IT Executive news

• Facebook wins appeal over tracking non-members in Belgium

  29-06-2016 23:38
  
  Facebook can resume tracking Belgians online even if they don't have an account with the social network, an appeals court has ruled.The Brussels Court of First Instance had previously ordered Facebook to stop placing its "datr" cookie in Internet users' browsers unless they were Facebook members. It ordered the company to pay a fine of €250,000 per day until it complied with this interim ruling.But on Wednesday the appeals court overturned the cookie ban and the fine on the ground
  
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• Terror-suspect database used by banks, governments, has been leaked

  29-06-2016 23:25
  A database described by some as a "terrorism blacklist" has fallen into the hands of a white-hat hacker who may decide to make it accessible to the public online.The database, called World-Check, belongs to Thomson Reuters and is used by banks, governments and intelligence agencies to screen people for criminal ties and links to terrorism.Security researcher Chris Vickery claims to have obtained a 2014 copy of the database. He announced the details on Tuesday in a post on Reddit."No hacking was
  
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• BrandPost: Cloud Storage and Disaster Recovery

  29-06-2016 22:57
  It may look like everyone is adopting cloud technology. However, IDG Research shows that over half of IT leaders (56%) say they are still identifying IT operations that are candidates for a move to the cloud. PC Connection, Inc. is seeing more movement to cloud storage and disaster recovery (DR), because they provide immediate benefits and relief to both the IT environment and staff. Check out some of these statistics.Most enterprises expect 50x data growth by 2020 - rapidly growing data volume
  
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• SAP's ERP app for SMBs gets an overhaul for digital transformation

  29-06-2016 22:34
  
  The digital transformation imperative is becoming increasingly urgent for companies large and small, and SAP wants to help. On Wednesday, the ERP giant set its sights squarely on SMBs with an updated app that's been enriched with analytics and other key features.Originally announced last year, SAP Business One 9.2 is the latest version of SAP's ERP app for small and medium-size businesses, and it's now generally available both on-premises and in the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave
  
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• Mobile ransomware use jumps, blocking access to phones

  29-06-2016 22:25
  
  The number of users infected with mobile ransomware is skyrocketing, as hackers try to expand the number of potential victims they can target.Compared with a year ago, almost four times as many users are being attacked by mobile ransomware, security firm Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday.It's a troubling trend. Ransomware has typically targeted PCs by encrypting all the information that is inside the targeted machines, and then holding the data hostage in exchange for money.To read this article in
  
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• 55% off DinoFire Wireless 2.4GHz Presentation Remote - Deal Alert

  29-06-2016 21:58
  
  From executives to graduate students, anyone who presents can appreciate a good clicker. This one from DinoFire is currently discounted 55%, from $32.99 down to just $14.99, and receives an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 200 customers (read reviews). Its generous 98-foot range lets you wander confidently around the room. It features up, down and red light buttons, as well as an on/off switch and low battery indicator. The DinoFire remote supports MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ACD Se
  
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• 802.11ac Wi-Fi gear driving strong WLAN equipment sales

  29-06-2016 21:40
  
  The first quarter of 2016 has seen a 20% increase in wireless LAN equipment sales compared to the same period a year ago, according to a study released by IHS Technology, which credited the proliferation of 802.11ac wireless gear for the uptick.
  While the $1.2 billion in total sales represents a quarter-on-quarter downturn of 14%, that’s merely a seasonal demand issue, said IHS. Yet the year-on-year sales increase has been accomplished with equipment prices remaining relatively flat.
  + AL
  
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• Younger generation more optimistic about big data, study says

  29-06-2016 21:31
  
  IT professionals aged 18 to 34 are much more optimistic than their elders that "big data" analysis will fundamentally change how business is conducted in the next few years, according to an IDG Enterprise survey.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Microsoft declares 350M devices now on Windows 10

