IT Executive news

• Microsoft plugs Edge browser as power miser

  21-06-2016 23:38
  
  Microsoft yesterday claimed its own tests show that Edge, the default in Windows 10, used 27% less power than the No. 1 browser, Chrome, and 35% less than the slowly-sliding-into-obscurity Firefox.
  The Redmond, Wash. company's Edge-eats-less campaign may have been motivated by Edge's poor performance in the marketplace, where it has been adopted by less than 30% of the Windows 10 population.
  In a pair of blog posts, a director of Edge's platform team and an Edge program manager touted the resul
  
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• Top website domains are vulnerable to email spoofing

  21-06-2016 23:04
  
  Don’t be surprised if you see spam coming from the top websites in the world. Lax security standards are allowing anyone to "spoof" emails from some of the most-visited domains, according to new research.
  Email spoofing — a common tactic of spammers — basically involves forging the sender’s address. Messages can appear as if they came from Google, a bank, or a best friend, even though the email never came from the actual source. The spammer simply altered the email&
  
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• Buy-in from top execs is key to cloud transitions, AWS executive says

  21-06-2016 22:49
  
  As the head of Amazon Web Services, Andy Jassy has seen a lot of big organizations start using the public cloud. The biggest indicator of success for a cloud transition is simple, he says: Has the business' senior staff bought into it?In his view, organizations will usually stick with their status quo on-premises data centers unless leaders are ready to promote the use of public cloud services. "And it sounds a little bit simple, but the reality is that there's so much inertia all over
  
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• How GE software is making its mark on the Industrial Internet

  21-06-2016 22:32
  
  In 2011, Marc Andreessen famously asserted, "Software is eating the world." Jeff Immelt, CEO and chairman of General Electric (GE) took that to heart. He has made no bones about the fact that all industrial companies will have to become software and analytics companies.As a result, GE has begun looking to Web 2.0 companies like Google and Amazon for inspiration."The digital transformation at GE has helped anticipate the needs of a technology-driven society, and it has been both rapid and dramati
  
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• IT workers at Tenn. insurer on edge amid outsourcing rumors

  21-06-2016 22:18
  
  The IT employees at Unum Group, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurer, are alert to the possibility that their employer may shift work to an offshore outsourcing firm. The employees don't know much yet, but they know enough to be alarmed -- and a letter sent out last week by the CIO did little to change that.
  The news about Unum, which reported nearly $11 billion in revenues last year, originated in a recent blog post by Sara Blackwell, a labor attorney in Florida who represents former Disney IT w
  
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• Elon Musk wants to build you a robotic housekeeper

  21-06-2016 21:55
  
  High-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has his sights set on building robots that can do housework, have conversations and play games.
  In working on these different robotic abilities, Musk, the CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla Motors, said he hopes to advance the artificial intelligence algorithms that will be needed to create them.
  "A significant fraction of our research bandwidth is being spent on fundamental research," wrote Musk, along with Ilya Sutskever, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, who also are w
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The key to improving your company culture with social media marketing

  21-06-2016 21:34
  
  When we talk about online marketing, we’re usually concerned with reaching new markets, bulking up our conversion rates and looking out for our bottom line.However, what if our online presence could also help build a healthier and more unique company culture?It’s no secret that perception of your culture can be influenced by its portrayal on social media. But what’s the key to harnessing social media for the creation of a better culture?Well, really, it’s quite simple: be
  
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• Over 80% off Essential Speed Reading Bundle - Deal Alert

  21-06-2016 21:19
  
  You know that stack of books you’ve been meaning to tackle, but thought you never had the time? The Essential Speed Reading Bundle comes with a 3-year subscription to Spreeder and 7 Speed Reading EX, two tools proven to boost reading speeds. Spreeder is a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) e-reader that presents any digital text at a natural speed that reduces eye movement and increases comprehension. Meanwhile, 7 Speed Reading EX is a speed reading software that trains you to read up
  
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• Salesforce steps up its push to make everyone an app developer

  21-06-2016 21:13
  
  Salesforce has already rolled out several tools that aim to let business users create their own mobile apps, and on Tuesday it unified them into a suite and added some new services on the back end.The new App Cloud Mobile suite includes Salesforce's Lightning app creation tools, which require little to no coding and are supposed to make it easy enough for everyday business people to create their own iPhone and Android applications.It also includes the development services of Force and Herok
  
