IT Executive news

• Cause of blaze at solar power plant under investigation

  23-05-2016 23:51
  
  The cause of a Friday fire that shut down part of the world's largest solar power plant is still under investigation, after mirrors focused the sun's rays on a 452-ft high water boiler tower, melting steam ducts and water pipes.
  David Knox, spokesman for Ivanpah plant operator NRG Energy, said the company's focus right now is to access the damage, investigate the cause and develop and implement a repair plan. San Bernardino County Fire Dept.The damage caused by the fire at the solar power plant
  
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• Security training programs don't do enough to mitigate insider risk

  23-05-2016 23:17
  
  Employee-related security risks top the list of concerns for security professionals, but organizations aren't doing enough to prevent negligent employee behavior, according to a new study.Last month, security research firm Ponemon Institute, sponsored by Experian Data Breach Resolution, surveyed 601 individuals at companies with a data protection and privacy training program on the issue of negligent and malicious employee behaviors for the Managing Insider Risk through Training & Culture re
  
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• What is the right DDoS protection cloud service for your organization?

  23-05-2016 22:09
  
  Would most enterprises really rather fend for themselves when it comes to security? One reputable survey seems to say so. Organizations are largely investing technology and staffing budgets earmarked for information security into related in-house skills and technology, according to a 2016 SANS Institute report on IT Security Spending Trends. That could and probably would be the topic of this article but for one little thing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(In
  
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• Microsoft dials back Windows 10 upgrades to 2X a year

  23-05-2016 21:58
  
  Microsoft has scaled back its Windows 10 release schedule to two feature upgrades annually, not the three per year it once said was its plan.
  The Redmond, Wash. company has hinted since November that it would cut back on the number of Windows 10 upgrades. That's when it began to refer to the schedule as "two to three times per year," rather than the solid three-times-a-year pace it had talked up before Windows 10's official release.
  But in a presentation at the WinHEC technical conference in Ta
  
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• The coolest 3D-printed things at the RAPID conference

  23-05-2016 21:14
  
  From wardrobes to war machines, this year's show did not disappointImage by April MontgomeryIn each of its 26 years, the RAPID Printing & Additive Manufacturing Conference has raised the bar for the level of sophistication of things that can be created using 3D printing techniques. This year's conference in Orlando showcased products ranging from military unmanned aerial vehicles and jet engines to human skull and knee replacements and even a full-sized, working R2D2. Here are some of the mo
  
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• 17% off Bose CineMate 15 Home Theater Sound Bar Speaker System - Deal Alert

  23-05-2016 20:52
  
  The CineMate 15 from Bose is a highly rated soundbar system that is easy to set up and promises the kind of full, rich sound with deep bass that you have come to expect from Bose. The soundbar itself is no longer than a ruler and simply sits in front of your TV, connecting with a single cable. The accoustic mass module can be placed out of site. Together, the system works with Bose TrueSpace signal processing to spread sound far and wide, fully immersing you in the action. The CineMate 15 averag
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 15 best boss fights in iOS games

  23-05-2016 19:08
  
  One of the most exciting moments for any gamer is when he or she makes it through a level in a game and reaches the boss monster. It's at that point that everything is on the line. Can the gamer figure out how to defeat the boss monster or will the boss destroy the gamer?But not all games have bosses that are on the same level in terms of difficulty or complexity. Some bosses in games are easy to beat, and are hardly more than a yawn for an experienced iOS gamer. But other bosses can be quite tr
  
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• Spotify's family plan goes toe-to-toe with Apple and Google

  23-05-2016 18:37
  
  Spotify is still the top music streaming service, but it may be feeling the heat from better family deals on Apple Music and Google Play. Spotify announced on Monday that its $15-per-month family plan will match those of Apple Music and Google Play by offering six individual premium accounts for the package price.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Microsoft updates Dynamics CRM with a new IoT twist