  29-06-2016 21:27
  
  Microsoft today pegged the number of Windows 10 devices at 350 million, an increase of about 50 million since early May, the last time it publicized the new operating system's uptake.
  "We'd like to say a special thank you to each of you who have upgraded to Windows 10," wrote Yusuf Mehdi, the marketing chief of the Windows and devices group, as he announced the new milestone in a post to a company blog.
  The last time Mehdi trumpeted Windows 10's adoption was May 5, when he tapped it as 300 mill
  
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• BrandPost: Let's Talk About IT

  29-06-2016 21:25
  When we talk about “the weeds” in IT, we’re often talking about IT Service Management (ITSM). What gets weedier than conjuring and developing the appropriate service delivery framework? Read on for the 5 signs that suggest you need some ITSM help. 5 Indicators that You Need IT Service Management Help
  It’s always hectic in delivering IT services—when you’re administering changes for end users, you’re hustling to resolve complex tickets for exasperat
  
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• Need to integrate a few apps to solve a business problem? There is recipe for that

  29-06-2016 21:08
  
   Vijay Tella has been neck deep in application integration technology for years, first as the SVP of engineering at TIBCO, the company that introduced the information bus, and then at Oracle, where he helped launch the company’s booming middleware platform. Today Tella is founder and CEO of Workato, a company that is putting integration tools directly into the hands of app users.  Network World Editor in Chief John Dix recently caught up with Tella to learn more about how he is t
  
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• Apple lowers iPhone Trade-up credit, abandons interest-free financing

  29-06-2016 21:05
  
  Apple has made it easier to upgrade to a new iPhone, but it’s going to cost you.
  This week, 9to5Mac spotted some key differences in Apple’s Trade-Up page. Most notably, Apple has reduced the maximum credit that you can get from trading in your old iPhone, from $300 to $250. Additionally, this credit can be used to pay for a new device up front or lower your monthly installment payments to a carrier like Verizon or AT&T.
  Previously, Apple gave buyers the ability to use the credit
  
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• Avaya’s edge network adapter is an IoT onramp

  29-06-2016 21:02
  
  Avaya today released the 1.0 version of its Open Networking Adapter (ONA), a device the size of a deck of cards that plugs into any Ethernet-enabled machine and automatically connects it to a broader network while enforcing strict security policies on network traffic.
  Avaya’s ONA is a network edge device meant to usher in an era of connected devices to create an internet of things environment. The first use case Avaya is targeting with ONA is the health care industry with a custom softwar
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Jim Whitehurst: The power of participation

  29-06-2016 20:49
  
  Red Hat Summit started on June 28 in San Francisco, California. A live orchestra was playing prior to the keynote. And when and Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst  took the stage, he cited the famous conductor Itay Talgam who described an orchestra as a series of stories coming together. “In his words, all of these stories being heard at the same time, this is the beauty of a live concert, this is the reason you leave your home.”
  “I hope you feel that here this week," said Whiteh
  
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• Wave 2 Wi-Fi may be a sleeper, but it's great for some

  29-06-2016 20:21
  
  As the Wi-Fi Alliance starts certifying the latest gigabit-speed products to work together, users may not get as excited as they did for some earlier standards.On Wednesday, the industry group launched its certification program for IEEE 802.11ac Wave 2, a technology that’s been on the market for more than a year.Wave 2 can deliver up to 6.8Gbps (bits per second) and lets an access point talk to more than one device at a time. But due to issues like timing and wired backhaul, Wave 2 adoptio
  
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• BrandPost: How Cloud ERP Provides Visibility for Lean Manufacturing

  29-06-2016 19:54
  
  Lean manufacturing tools have been around for more than 25 years, and they continue to deliver value to manufacturers. In fact, lean is essentially a focus on value-add across the product lifecycle and results in rigorous efforts to eliminate waste in manufacturing. Attempting to run a growing company using paper-based processes however will yield only one result: it’s not sustainable if you want to create a lean production environment.FT Precision Inc., a Japanese-parented, Ohio-based, au
  
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• Researchers dismantle decade-long Iranian cyberespionage operation