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• 47% Off Canon All-In-One Printer With Mobile Tablet Printing With Airprint And Google Cloud Print capabilities - Deal Alert

  21-06-2016 19:57
  
  This all-in-one printer from Canon allows you to print with many powerful options including AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Morphia and the Canon PRINT app. You can even print photos from Instagram or Facebook directly from your smartphone or tablet. The printing quality is remarkable with deeper black and vivid reds.This printer currently averages 4 out of 5 stars (read reviews). With the current 47% discount, its regular list price of $149.99 has been reduced to $78.98. Learn more and check
  
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• Google bumps up bounty on Android bugs

  21-06-2016 19:35
  
  A year ago, Google announced an extension to its Google Vulnerability Rewards Program geared specifically at the Android mobile OS. Called Android Security Rewards, the initiative is designed to incent crafty coders (Google employees and non-employees) to pound Android for potential vulnerabilities, and then get paid for their efforts — assuming they find bugs. Google's pay scale for the program varies based on the severity of flaws identified, but during the past year, Google says it
  
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• The sole purpose of this robot is to make you bleed

  21-06-2016 19:34
  
  Remember the old saying, “don’t bite the hand that feeds you?” Well, this robot is choosing to prick the fingers that build it.“The First Law,” as the robot is nicknamed, is a simple machine made up of sensors, a metal arm, and replaceable diabetes needles. A random algorithm programmed into the robot decides whether or not to deliver a sharp prick to your finger.The bot’s creator, artist and roboticist, Alexander Reben, is not a masochist. Instead,
  
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• New Slack tools let you chat with bots using buttons

  21-06-2016 18:54
  
  Slack is making it easier for people to interact with third-party services that integrate with its chat app with the launch of a new developer tool that lets bots add clickable buttons to their messages. What that means is that someone can submit an expense request to an app that's integrated into Slack, and that person's manager can then receive it -- within the chat interface -- along with buttons that let them easily approve or deny the request. It's part of Slack's push to enhance
  
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• CIO tackles analytics to bolster business architecture

  21-06-2016 18:45
  
  Workday CEO Aneel Bhusri has kicked off his last two senior management meetings by emphasizing the importance of maintaining corporate culture. He pulled up his iPad, consulted Workday's dashboards and talked about the talent the company is hiring and perhaps some relevant business trends. He also discussed what is working well at Workday and what isn't.Workday CIO Diana McKenzie.
  Such meetings are a breath of fresh air for CIO Diana McKenzie, who joined the cloud service provider in February af
  
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• Twitter makes big video push with 140-second clips and new app for VIPs

  21-06-2016 18:40
  
  Ready for Twitter to become even more like Facebook? The platform is moving into video in a major way with 140-second clips in both Twitter proper and Vine, a new video section called Watch Mode, and video recommendations for other videos to watch. The network’s most popular users, like President Barack Obama and Justin Bieber, are getting a stand-alone app called Engage, which sounds a lot like Facebook Mentions.
  Twitter is making video a huge priority by extending video length from 30 s
  
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• Hackers sold access to 170,000 compromised servers, many in the US

  21-06-2016 18:33
  The market for hacked servers might be much larger than previously thought, with new evidence suggesting that hackers sold access to over 170,000 compromised servers since 2014, a third of them located in the U.S.The new revelation comes from antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, whose researchers reported last week that a black market website called xDedic was selling remote access to more than 70,000 compromised servers for as little as US$6.Following the report, a user with the moniker AngryBirds sha
  
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• Intel's megachips will take on Nvidia's GPUs and Google's TPUs

  21-06-2016 18:22
  Intel's chip arsenal appears to have some glaring weaknesses. One of them is the lack of a high-end graphics processor, which is important for gaming, virtual reality and machine learning.However, the company does have powerful alternatives: two monster chips that will be ammunition to take on GPUs and rival chips in the areas of machine learning and supercomputing, which are important to the company.In 2018, Intel will likely release a faster and more power-efficient Xeon Phi, a supercomputing
  
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• New FAA rules mean you won't get Amazon drone delivery anytime soon

  21-06-2016 17:52
  
  The Federal Aviation Administration has published long-awaited rules that loosen restrictions on commercial use of drones but don't go as far as allowing drone delivery services like those proposed by Amazon.The rules, scheduled to take effect in late August, replace temporary restrictions that have required thousands of companies to apply for special permission to use drones as part of their job.Many of the rules are similar to the temporary restrictions including the requirement that dron
  
