IT Executive news

• These solar road panels could turn our world into Tron

  01-07-2016 21:14
  
  Solar Roadways believes the road ahead should be paved with solar panels. The Idaho startup makes hexagonal solar panels that it's trying to get installed on U.S. roads. The goal is to generate enough energy to power homes and businesses, and the panels can even light up to display programmable road markings.
  It's a lofty idea but the company has gained some early support. Solar Roadways has completed three rounds of testing with the U.S. Department of Transportation and in 2014 it raised over $
  
  Read more

• New Satana ransomware encrypts user files and master boot record

  01-07-2016 20:00
  
  Attackers are developing an aggressive new ransomware program for Windows machines that encrypts user files as well as the computer's master boot record (MBR), leaving devices unable to load the OS.The program is dubbed Satana -- meaning "Satan" in Italian and Romanian -- and, according to researchers from security firm Malwarebytes, it is functional but still under development.Satana is the second ransomware threat affecting the MBR and seems inspired by another program, Petya, that appeared in
  
  Read more

• Zend PHP framework upgrade focuses on performance, middleware

  01-07-2016 19:41
  
  Zend Framework, a collection of PHP packages for building web applications, has been upgraded to version 3. The new version provides dramatic increases in performance and a microframework for middleware development, Zend said.
  Version 3 has been measured to be as much as four times faster with PHP 5 -- and it's even better than that with PHP 7, the latest version of the server-side scripting language, said Rogue Wave's Matthew Weir O'Phinney, project lead for Zend Framework. (There was no PHP 6
  
  Read more

• Firmware exploit can defeat new Windows security features on Lenovo ThinkPads

  01-07-2016 19:33
  A newly released exploit can disable the write protection of critical firmware areas in Lenovo ThinkPads and possibly laptops from other vendors as well. Many new Windows security features, like Secure Boot, Virtual Secure Mode and Credential Guard, depend on the low-level firmware being locked down.The exploit, dubbed ThinkPwn, was published earlier this week by a researcher named Dmytro Oleksiuk, who did not share it with Lenovo in advance. This makes it a zero-day exploit -- an exploit for wh
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tesla-SolarCity merger could be fraught with danger -- and big potential

  01-07-2016 19:19
  
  On the surface, a merger between Tesla Motors and SolarCity looks like a winner: They have a similar customer base, use each other's manufacturing facilities and technologies -- and of course, there's the family ties.
  Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk is also the co-founder and chairman of SolarCity, which is run by fellow co-founder and CEO Lyndon Rive and his brother, CTO Peter Rive -- both of them Musk's cousins. Musk owns 22% of SolarCity's stock and 21% of Tesla.
  "In my personal opinion, thi
  
  Read more

• CIO June/July 2016 Digital Magazine: These CIOs mean business

  01-07-2016 19:18
  
  Download the CIO June/July 2016 Digital Magazine.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: 7 ways to cut costs on your content marketing strategy without sacrificing quality

  01-07-2016 18:50
  
  Content marketing may be nearing peak popularity. Businesses everywhere are turning toward the marketing strategy as a way to make their businesses more visible and more reputable. Much of content marketing’s popularity is due to its impressive return on investment (ROI); you can get started without a heavy investment, and technically, you can get by with only an investment of time. Over the course of months and years, you’ll see a bigger and bigger return — but it’s all
  
  Read more

• Use Apache Spark? This tool can help you tap machine learning

  01-07-2016 18:28
  
  Finding insight in oceans of data is one of enterprises' most pressing challenges, and increasingly AI is being brought in to help. Now, a new tool for Apache Spark aims to put machine learning within closer reach.Announced on Friday, Sparkling Water 2.0 is a major new update from H2O.ai that's designed to make it easier for companies using Spark to bring machine-learning algorithms into their analyses. It's essentially an API (application programming interface) that lets Spark users tap H2O's o
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Microsoft squanders browser dominance in record time

  01-07-2016 18:22
  
  An estimated 33 million users deserted Microsoft's browsers last month, pushing the Redmond, Wash. company's browser strategy ever closer to the edge of irrelevancy, according to analytics data published today.
  Internet Explorer (IE) and Edge combined to account for 36.7% of the global user share -- a stand-in for the number of desktop and notebook PC owners who ran those browsers -- in June, according to U.S.-based metrics vendor Net Applications. June's IE number was down 1.9 percentage point
  