  23-05-2016 18:15
  
  There's an update available for Microsoft's Dynamics CRM 2016, and it brings with it a brand-new tool to help companies tap the Internet of Things for their customer-service efforts.Announced on Monday, the Spring 2016 Wave of Dynamics CRM adds Connected Field Service, a new tool companies can soon use to leverage the potential of predictive maintenance via IoT devices.Available as a preview in June, Connected Field Service continuously monitors IoT-enabled devices for anomalies, generating
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Linus Torvalds wins the desktop; Chromebooks outsell Macbooks

  23-05-2016 17:38
  
  Three facts: PC sales continue to decline. Macbooks continue to grow as a share of PC shipments. And in the first quarter of 2016, Chromebooks outsold Macbooks. Yes, you read that right. According to IDC analyst Linn Huang, Chromebooks beat Macs in overall shipments in the U.S.
  With that news, Linus Torvalds is ready to declare desktop victory. On Thursday last week, Torvalds posted on his Google+ page: “Hey, either Macs don't count much on the desktop, or we may have to finally lay
  
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• How to go back to Windows 7 or 8 after an unwanted Windows 10 upgrade

  23-05-2016 17:26
  Microsoft’s putting away the carrots and breaking out the sticks in its quest to migrate 1 billion users to Windows 10 over the next couple of years.After pushing out the free upgrade as a Recommended update to Windows 7 and 8 users earlier this year—which means that you downloaded the initial installation bits if you use the default Windows Update, like most people should—Microsoft changed its nagging pop-up prompt in an insidious way over the past week. For the past six month
  
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• From bad to worse: The sad reality about Windows Phones

  23-05-2016 17:24
  Everybody loves smartphones, but almost nobody loves Windows smartphones.A majority (78 percent) of all mobile phones sold worldwide between January and March were smartphones, and smartphones sales grew by 4 percent compared to the same time period the year previous, according to a recent report by market research firm Gartner. Yet with all that smartphone activity, Windows phone sales fell even further. Actually, the word “fell” is being generous. The truth is they crashed.Hard.Win
  
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• A recently patched Flash Player exploit is being used in widespread attacks

  23-05-2016 16:42
  
  It took hackers less than two weeks to integrate a recently patched Flash Player exploit into widely used Web-based attack tools that are being used to infect computers with malware.The vulnerability, known as CVE-2016-4117, was discovered earlier this month by security researchers FireEye. It was exploited in targeted attacks through malicious Flash content embedded in Microsoft Office documents.When the targeted exploit was discovered, the vulnerability was unpatched, which prompted a security
  
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• Transformeren naar een flexibele en marketinggedreven organisatie

  23-05-2016 15:47
  Beeztees, B-to-B-leverancier van benodigdheden voor huisdieren, heeft door IT-dienstverlener B-Synergy en OutSystems een omnichannel e-commerce-platform voor winkeliers laten bouwen. Mede door het enterprise Rapid Application Delivery (RAD) platform van OutSystems kan de leverancier zich ontwikkelen tot een flexibele... lees meer
  
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• How data virtualization delivers on the DevOps promise

  23-05-2016 15:17
  
  Using live data in development means you can test real workloads and get realistic results in transactions and reports. It’s also a significant security risk, as U.K. baby retailer Kiddicare recently found out: The company used real customer names, delivery addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers on a test site, only to have the data extracted and used to send phishing text messages to customers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Angry advertisers hope to seal fate of online ad fraud

  23-05-2016 15:08
  
  Like many others, Bob Liodice is angry: He's had enough of being robbed by online advertising.He's the president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), which estimates that online advertising fraud could top US$7 billion this year.Liodice and other industry figures are so angry about advertising fraud that they're hoping to stamp it out with a new certification program."Certified Against Fraud" is the brainchild of the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), of which
  
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• What are hackers up to these days?