  29-06-2016 19:51
  The infrastructure used by an Iranian cyberespionage group to control infected computers around the world has been hijacked by security researchers.Researchers from Palo Alto Networks came across the group's activities earlier this year, but found evidence that it has been operating since at least 2007. Its main tool is a custom malware program dubbed Infy, which was repeatedly improved over the years.The researchers have worked with domain registrars to seize the domains used by the attackers&n
  
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• BrandPost: DIY IT Is So Yesterday

  29-06-2016 19:46
  It’s not so much that IT is broken than that the pace and volume of change are accelerating so rapidly that trying to do it yourself is too difficult in terms of complexity, timeliness, and cost. IT management must deal with more devices, more applications, more data, and a wider variety of workflows than ever before. Whether to achieve specific objectives that fall outside internal capabilities or resources, or for outsourcing 100% of IT to focus on an organization’s core strengths
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: MIT hosts the W3C blockchain interoperability workshop

  29-06-2016 19:39
  
  The W3C is presenting the workshop W3C Blockchains and the Web, hosted by the MIT Media Lab.Exploring identity, value exchange, asset recording, consortium frameworks, and reputations systems all fall within the mystic of the blockchain. Blockchain platforms could offer distributed micro-services that can be applied to the web, enabling personalization of services using smart contracts. What form will the next pseudonymous low-level messaging system or incentivisation framework take? Innovators
  
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• Rio’s airport preps for Olympics with new Wi-Fi network and mobile app

  29-06-2016 19:21
  
  The 2016 Olympics Games are already off to a rough start -- and we haven’t even seen opening ceremonies yet. Worries about the Zika virus, polluted competition waters, doping scandals and Rio’s precarious finances could mean a complicated time in August for the Summer Games.[ Related: Jumping hurdles on the road to Rio 2016: AOC's head of IT Anthony Soulsby ]One thing thing poised to go well: communication at Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport, Brazil’s bi
  
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• Why CIOs should care about click fraud

  29-06-2016 19:13
  
  The ancient Chinese military strategy guide The Art of War says that if you want to have a chance of prevailing in battle, you need to know your enemy. It’s good advice for the battlefield, and it's also good advice if you want to beat hackers in their constant attempts to take over your network.
  But in order to know these hackers you need to understand their motivations, and in many cases those motivations may not be what you expect. That's according to Dan Kaminski, the security expert
  
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• Though most back self-driving cars, 72% in U.S. say driving must be preserved, too

  29-06-2016 19:06
  
  A majority of Americans support autonomous driving, but 72% of believe that the act of driving  is a luxury that must be preserved, according to a new survey by Volvo.
  And 55% of respondents said they want a steering wheel in their car, even if the vehicle is fully autonomous.
  The ongoing Future of Driving survey has already garnered nearly 50,000 responses.
  The vast majority of those surveyed (79%) also believe car makers, not owners, must take responsibility if an accident occurs wh
  
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• Facebook chooses friends and family over celebrities in your feed, which is probably healthy

  29-06-2016 18:57
  
  For Facebook nothing is more important than keeping you engaged with your news feed. That’s why the company announced Wednesday that it would prioritize posts from your friends and family in your news feed over those from Facebook pages for celebrities, politicians, and brands. The change will roll out to all users worldwide in the coming weeks.
  Facebook also took this opportunity to publicize a News Feed manifesto. It’s a set of guidelines—Facebook calls them values&mdas
  
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• Amazon's Elastic File System is now open for business

  29-06-2016 18:21
  
  Following an extended preview period, Amazon's Elastic File System is now generally available in three geographical regions, with more on the way.Originally announced last year, EFS is a fully managed elastic file storage service for deploying and scaling durable file systems in the Amazon Web Services cloud. It's currently available in the U.S. East (northern Virginia), U.S. West (Oregon) and EU (Ireland) regions, the company announced Wednesday.Customers can use EFS to create file systems that
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why you must master adversity to succeed

  29-06-2016 18:17
  
  Adversity is like manure; it stinks but it helps us grow.If any one lesson could be imparted to a person, this is it. Too often people fold when adversity looms large. Successful people, and almost every entrepreneur, do not. At the very least, every setback is a lesson from which we perfect our processes. At worst, a bad situation forces us to be more creative, harder-working or resourceful.When I went blind during the last phase of my company’s IPO road show, I had to get creative fast.
  