  Read more

• Intel tunes its mega-chip for machine learning

  01-07-2016 18:15
  
  Intel wants to take on Google's Tensor Processing Unit and Nvidia's GPUs in machine learning computing with improvements to its Xeon Phi mega-chips.The company will add new features to Xeon Phi to tune it for machine learning, said Nidhi Chappell, director of machine learning at Intel. Machine learning, a trendy technology, allows software to be trained to do tasks like image recognition or data analysis more efficiently. Intel didn't disclose when the new features will be added, but the ne
  
  Read more

• Facebook looks to break language barriers with new translation tool

  01-07-2016 18:01
  
  Facebook is taking a major step in helping users around the world connect with more people by helping them share their posts and comments in multiple languages.
  The world's largest social network announced today that its own developers have built a multilingual composer. A user test of the service will begin today.
  The tool enables users to compose a single post that will appear in multiple languages. Other users will see that post in their preferred language.
  "People use Facebook to share info
  
  Read more

• Facebook's beefing up its huge army of Messenger bots as Google and Amazon catch up

  01-07-2016 17:53
  
  The bot revolution is happening fast for Facebook. After launching third-party bots in April offering everything from forecasts to your boarding pass, the social network says there are now more than 11,000 bots active on Facebook.
  To celebrate, Facebook is adding a bunch of new features that could show up on your favorite bots soon—if developers enable them, that is.Persistent menu
  Persistent menus for the Poncho bot on Facebook Messenger.To read this article in full or to leave a co
  
  Read more

• Why unpaid internships are underrated

  01-07-2016 17:52
  
  My doctor is training an intern and we started chatting and sharing stories. A lot of kids come out of school and are given the opportunity for a free internship and turn it down because they want to be paid. This is tactical thinking because those that have the intern experience, once a job does open up, are in far better shape for that job than someone that has done something unrelated for that same period.Let’s talk about interns this week.The importance of experience
  There are virtuall
  
  Read more

• Big Brother is listening as well as watching

  01-07-2016 17:14
  
  In a world of ubiquitous security cameras, most people know by now that some form of Big Brother – government or private – is watching them. But they are less likely to know that in some areas, he is also listening.
  While it is not yet widespread, audio surveillance is increasingly being used on parts of urban mass transit systems.
  That is the bad news, in the view of privacy advocates. But the good news is that public awareness can, at least in some cases, curtail it.
  This past wee
  
  Read more

• Study reveals security gap in big data projects

  01-07-2016 17:12
  
  Ideally, the ultimate output of big-data analysis can provide a company with a valuable competitive advantage. But those results aren’t getting much additional security, according to an IDG Enterprise study of big-data initiatives.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: How to improve the budgeting, planning and forecasting process

  01-07-2016 16:36
  
  June is often the beginning of a new fiscal year. The annual plan is typically approved by the board before the summer holidays, the accountants were barely able to close the books and it is time for the first monthly forecast for the coming year. Everything seems in order, but the same complex forecasting spreadsheets are being converted to a new fiscal year, stale metrics are being calculated and lengthy instructional emails are being readied to be sent throughout the company. Worse yet, compa
  
  Read more

• Hillary Clinton's tech agenda draws cheers from IT industry

  01-07-2016 15:32
  
  Leading tech groups hailed the release of Hillary Clinton's agenda for promoting technology and innovation, praising the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's focus on issues like cybersecurity and her acknowledgement that the industry is vital to the nation's economic prosperity.[ Related: Obama, Zuckerberg push better broadband, innovative startups ]Clinton's "initiative on technology and innovation" comes as the most detailed elucidation of a technology platform from a major president
  
  Read more

• Is this the future of Windows 10 Mobile? NuAns is pitching its Neo phone on Kickstarter

  01-07-2016 15:27
  
  Does the world want another Windows phone? With Lumia device sales in free fall, common sense would suggest, “no.” Nevertheless, Japanese company NuAns is gauging interest via Kickstarter to see if users outside of Japan want to buy its Windows 10 Mobile device, the Neo.
  The company is hoping to raise at least $750,000 with backers pledging $250 or more to get their hands on the handset. The Neo was originally launched in Japan in late 2015 as a $300 phone.To read this article in fu
  