  23-05-2016 14:56
  
  The long answer is more complex, but security vendor Trustwave offered some insights in its 2016 Trustwave Global Security Report, which was released last month."Criminals are getting a lot savvier," says Karl Sigler, Trustwave's threat intelligence manager. "We're seeing their tactics changing a little bit."New bad news
  In the study, Trustwave found that compromises affecting corporate and internal networks hit 40 percent in 2015, up from 18 percent from the year before."Criminals are discoveri
  
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• 33% off Jaybird X2 Sport Wireless Bluetooth Headphones - Deal Alert

  23-05-2016 14:29
  
  With a regular list price of $180, the current discount makes the Jaybird X2 Sport available for just $120. Features include:Premium Bluetooth Audio For Skip-Free Music Outdoors
  8 Hours of Music + Calls With Complete Remote Controls
  Secure Over/Under-Ear Fit Options
  Lifetime Sweat proof Warranty
  Includes Comply Premium Sport Memory Foam Ear Tips, Patented Secure-Fit Ear Fins, Friction-Fit Silicone Sport Carrying Case, Silicone Ear Tips, Charging Cable & Cord Management Clips.Jump to Amazon
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How CIOs explain blockchain to their CFO

  23-05-2016 13:27
  
  The customer experience – as your company knows it – is fading. Your organization might not even realize there is a new revolution coming at you – the blockchain revolution.Blockchain will have enormous impacts on global business and the world economy. This tectonic shift will disrupt your consumers and change their behavior. This change is transformational and will affect everything from the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and even the products you buy. Blockchain technolo
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to enable SDLC for strategy translation

  23-05-2016 13:23
  
  SDLC is where the action can be
  What we knew: CIOs have responsibilities in IT governance and good IT governance ensures that IT delivers business value. What we did not know: the systems development life cycle (SDLC) can play a role in strategy translation. CIOs then should be concerned about what’s in the next project’s SDLC.The traditional focus on engineering was a needed reaction to unreliable software that organizations got in the early years of business software. Thanks t
  
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• Recruiters increasingly rely on social media to find talent

  23-05-2016 13:16
  
  When you decide to start looking for a new job, Twitter and Facebook might be the last places you'd expect to connect with recruiters. But that's quickly becoming the reality, as more recruiters turn to social media to find viable candidates to fill open job requisitions. Alexander Mann Solutions, a talent acquisition and management service; and Social Talent, a recruiting software and analytics company, released their 2016 Global Recruiting Survey, which shed light on how some recruiters use so
  
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• Open source job market booming

  23-05-2016 12:59
  
  Recruiting open source talent is a top priority for IT recruiters and hiring managers in 2016. According to the 2016 Open Source Jobs Report released today by IT hiring platform Dice.com and The Linux Foundation, 65 percent of hiring managers say open source hiring will increase more than any other part of their business over the next six months, and 79 percent of hiring managers have increased incentives to hold on to their current open source professionals.The Open Source Jobs Survey and Repor
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to manage your project team through uncertainty

  23-05-2016 12:54
  
  I'm not sure I've ever managed a project that was smooth and had everything going as expected throughout the engagement. I'm pretty sure I can safely say that has never happened to me so far. But I can keep hoping...there's always tomorrow.However, managing a project and team through great uncertainty – what I'm referring to here – is something much different than just running into the unknown from time to time where you're faced with making some tough decisions. No, managing through
  
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• Hello HaLow: Your guide to the Wi-Fi Alliance’s new IoT spec

  23-05-2016 12:41
  
  The Wi-Fi Alliance recently announced a new IEEE specification, 802.11ah, developed explicitly for the Internet of Things (IoT). Dubbed HaLow (pronounced HAY-Low), it’s aimed at connecting everything in the IoT environment, from smart homes to smart cities to smart cars and any other device that can be connected to a Wi-Fi access point.
  Here’s what you need to know about HaLow.
  1. What are the potential advantages of HaLow?
  First, HaLow operates in the 900-MHz band. This lower part
  
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• Chromebooks beat Mac notebooks 1.4-to-1 in U.S.