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• Florida man sues Apple for $10 billion for 'stealing' his iPhone invention from 1992

  29-06-2016 17:55
  
  A Florida man has accused Apple of infringing a 1992 patent on an “electronic reading device” that, in our view, looks nothing like the iPhone. He’s asking for $10 billion in damages. No, this isn’t an article from The Onion. It’s real life.
  Thomas Ross included drawings of his device, a boxy rectangle with a screen and physical keyboard, in his court filing in Florida Southern District Court, which was obtained by The Telegraph. As you may recall, the original iPh
  
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• ACLU lawsuit challenges US computer hacking law

  29-06-2016 17:36
  
  The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a 30-year-old hacking-crimes law, with the civil liberties group saying the law inhibits research about online discrimination.The ACLU on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act on behalf of a group of academic researchers, computer scientists, and journalists. The CFAA limits online research because of its "overbroad criminal prohibitions," the ACLU said.The group of plaintiffs in th
  
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• BrandPost: App Dev, Agile, and You, Part 2 — Getting Up to Speed: What you can do now to boost agile development and fast delivery

  29-06-2016 17:14
  
  Today’s CIOs know they need to move faster, at the speed of business: The latest Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO survey, The Creative CIO, emphasizes the fundamental changes to the CIO role, with more than a third of IT leaders reporting an enterprise-wide digital business strategy. However, the typical IT organization’s technology delivery capability — with its legacy systems and traditional skill sets — can’t keep up with the pace of business transformation. CIOs recognize t
  
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• Microsoft kills Windows 10's Messaging Everywhere texts, to bolster Skype

  29-06-2016 17:05
  
  The ability to respond to text messages received on your phone with the same app on your PC. It’s a dream that’s been a reality for Mac users since 2014, and Windows 10 Mobile users were supposed to get the feature, called Messaging Everywhere, with the Anniversary Update rolling out August 2.
  But that’s not happening anymore.
  Instead, Microsoft thinks it has a better idea: add Messaging Everywhere to an upcoming version of Skype for Windows 10 PCs.To read this article in full
  
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• Mapping firm invites auto industry to improve spec for sharing vehicle sensor data

  29-06-2016 16:56
  
  A key specification for exchanging sensor data between vehicles has found a new sponsor, in a move that may help future drivers avoid dangers before they see them.New vehicles are increasingly laden with sensors -- accelerometers, thermometers, radar and lidar (light detection and range) -- and the best of them can use the streams of incoming data to warn of or even avoid hazards such as ice or obstacles.But what if they could share information about changes to a road since the map was last upda
  
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• Wormable flaws in Symantec products expose millions of computers to hacking

  29-06-2016 16:55
  
  A Google security researcher has found high severity vulnerabilities in enterprise and consumer products from antivirus vendor Symantec that could be easily be exploited by hackers to take control of computers.
  Symantec released patches for the affected products, but while some products were updated automatically, some affected enterprise products could require manual intervention.
  The flaws were found by Tavis Ormandy, a researcher with Google's Project Zero team who has found similar vulnerab
  
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• Europa voorop in gepersonaliseerde gezondheidszorg

  29-06-2016 16:16
  Gepersonaliseerde geneeskunde zorgt voor een revolutie. Genomics, genetica en big data-technologie veranderen de werkwijzen van artsen, farmaceutische bedrijven en ziekenhuizen, waardoor behandelingen echt op de patiënt worden afgestemd. Terwijl patiënten in Noord-Amerika mondiger zijn en daardoor... lees meer
  
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• Oracle pledges 'x86 economics' with new Sparc servers

  29-06-2016 16:00
  
  Larry Ellison doesn't do "cheap." The Oracle chairman isn't interested in selling the low-cost one- and two-socket servers that make up a huge slice of the server market but yield little profit for the companies that make them. Even if he did, that business is pretty much sewn up by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, and the "white box" makers from China and Taiwan.But Ellison's also a realist, and he knows customers are gradually turning away from his pricey Unix systems in favor of x86 boxes to
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: While digital growth explodes, energy use remains flat

