IT Executive news

• Intel's new Atom chips bring 4K video to VR headsets, robots

  18-08-2016 22:59
  
  In 2009, Apple CEO Tim Cook memorably trashed Atom-based netbooks for being "junky" hardware that underperformed. Intel's Atom chips have come a long way since, with the latest generation code-named Broxton boasting the most impressive improvements.The new Atom T5500 and 5700 chips have features found in low-end PC processors, but the chips are instead targeted at robots, drones, wearables, and smart home devices.A standout feature is 4K decoding and encoding capabilities, which could allow the
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why Microsoft open sourced PowerShell and ported it to Linux

  18-08-2016 22:51
  
  Microsoft has open sourced PowerShell, it’s automation tool and command line shell. That’s not all, PowerShell is also coming to Linux. The alpha release of PowerShell for Linux is available on the GitHub page; you can test it on Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS. The source of PowerShell is also available on GitHub.
  Surviving in the multi-cloud world
  Microsoft has been kind of behind the UNIX (Linux) world when it comes to feature rich command line interfaces and tools. PowerShell was Micr
  
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• A new algorithm can hide messages in your favorite dance music

  18-08-2016 22:42
  
  It's long been known that secret messages can be included in music through techniques such as backmasking, but now a Polish researcher has developed an entirely new approach. By subtly varying the tempo of a particular type of dance music, he's managed to encode information in a way that's completely inaudible to human listeners.StegIbiza is an algorithm for hiding information in a type of dance music known as Ibiza, which originates on the island by the same name in the western Mediterrane
  
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• HipChat beats Slack to the punch with group video calling

  18-08-2016 22:39
  
  It just became easier for HipChat customers to get some face time with each another whenever they want it. The company has launched new group video calling and screen sharing functionality that lets up to 10 other people share a virtual face-to-face meeting. Users can spin up a call in a HipChat channel, or bring additional people into a one-on-one video call. That way, people who work in far-flung teams can get onto the same page face-to-face, using the same software that they count o
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What is your pace as a change agent?

  18-08-2016 22:22
  
  When new leaders join organizations, they bring with them their passion and energy for business. Quite often, they see and hear many things that need to change, and change quickly. However, the best leaders understand the need to slow down and fully examine the organization, the staff and the culture before making any sweeping changes. Further, they are aware of how critical it is to get the perfect balance between their desire to move forward and the team’s need for guidance and exc
  
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• macOS Sierra's beta cadence points to October launch

  18-08-2016 22:20
  
  Apple's macOS Sierra has been on a slower tempo of preview releases than last year's El Capitan, hinting that the upgrade will launch in October.
  macOS Sierra's release tempo of developer preview builds (in green) is about two weeks behind the 2015 timetable of El Capitan (in red), hinting at a later launch this year, perhaps around mid-October.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• CIO August 2016 Digital Magazine: ERP heads for the cloud

  18-08-2016 22:14
  
  Download the CIO August 2016 Digital Magazine.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Twitter suspends 360,000 accounts for terrorist ties

  18-08-2016 21:56
  
  Twitter continues to fight to keep terrorist groups and sympathizers from using its service.
  The social network announced today that in the last six months it has suspended 235,000 accounts for violating its policies related to the promotion of terrorism. In February, Twitter reported that it had suspended 125,000 accounts since mid-2015 for terrorist-related reasons.
  That means Twitter has suspended 360,000 accounts since the middle of last year.
  "Since that [February] announcement, the world
  
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• How your contact lenses could talk to your phone

  18-08-2016 21:45
  
  Your contact lenses or a sensor implanted in your brain could some day send health updates to your smartphone and even your doctor.
  A new technology called interscatter communication that's being developed at the University of Washington would allow small devices, such as contact lenses, implantable sensors and credit cards, to communicate with everyday devices, like smartphones and smart watches.
  "Wireless connectivity for implanted devices can transform how we manage chronic diseases," said U
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Start up your privacy awareness program: Events

  18-08-2016 21:30
  
  Every comprehensive privacy program includes a formal training component. In-person classes, computer-based training and webinars are some of the ways to fill this need. Formal privacy training most often occurs once a year. However, other initiatives being promoted by your organization probably have annual training as well.
  To keep privacy top-of-mind between annual trainings, an awareness program should be created. Awareness programs use informal, unscheduled mechanisms to remind your staff a
  
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• 50% off Vimtag VT-361 Pan&Tilt HD WiFi Video Security Camera with Night Vision - Deal Alert