  Read more

• BMW teams up with Intel, Mobileye to make a self-driving car by 2021

  01-07-2016 15:00
  
  BMW wants to make a completely autonomous car called iNEXT, suited for both city streets and highways, by 2021.For that, the German car maker is teaming up with Intel and Mobileye, which will provide the underlying technology for the iNEXT to roam streets without human assistance.The iNEXT model is the first in a range of fully autonomous vehicles planned by the automaker. BMW is betting self-driving cars will be widely used as automated taxis and in ride-sharing services. Uber already has
  
  Read more

• Scrutiny of Google's tax liabilities intensifies with Spanish raid

  01-07-2016 14:39
  
  Spain has joined the scrum of tax authorities examining Google's accounts to see if the company has paid all that it should.A team of 35 inspectors from Agencia Tributaria, the Spanish tax authority, raided Google offices on two sites in Madrid on Thursday, according to Spanish newspaper El País. The authority requested court approval for the raid on Tuesday, the report said.They were investigating the tax liabilities of Google's subsidiaries in Spain and Ireland, through which the compan
  
  Read more

• Brown University offers Ivy League CISO creds

  01-07-2016 14:35
  
  Freshly minted CISOs as well as other mid-career professionals with a need for a broad grounding in cybersecurity can get an advanced degree in the topic through a new program at Brown University.
  The Executive Master in Cybersecurity set to launch in October is a 16-month program to instruct students in technology, law and policy, human behavior, and leadership-skills development. “What the industry is crying out for is interdisciplinary training,” says Alan Usas, the program direc
  
  Read more

• watchOS 3: Why does Minnie get more outfits than Mickey?

  01-07-2016 14:00
  
  watchOS 3 has many fine new features, but one of the most long awaited changes is the addition of a Minnie Mouse watch face. Mickey Mouse has had his own watch face since the very beginning of the Apple Watch, and it only seems right for Minnie to get her day in the sun.But Apple may have overcompensated when it added the Minnie Mouse watch face. The company has offered a huge range of color options for Minnie Mouse, thus giving her many different outfits to choose from in her watch face.You can
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: watchOS 3: Why does Minnie get more outfits than Mickey?

  01-07-2016 14:00
  
  watchOS 3 has many fine new features, but one of the most long awaited changes is the addition of a Minnie Mouse watch face. Mickey Mouse has had his own watch face since the very beginning of the Apple Watch, and it only seems right for Minnie to get her day in the sun.
  But Apple may have overcompensated when it added the Minnie Mouse watch face. The company has offered a huge range of color options for Minnie Mouse, thus giving her many different outfits to choose from in her watch face.
  You
  
  Read more

• Is the 'rugged' Galaxy S7 Active worth an extra $100?

  01-07-2016 13:30
  
  Samsung and AT&T this month released the latest "ruggedized" Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S7 (GS7) Active. The new phone is nearly identical to the "regular" GS7, with a few key differences. It's designed to stand up to more abuse than its sleeker, more delicate GS7 and GS7 edge counterparts. It has a bigger battery and an additional customizable side button, along with some other design departures. The Active version also costs $100 more than the base GS7.
  Here's how to tell if the toughe
  
  Read more

• How to contract for outsourcing agile development

  01-07-2016 13:00
  
  Agile software development methodologies are hardly new. But figuring out a way to adequately contract for them in IT outsourcing deal is.“Under traditional contracting approaches, there is an assumption that the development team can define, with some specificity, the ultimate ‘thing’ to be created supported by a detailed project plan and key milestones tied to client acceptance and financial payment triggers,” says Derek J. Schaffner, attorney in the Washington, D.C. off
  
  Read more

• What security pros can learn from the networking team

  01-07-2016 12:52
  
  No need to fightImage by Flickr/Peretz Partensky/REMIXEDIt's a familiar scenario: your security team wants—needs—to lock down part of your enterprise's network. And yet the network team resists you at every turn. Don't they understand that security is paramount? Do they want to get hacked?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
  Read more

• June's powerful new PC hardware: The dawn of a glorious future

  01-07-2016 12:30
  Staring into the futureImage by Brad ChacosIn a year that’s already been flat-out fantastic for hot new PC hardware, June nevertheless managed to set a new high-water mark.How could it not? This month brought the arrival of fresh chips from both Intel and AMD, the introduction of PCs you wear on your back (seriously), and the glorious rekindling of the graphics card war with a new generation of cutting-edge GPUs. Oh, and a couple major events called Computex and E3. You might have hea
  