  29-06-2016 15:46
  
  An authoritative analysis titled the “United States Data Center Energy Usage Report” has just been released from the U.S. Department of Energy, and it contains shocking conclusions regarding electricity. After energy use grew with wild abandon through the first decade of the new millennium, approaches such as cloud and virtualization have driven so much efficiency that U.S. data center electricity use has barely budged, even as virtually every dimension of our world has become m
  
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• Close The Gap Teenager Trip Zuid-Afrika – Druppel en plaat?

  29-06-2016 15:37
  Samen met je vader mee met de derde editie van de Close The Gap (CTG) Teenager Trip naar Kaapstad, Zuid Afrika. Hoe vreemd eigenlijk. Aan de ene kant de vrolijke toerist uithangen met bezoekjes aan onder andere de Tafelberg en Robben-eiland. Aan de andere kant spijkerhard geconfronteerd worden met de ellende in de... lees meer
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How the sharing economy is shaping the future of work in healthcare

  29-06-2016 15:00
  
  Shifting from hyper-consumption to collaboration consumption has given a renewed belief in the value of reputation, community and shared access.Driving force multipliersTechnology is present in virtually every part of an individual’s life. The iPhone alarm wakes you up. The Waze app gets you where you’re going.  LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the new playgrounds where you play nurturing your social networks. Technology is ever-present.To re
  
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• Microsoft's big Windows 10 update launches on August 2

  29-06-2016 14:00
  Microsoft's latest major refresh of Windows 10 will be released publicly on August 2, the company confirmed Wednesday morning.
  In a blog post, Microsoft outlined the full list of new features coming with the update, including security upgrades, improvements to Cortana and features aimed at making touchscreen devices with Windows 10 more useful.
  The news comes almost a year after the consumer launch of Windows 10, which has been one of the company’s major turning points under the leadershi
  
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• 10 common content marketing mistakes (and how to avoid them)

  29-06-2016 13:54
  
  "Behind every piece of bad content is an executive who asked for it." 
  This tweet-worthy comment comes from Michael Brenner, CEO of Marketing Insider Group, a content marketing and development firm. Too often, when executives ask for marketing content, no clear vision exists for it, Brenner said during a session at the recent Marketing Nation Summit in Las Vegas. "What will be the business impact of the content requested?" he asked. "How will it be measured?"
  As much as 60 to 70 percent of
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: CMO vs. VP sales: The inevitable battle

  29-06-2016 13:37
  
  I always have a good chuckle when I meet yet another VP of sales & marketing. I love the idea  in principle and startups do need to be cost savvy, but there's a reason why at the first opportunity sales and marketing are split into two roles and essentially, two camps. This may not be a very mature attitude on my part but what can I say,sales and marketing are not powered by the same motives, nor incentivised by the same results. Attempts to fix this are futile.
  While all company depart
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 4 cost considerations you can't afford to overlook when moving to SAP HANA

  29-06-2016 13:33
  
  It’s impossible to decouple SAP’s vision for the cloud from HANA, its in-memory database and computing platform. The company aims to run its core solutions on HANA, while also migrating customers to use it as a cloud, application and innovation platform. But, for current SAP customers, transitioning to HANA is a complex and expensive endeavor. Several considerations should be taken into account when making the decision to migrate:1. SAP doesn’t just want to run your enterp
  
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• Dangerous keyboard app has more than 50 million downloads

  29-06-2016 13:33
  
  The Flash Keyboard app has been downloaded more than 50 million times -- but is capable of some extremely dangerous behaviors.
  "It looked like it was a convenient keyboard that had some nice features," said Bill Anderson, chief product officer at mobile security company OptioLabs. "The marketing copy in the app store looked great."
  For a while, the app was in the top 20 downloads for the Google Play Store, he added.
  "The problem was that it asked for just about every permission that an app coul
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to get rid of the digital dust by creating a sustainable device plan