  18-08-2016 21:08
  
  This full-featured camera broadcasts over wifi, allowing you to view live from multiple mobile devices at once. Its footage records to micro SD where it is stored and accessible remotely as well. Remote pan/tilt/zoom, 2-way voice, motion-detection alert, and night vision capabilities are all onboard. This model averages 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 4,100 people (read reviews). Amazon indicates that its typical list price of $200 has been reduced 50% to $100.To read this article in full o
  
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• DRAM will live on as DDR5 memory is slated to reach computers in 2020

  18-08-2016 20:53
  Hardware experts believed the last DRAM would be the current DDR4, but that's not the case, with DDR5 memory now under development.Specifications for DDR5 memory will be released this year, and deployment of the DRAM will begin in 2020, according to a slide deck presented at the Intel Developer Forum this week.DDR5 DRAM will have many benefits: Users will be able to cram more memory into PCs, and applications will run faster. DDR5 memory will be denser than earlier DRAM, and also consume less po
  
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• Linium Named to the 2016 Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America for Fifth Consecutive Year

  18-08-2016 20:30 via linium.com
  
  Linium announced today that it has been named by Inc. Magazine to Inc. 5000's annual list of America's fastest-growing companies. With a 128% three-year growth rate, Linium is excited to be listed for its fifth consecutive year on an elite list which represents companies on the forefront of strategy, service, and innovation.
  
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• Sage data breach highlights the risk of the insider threat

  18-08-2016 20:19
  
  A suspect in a recent data breach at Sage, a U.K. provider of business software, has been arrested. On Wednesday, police in London detained a company employee.The 32-year-old woman was held for alleged fraud against the company, London City Police said. She has since been released on bail.It’s still unclear what information, if any, may have been leaked. However, Sage, a supplier of accounting and payroll software, began notifying customers about the breach last week.Between 200 and 300 bu
  
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• 50% off Anker Compact Car Jump Starter with USB Power Bank - Deal Alert

  18-08-2016 20:07
  
  This device from Anker is compact enough to fit in your glovebox, and powerful enough to jump start any 3L gas or 2.5L diesel engine many many times over on a single charge (Anker claims around 15 times). Surge protection and an incorrect setup alarm included for peace of mind. Almost 1,000 reviewers on Amazon rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars, reporting many successful jumps of cars, motorcycles, and giant trucks -- many with completely dead batteries (read reviews). Also includes 2 USB charging ports
  
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• MIT Media Lab sponsors hackathon pushing limits of VR and AR

  18-08-2016 20:00
  
  The MIT Media Lab is backing a hackathon on the MIT campus to promote new applications for augmented reality (AR) and virtual Reality (VR). Students from MIT and other universities, developers, designers, and video and audio engineers are invited to apply to participate in the event being held Oct. 7-10, 2016.
  The Reality, Virtually, Hackathon will stretch the amazing VR and AR advancements made and expertise gained from building popular gaming and entertainment apps into new fields such as VR/
  
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• Windows smartphone sales collapse

  18-08-2016 19:54
  
  Sales of Windows smartphones plunged 76% in the second quarter, plummeting from 8.2 million in 2015 to less than 2 million this year, researcher Gartner said today.
  The dramatic decline was more fallout from Microsoft's botched acquisition of Nokia's handset business, the writing off of more than $10 billion and the subsequent decision to back out of the consumer smartphone market.
  According to Gartner, global sales of Windows-powered smartphones in the June quarter came to just under 2 million
  
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• AT&T Mobile Share Advantage mimics T-Mobile, dropping overages in favor of throttling

  18-08-2016 19:49
  
  With AT&T’s Mobile Share Advantage, the telecom giant follows a new trend: Customers who switch to this new shared mobile plan (available August 21) will be spared bandwidth overage fees. Instead, the firm said, after available bandwidth is used up, its Mobile Share Advantage customers will be throttled to 128Kbps for the rest of the current billing cycle.
  The Mobile Share plans pool bandwith among devices that can include smartphones, feature phones, tablets, gaming devices, wea
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 9 reasons your next PC should be a Chromebook

  18-08-2016 19:43
  
  Why to buy a ChromebookImage by SwapnilIt's back-to-school time, and for many of you that means running out to buy a new PC. Here's why you should save yourself some money and buy a Chromebook instead of a Macbook or Windows PC.And if you can wait until the winter holidays to make your purchase, so much the better as Google Play support is coming to more Chromebooks, and that means millions of Android apps will be at your disposal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click
  
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• Elektrische motorfiets rijdt op data

  18-08-2016 19:27
  De STORM Wave is de eerste volledig elektrische, modulaire tourmotor ter wereld, gebouwd door een team van 23 studenten van de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e). Op 14 augustus startte hun tour om in 80 dagen elektrisch rond de wereld te rijden. Itility verzamelt alle data voor de engineers in de volgauto.De... lees meer
  
