators who collect personal
  
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• Google gives I/O attendees a close-up of driverless car (but no rides)

  20-05-2016 03:05
  
  While Google didn't make any announcements about its driverless car efforts at Google I/O this week, it was showing off its vehicle.Sharon GaudinGoogle's autonomous vehicle, on display at its I/O developer conference in Mountain View, Calif.In the middle of its annual developer conference in Mountain View, Calif., Google let attendees get a closer-than-usual look at the autonomous car.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Here's a look inside Google I/O's playground for developers

  20-05-2016 01:06
  
  Here's a look inside Google I/O's playground for developersImage by Blair Hanley FrankGoogle held its massive I/O conference this week at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. It turned the concert venue into a giant playground for developers, with whacky exhibits and a chance to check out Google's latest products. Here's a look inside, starting with this massive I/O sign which greeted people as thery arrived.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her
  
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• Can robots make art? Yes - but don't ask them to write a poem

  20-05-2016 01:05
  
  Robots can paint, but when it comes to writing, they shouldn't quit their day jobs. That's the combined conclusion from results of two contests announced this week.On the upside, artificial intelligence created some pretty impressive works for RobotArt.org's first annual $100,000 competition, the results of which were announced Tuesday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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