  29-06-2016 13:28
  
  Okay, let’s all face it…we all have older feature phones, flip phones, smartphones, and even our beloved Blackberry devices sitting in our office drawers or stored away in boxes or elsewhere. On average, companies replace wireless devices every 2 to 3 years and it may also shock you that many have no clear plan on what to do with the old devices. It is time to get rid of that digital dust and think about incorporating a specific policy and plan for employees. A corporate sustainabil
  
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• Wearables gone wild

  29-06-2016 13:00
  
  Wearable technology goes far beyond the wristThe ideas flowing through designers’ minds are difficult to capture. Transforming precisely what they think and draw into tangible pieces of work can be laborious and time consuming. And the artists can become frustrated when what they produce doesn’t come out exactly as they imagine it.Technology has eliminated that struggle for many designers. Through the use of multi-material 3D printers, laser cutters and digital printers that print on
  
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• Hands-on: NFC-enabled ATMs make it easy to withdraw cash with a smartphone

  29-06-2016 13:00
  
  Android Pay and Apple Pay may be picking up momentum, but cash is still relevant. So what do you do if you’re living a wallet-free life, but need to grab some paper money from the ATM? This is where NFC comes in handy. The same mobile-payments chip that you use with your smartphone at the checkout stand can be used at the ATM, too. 
  Bank of America is one of the first major banks to deploy NFC-enabled ATMs. The company currently offers some 2,800 terminals around the U
  
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• 5 steps to turning your company into a platform

  29-06-2016 13:00
  
  We can all see the future around us. Uber, Airbnb and Alibaba have all seemed to come out of nowhere to take commanding positions in their respective sectors of local transportation, hospitality and retail. Together, they and other companies that are basically network orchestrators with a digital platform are leading a revolution in business model design.
  You, as an IT leader in a traditional sector of the economy, might wonder what this revolution has to do with you and your company. Everythin
  
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• You have a deadline: Windows 10's free upgrade ends July 29

  29-06-2016 12:00
  
  The Windows 10 free upgrade ends July 29. We’ve known that for a long time, but now the deadline is looming. You have just 31 days from today to do the deed. 
  Or not. In the past month, Microsoft’s strategies for getting people to upgrade have swung from deceptive back to friendly, making it hard to know what the company will pull next as the pressure mounts. You see, Microsoft has a goal: It wants Windows 10 on 1 billion devices by 2018. It just hit 300 million in May, so ther
  
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• Review: The Huawei MateBook has class, but lacks a few features

  29-06-2016 12:00
  
  The 2-in-1 tablet-cum-laptop has been appearing in the product lines of many top vendors these days. And it's no wonder; for many, carrying a lightweight tablet along with a reasonably-good keyboard that doubles as a tablet cover can be the best of both worlds. Now Huawei, which has made itself known in the U.S. market with products such as the Nexus 6P and the Huawei Watch, has stepped into the fray with its MateBook, a 12-in. tablet that is going straight for business buyers.To read this arti
  
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• Review: MongoDB Atlas shoulders the ops burden

  29-06-2016 12:00
  
  To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Why one Cisco shop is willing to give Wi-Fi startup Mist a shot

  29-06-2016 11:19
  
  Bowdoin College’s WiFi network encompasses 550 Cisco access points and handles the wireless needs of up to several thousand people depending on how busy things are on the Brunswick, Maine campus. But CIO Mitchel Davis says this WLAN still has plenty of room to grow.
  The college over the past couple of weeks has been testing new WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy access points and accompanying cloud-based management tools from a Mountain View startup called Mist, formed by ex-Cisco WLAN big sho
  
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• Google tool lets users personalize the ads they see

  29-06-2016 07:34
  
  Google’s core business is in advertising and it insists on showing you as many ads as it can. A new tool introduced by the company gives users a modicum of choice by letting them personalize across devices what ads they see on Google and third-party sites, which may also be a bounty for advertisers who could get some more accurate targeting.The opt-in tool the company is rolling out allows users, who are logged into their account, to choose their areas of interest from a list provided, as
  
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