  Read more

• Beach reads for techies 2016

  01-07-2016 12:30
  
  Summertime, and the reading is easy Image by ThinkstockThere’s something about summer -- with its longer days, warmer weather and (hopefully) lighter workloads -- that tempts people to slow down, stretch out and enjoy a good book.For IT types, that often means catching up on some of the best business and technology books out there.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
  Read more

• Jeremiah Grossman: Focus on ransomware, SDLC, and endpoints

  01-07-2016 12:00
  
  With so many elements in information security -- application, network infrastructure, the endpoint, perimeter defenses, and data-centric approaches -- it's easy to fall in the trap of touting one as more important than the other. But it's a mistake to consider information security as a series of silos when it's actually an intersection of different areas. That overlap is most evident with application and endpoint security.
  For Jeremiah Grossman, the new chief security strategist at security ven
  
  Read more

• Best movies for celebrating the Fourth of July

  01-07-2016 12:00
  
  The Fourth of July, Independence Day, celebrates our country’s rebellion from tyrannical rule, and our establishment of a system of government by the people, for the people, and of the people. Though we often take it for granted, our country—for all its flaws—bestows more rights and freedoms on its citizens than anywhere else in the world. Here are 12 movies that remind us what we’re celebrating.
  Each of these patriotic films demonstrates the ideals and the spirit that m
  
  Read more

• HPE has won $3 billion in a lawsuit against Oracle

  01-07-2016 02:59
  
  Hewlett Packard Enterprise has been awarded $3 billion in a lawsuit it brought against Oracle five years ago over a now largely forgotten Intel processor.The two sides had been fighting over Oracle's decision to stop developing versions of its software for Intel's Itanium, a server chip that never found much success in the market. After the jury verdict Thursday, Oracle said it planned to appeal.It's Oracle's second big court loss in as many months. In May, a jury rejected Oracle's claim th
  
  Read more

• Tesla's autopilot is being investigated after a fatal crash

  01-07-2016 01:41
  Federal regulators are investigating Tesla's autopilot feature after a fatal crash involving a tractor trailer and one of its Model S cars.The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the investigation after a man was killed while driving a Model S with the self-driving mode engaged."This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated," Tesla said in a statement Thursday. It called the incident a "tragic loss."The car was on a divi
  
  Read more

• BrandPost: Data is Currency, Invest Wisely

  01-07-2016 01:07
  
  Today enterprises accumulate data at ever-rising volumes and ever-rising velocities. Whether you’re talking about data from corporate systems, the Internet of Things, or social media, the flow never stops. While it brings its share of challenges, this constant stream is actually a good problem to have. There is intrinsic value in all of those bits and bytes.
  I like to think of data in financial terms: as information capital. It’s the key to becoming competitive and driving long-term
  
  Read more

• This mobile Trojan from China fills your phone with porn apps

  01-07-2016 00:50
  
  Malware that secretly installs porn apps on your phone is infecting devices by the millions, becoming the world’s largest mobile Trojan.The malware, called "Hummer," is a family of Trojans that imitate Android apps before striking, according to Cheetah Mobile, a maker of security and utility apps.The company’s researchers have been tracking Hummer since 2014. It's been infecting more than 1 million devices per day, far outpacing other kinds of mobile Trojans, the company said in a po
  
  Read more

• BrandPost: Declare Independence From Legacy ERP

  01-07-2016 00:19
  
  You are no longer beholden to an ERP system that doesn’t meet your manufacturing business requirements—having to apply patches, customizations, or fixes to get it to work the way you require. No longer do you need to budget time and money for costly upgrades, and still feel like you are constantly falling behind on functionality. Stop purchasing more and more hardware to house your growing system.
  It’s time to declare independence from legacy ERP.
  Free Yourself with Cloud Manu
  
  Read more

• Eyefi leaves some card owners stranded, highlighting IoT hazards

  01-07-2016 00:16
  
  Older networked flash cards from Eyefi will become the next IoT devices to effectively die in consumers’ hands when the company cuts off support for older models in September.
  Eyefi's cards store data like other SD cards but also include a Wi-Fi radio so users can send photos straight from a camera to their laptop or phone. When Eyefi's first card went on sale in 2007, it already had some of the qualities of what’s now called an IoT device: It was remarkably small and had no display
  
  Read more

Follow @ITExecutiveNews on Twitter!