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• Windows 10 phones finally gain NFC payment support as Wallet 2.0 rolls out in preview

  21-06-2016 17:42
  
  Windows 10 Mobile’s adding a much-needed tool to its mobile payments arsenal even as the operating system slides into apparent slumber when it comes to actual phones. Microsoft’s pushing an updated version of its Wallet app out to Windows Insiders signed up for “Fast Ring” previews, complete with NFC tap-to-pay support.
  Wallet 2.0 was leaked earlier this month, but Windows Central reports that the update is now live for Insiders using a small handful of devices, includin
  
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• This IS your grandma’s Internet: Samsung plans to invest in IoT

  21-06-2016 17:40
  
  In the future, everything will be connected -- even your grandparents.That's what Samsung Electronics is counting on as it draws up a four-year plan to invest US$1.2 billion in U.S. IoT startups and research.The company sees the Internet of things as a way to provide dementia care and to help millions of elderly people live independently, using a range of devices including some akin to fitness trackers."We can keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes," Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon said at a co
  
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• Say hello to Fedora 24, a Linux OS for a containerized world

  21-06-2016 17:18
  
  Say hello to Fedora 24, a Linux OS for a containerized worldImage by The Fedora ProjectFedora 24 is the first 2016 release from the Red Hat-sponsored Fedora Project, and it made its debut on Tuesday. Included in the software are several key new features for enterprises. Here's a look at some of the highlights.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Tech groups say FBI shouldn't be allowed to do mass hacking

  21-06-2016 17:11
  
  Congress should block proposed changes to rules governing U.S. law enforcement investigations that could give law enforcement agencies new authority to hack thousands of computers, several tech and advocacy groups said.Congress should stop the proposed changes, approved by the Supreme Court in April, that would allow judges to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where investigators don't know the target computer's location, a coalition of 50 tech trade groups, digital rights gro
  
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• Will government ‘IT special forces’ put CIO role in jeopardy?

  21-06-2016 17:04
  
  The Obama administration has been building out what might be seen as the IT version of special forces -- sophisticated, highly skilled teams of experts charged with parachuting into an agency and rehabilitating flagging technology initiatives.
  But where does that leave the CIO?
  A new report from the Government Accountability Office has raised the concern that new teams of digital specialists might not effectively partner with the agency CIO. That invites a dynamic that would run counter to the
  
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• FireEye: China still spies on U.S. companies, but maybe less

  21-06-2016 16:53
  
  The United States and China forged an agreement last year not to conduct cyber espionage against corporations, but it seems pretty likely that groups based in China have continued to do so. However, it might not all be the fault of the government there, according to a report from security company FireEye.
  Of 72 groups that FireEye suspects of operating in China or in China’s interests, 13 of them compromised corporate networks in the U.S., Europe and Japan between last fall - when the agr
  
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• Meet the hacker taking over ISIS twitter accounts

  21-06-2016 16:41
  
  A few months ago, we interviewed the hacker calling himself, Wauchula Ghost, who led the GhostSec hacker collective targeting ISIS. In the last week, Wauchula Ghost has been attracting even more attention as he has been successfully compromising the Twitter accounts of ISIS sympathizers, and posting gay porn on those accounts in retaliation for the Orlando attack.
  In this video interview, which is now timely again, we learned how they target and attack ISIS, how they maintain anonymity, and how
  
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• Apple Pay’s Mac move: Less friction? No, but slightly less fraud

  21-06-2016 16:18
  
  It was one sentence buried near the end of a long announcement from Apple about iOS 10, but it was perhaps one of the most interesting. “Apple Pay can now be used to make easy, secure, and private purchases on participating websites using Safari, in addition to paying in-stores and within apps.”
  What this means is that desktops and laptops made by Apple will eventually (once developers take advantage of this capability, in the fourth quarter) be able to make Apple Pay purchases
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Fedora 24 released, brings something for everyone

  21-06-2016 16:15
  
  The Red Hat-sponsored Fedora community has announced the release of Fedora 24. This release of the open source Linux-based operating system comes with version 2.3 of glibc (GNU C library), bringing better compliance with POSIX and GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) 6. The community has rebuilt all base packages of Fedora 24 with GCC 6, which means better code optimization and overall stability across all Fedora 24 editions.
  Fedora is also the base of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and it is heavily used b
  