  23-05-2016 12:34
  
  More personal computers powered by Google's Chrome OS shipped in the U.S. during the first quarter than those running Apple's OS X in the same period, IDC confirmed Friday.
  "Chrome PCs overall, including Chrome desktop units like the Chromebox, out-shipped all Apple personal computers, desktop plus notebook, in the U.S. for Q1," said Jay Chou, one of several IDC analysts who track device shipments, in an email reply to questions.
  Chromebooks, the inexpensive notebooks that run Chrome OS, also o
  
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• Why I switched back to Firefox

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  Remember when you ditched Firefox for Chrome and pinkie-swore you’d never go back? Yeah, me too. But recently I needed to test a web-based app in Firefox, so, with some hesitance, I took the plunge and installed it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• This is why you need Google Spaces

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  Google Spaces is an innovative social service that can give you unprecedented control over your conversations, but only if you know how to use it.
  Google last week announced a slew of new products, services and initiatives, including Allo, Android N, Assistant, Daydream, Duo, Home and Instant Apps. Nearly all of them are "catch-up" products -- Google's versions of products that other companies have already shipped. And all of them are coming out later in the year.
  But one Google announcement al
  
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• The future of auto safety is seat belts, airbags and network technology

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  The 1950s saw the introduction of automobile seat belts; in the 70s, airbags began showing up in cars. Electronic Stability Controlled rolled out in the late 80s, and the last decade has seen the deployment of radar and camera-based backup assist and blind-spot warning systems.
  Auto safety experts say network technology could be the next major car safety innovation. “Decades from now, it's likely we'll look back at this time period as one in which the historical arc of transportation safe
  
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• Google opens Polymer toolbox for Progressive Web Apps

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  Emphasizing its Progressive Web Apps mantra, Google is offering Polymer App Toolbox for building nativelike mobile Web apps with the company's Polymer library.
  In the toolbox, developers get a set of loosely coupled components and tools to build a Progressive Web Application using the "modern platform," Google said.[ The art of programming is changing rapidly. We help you navigate what's hot in programming and what's going cold and give insights into the technologies that are changing how devel
  
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• Call on line 2! Six ways to add a second line to your smartphone

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  About a year ago I started a new business offering interactive "escape room" challenges in the Detroit area. Although I'd hoped to keep it strictly an online affair, with an informative website and simple ticketing system, it quickly became clear I'd need a phone line. Customers needed a way to reach me with questions, booking issues and so on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• BMW’s vision for a world of connected cars

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  As you’re brushing your teeth in the morning you monitor a digital display mirror that shows all your relevant information for the day: Schedule of appointments, weather and battery levels of all your devices, including your phone and BMW i3 electric car in the garage.
  As you walk into your kitchen and turn on your coffee machine, that’s the cue your car has been waiting for to turn itself on and begin to warm up. Time to go: With a swipe on your touch-enabled car key, the vehicle d
  
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• 7 programming languages we love to hate -- but can’t live without

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  The well-meaning advice to not carry a grudge certainly didn’t come from anyone who’s wrestled with a computer for a living. Toil for anytime with the infernal logic of a programming language and you’ll know the horrors of the inky void where the worst bugs dwell.
  Sure, everyone loves a computer language when they first encounter it. And why wouldn’t we, with all those “hello world” examples that show how powerful the language can be in three lines of code. P
  
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• 10 things we love about the new Firefox browser

  23-05-2016 12:00
  
  Loving FirefoxRemember when you ditched Firefox for Chrome and pinkie-swore you’d never go back? Yeah, me too. But recently I needed to test one of our web-based apps in Firefox, so, with some hesitance, I took the plunge and installed it. Turns out, the good folks at Mozilla took their vanishing market share to heart and fought back with one of the most notably improved products I have seen in recent memory. Here are 10 things we love about Firefox. (Read the full story.)To read this arti
  
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