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• 10 tech giants winning the talent war on LinkedIn

  21-06-2016 15:47
  
  The 10 most sought-after U.S. companies that use LinkedIn to attract and retain talent are also technology pioneers. The professional social network says it analyzed billions of interactions between its 433 million users to rank the top companies based on the volume of job applicants, engagement between hiring companies and potential candidates, and employee retention. LinkedIn included only companies with more than 500 employees, and it based its ranking on interactions during the 12 month
  
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• The iOS hotel app for people who hate hotel apps

  21-06-2016 15:35
  
  If you're a traveler who is easily overwhelmed by seemingly-endless hotel choices, and you have a flexible budget, Tablet Hotels is the app for you.Unlike most hotel apps and online booking services, the new, iOS-only Tablet Hotels app doesn't show you dozens, or even hundreds, of hotels at your desired destinations. Instead, the software delivers a highly curated selection of boutique accommodations, with ratings and user reviews based on "verified stays by Tablet guests," according to the app'
  
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• Microsoft's Sharepoint app for iOS is here

  21-06-2016 15:00
  
  Microsoft announced earlier this year that its popular SharePoint collaboration software was getting a full-featured mobile app. Starting Tuesday, iPhone users can take a crack at it. 
  The SharePoint mobile app brings the key features from the popular enterprise collaboration software to users' smartphones, so they have an easier time of accessing things like company bulletins, SharePoint applications and shared workspaces while on the go. 
  That's important for Microsoft, since launch
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Proposals are an elaborate shell game

  21-06-2016 15:00
  
  I submitted my resignation notice a month before my actual end date. I wanted to leave a firm on good terms. I was responsible for a number of internal initiatives as well as a client facing engagement, so we needed to wind things down in an orderly manner.During my notice period, I continued to support sales pitches and request for proposal (RFP) responses. Most of this work consisted of reviewing and editing drafts before they were submitted to the client. Two days before I was scheduled to tu
  
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• 3 tips for negotiating the salary you deserve

  21-06-2016 14:33
  
  In a recovering economy and a tight IT talent market, candidates are finding they have more leverage when negotiating salary for a new position or angling for a raise. The key to managing this tricky, nerve-wracking process is to focus on your accomplishments, achievements and your overall value to the company -- and be able to quantify those.
  Make lists
  The first step is to track your accomplishments and achievements on a regular basis. This can be an informal achievements journal where you not
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: macOS Sierra: How to manage your Mac’s storage

  21-06-2016 14:00
  At WWDC Apple introduced macOS Sierra, and one of its most useful features is the ability to more effectively manage file storage on your Mac. With macOS Sierra you can opt to easily remove files and other objects that take up storage space on your Mac.In this how-to I’ll show you how to access macOS Sierra’s storage management options.How to access macOS Sierra’s storage management tools
  Here’s how you can quickly access the storage management options in macOS Sierra:1.
  
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• Measure your employees’ results, not their time

  21-06-2016 13:55
  
  If you think money will make your employees happier, you might be wrong.Many workers report they value autonomy over anything else. Of course, you also need to ensure your employees basic needs are met at work.But from there, the data suggests that if you instill trust and freedom in your workforce, they will thrive.Irv Shapiro, CEO of DialogTech, is a strong believer in employee autonomy, and it's something he practices at his own company. "Unless your business sells services by the hour, it ma
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Digital business patent bully protection

  21-06-2016 13:41
  
  A digital business is not the same as doing business digitally. A digital business is a fundamentally different mindset, manner and way of approaching how your organization delivers products or services to a market. On a more granular level, it is the interaction, mix and combination of three primary pillars -- market insight, a collaborative leadership team and one or more technology platforms, that support a successful digital business. From a technology perspective, a digital business will in
  
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• 7 ways to get more from Slack

  21-06-2016 12:24
  
  Slack exploded onto the group chat scene almost three years ago, and if you’re a developer you've almost certainly come across it.One reason for Slack’s popularity with developers — as well as the wider community — is that it's easy to sign in to Slack and use it anywhere, according to Adam Preset, Gartner's research director for digital workplace. "Using Slack is good in a rich client, using a web interface, and on a mobile device," he says. "It's not mobile first or des
  
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• U.S. to have 200-petaflop supercomputer by early 2018

  21-06-2016 12:00
  
  The U.S. plans to have a supercomputer by early 2018 with roughly double the performance of China's newest and most powerful system. The Chinese system, Sunway TaihuLight, was announced Monday in the latest release of the Top500, the biannual ranking of publicly known supercomputers.
  Sunway TaihuLight can reach a theoretical peak speed of 124.5 petaflops, and has achieved 93 petaflops on the Linpack benchmark, used by the Top500 to assess the performance of supercomputers. The latest ranking of
  
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• Tech's biggest CEO raises and pay cuts

  21-06-2016 12:00
  
  Ups and downs of CEO payMedian pay among 62 tech CEOs was $10.6 million last year, down from $11.5 million in 2014. Some tech leaders netted big gains while others saw their compensation slashed. Here are the six most drastic pay raises and six largest losses.RELATED: 20 highest paid tech CEOs | single-page chart of 62 tech CEOs' total payTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Tech CEOs rake in the big bucks

  21-06-2016 12:00
  
  There are two new players at the top of our pay tally, and they both work at the same company. Oracle's co-chief executives Mark Hurd and Safra Catz each netted compensation valued at $53.2 million last year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Java's Spring Framework gets a new competitor

  21-06-2016 12:00
  
  Datamill, an open source framework that leverages Java 8 and lambdas, is bringing functional programming to Java-based web development.
  Positioned as an alternative to the popular Spring Framework, Datamill uses a functional reactive style built on RxJava, a library for composing asynchronous and event-based programs, and leverages the Java Virtual Machine.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• 20 highest paid tech CEOs

  21-06-2016 12:00
  
  Meet the highest paid tech CEOsLarry Ellison often topped our tallies of the highest paid tech CEOs. Ellison gave up the Oracle CEO job in 2014, and now his successors – who made $53 million apiece last year – share the distinction of highest paid tech CEO. See who else made the top 20.RELATED: Biggest raises and pay cuts | single-page chart of 62 tech CEOs' total pay |To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Chinese hacking slows down after public scrutiny and U.S. pressure

  21-06-2016 08:38
  U.S. warnings and public scrutiny of hacks by groups believed to be China-based may have led to an overall decrease in intrusions by these groups against targets in the U.S. and 25 other countries, a security firm said.
  From mid-2014, after the U.S. Government took punitive measures against China, including indicting members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for computer hacking, economic espionage and other charges, and raised the possibility of sanctions, FireEye has seen a notabl
  
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• Russian hackers were indeed behind DNC breach, claims another security firm

  21-06-2016 03:58
  
  One lone hacker has tried to take credit for the recent breach of the Democratic National Committee, calling it “easy.” But some security researchers aren’t convinced.On Monday, security company Fidelis Cybersecurity came forward, and agreed that expert hacking groups from Russia were indeed behind the attack.The malware involved was advanced, and at times identical to malware the Russian hacking groups have used in the past, Fidelis said in a blog post on Monday.“This wa
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to select a Tier 2 ERP package

  21-06-2016 03:38
  
  Companies that outgrow their small company accounting systems are challenged with finding a cost effective and robust ERP.  The Tier 1 ERP solutions provide fully functional ERP and reporting solutions across all industries. However, the associated costs may drive a company to look at Tier 2 options.  Investments by Tier 2 vendors over the past five years allow these applications to offer an attractive alternative by providing integrated solutions at a much lower total cost of ownershi
  
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• 52% off HooToo USB 3.0 Flash drive with Lightning Connector for iPhone and iPad devices - Deal Alert

  21-06-2016 00:42
  
  This fast drive, currently discounted by 52% on Amazon from $119.99 down to just $57.99, plugs directly in your lightning or USB port allowing you to add 64 GB of storage to your iPhone, iPad and iPod, allowing you to transfer files to and from a computer/laptop without using a cable. You can also copy and browse all files with the FREE IOS app giving you the ability to directly watch movies and listen to music that you can store on the drive.To read this article in full or to leave a comment,
  
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• Take these security books with you on vacation

  21-06-2016 00:26
  
  Real-life cyber mysteriesImage by ThinkstockWhy spend your beach time this summer reading fictional mystery novels when real world mysteries are swirling through the cyber sphere? BAE Systems has put together a summer reading list for cyber security professionals. It includes titles that cover the international underworld of money laundering, the greatest criminal minds in hacking, insights into understanding how cyber criminals think, the impact of potential cyber attacks and cyber wars on miss
  
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