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• Meerderheid CIO’s maakt zich zorgen over toekomst

  18-08-2016 19:10
  Zeven op de tien CIO’s zijn bezorgd dat toekomstige bedrijfsgroei zwakheden in de traditionele IT-operations en -infrastructuur zal blootleggen. Ze zijn ook bezorgd dat de kennis van IT-personeel op lange termijn niet voldoende is voor het moment waarop technologie een integraal onderdeel wordt van de... lees meer
  
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• Microsoft's attempts to steal Evernote users moves to the Mac

  18-08-2016 18:46
  
  Microsoft is now giving Mac users an easy path to get their notes out of Evernote and into its OneNote note-taking service. 
  The company on Thursday announced a OneNote Importer beta, which lets users copy their notes over from one service to the other with a few clicks. 
  The importer looks for Evernote notebooks on a computer, and then prompts users to log in with either their personal Microsoft accounts or one controlled by an organization like the company they work for. After that,
  
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• T-Mobile shifts to unlimited plans in the latest bid to stand out from the competition

  18-08-2016 18:34
  
  T-Mobile is hoping to make a another splash by ditching traditional smartphone plans in favor of one, unlimited offer.
  Called T-Mobile One, the new plan charges $70 per month for the first line, $50 per month for a second, and then $20 for additional lines (stopping with eight). The plan includes unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data.
  Of course, there are caveats buried in the fine print. T-Mobile says video playback is limited to 480p, the same speed as you’d get with Binge On. Teth
  
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• Bedrijven benutten cloud-gebaseerde HR-toepassingen onvoldoende

  18-08-2016 18:23
  Organisaties die cloud computing inzetten met als doel de HR-afdeling te transformeren en alle beschikbare, relevante data bij hun besluitvorming betrekken, beperken zich vaak tot aanschaf van de noodzakelijke technologie om cloud-gebaseerde toepassingen mogelijk te maken.Een concrete visie over de toekomst van HR en... lees meer
  
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• Smartphone sales jump 4% in Q2, Gartner says

  18-08-2016 17:55
  
  Global smartphone sales jumped 4.3% in the second quarter compared to a year ago, but iPhone sales declined for the third straight quarter, market research firm Gartner said today.
  Gartner’s figures for second-quarter smartphone growth were more optimistic than numbers reported by Strategy Analytics and Canalys recently. Both had reported modest growth of no more than 3% in smartphone shipments.
  IDC last month reported second-quarter shipments were flat, growing just 0.3%.To read this art
  
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• Microsoft PowerShell goes open source and lands on Linux and Mac

  18-08-2016 17:15
  
  Sysadmins, rejoice: PowerShell is coming to Linux and Mac. Microsoft announced Thursday that its automation and scripting system is breaking out of the confines of Windows and going open source.The company is also releasing alpha versions of PowerShell for Linux (specifically Ubuntu, Centos and Redhat) and Mac OS X. A new PowerShell GitHub page gives people the ability to download binaries of the software, as well as access to the app's source code.   PowerShell on Linux and Mac w
  
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• PowerShell for Linux makes it easier to mix clients, servers and clouds

  18-08-2016 17:14
  
  Microsoft’s key, .NET-based scripting and management framework is now open source and available for Linux (initially Ubuntu, RedHat and CentOS) and Mac OS, and both cloud and traditional infrastructure companies are stepping up to support it.Open source, Linux and Mac OS announcements from Microsoft are becoming routine under CEO Satya Nadella, but making PowerShell fully open source and making it cross-platform is particularly significant — and not just because PowerShell for Linux
  
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• 6 ways to beat the back-to-school blues

  18-08-2016 17:07
  
  A close friend of mine refers to August as the "Sunday" of summer. I understand the idea a bit more keenly this year, because my son is five years old and he starts kindergarten in a few weeks. Until this point, he's been in daycare and preschool year-round, but this summer, our routines shifted. We moved to the Philadelphia suburbs, for example, and my husband took over stay-at-home-parent responsibilities while he searched for (and landed) a new software-engineering role.Now I'm wondering how
  
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• 34% off Lumsing 5 Port 40W USB Charging Station, with Quick Charge Port - Deal Alert

  18-08-2016 16:40
  
  Inexpensive, highly rated and discounted. That's the situation with this Lumsing charging station. This compact device will be the central charging hub in your dorm room, kitchen, bedroom, etc, and can charge up to 5 devices simultaneously. Each port intelligently detects your device's needs and delivers the maximum charging rate, whether its iOS, Android, or any other USB powered gadget. A quick charging port has been included for when you need an even faster charge, and Lumsing claims it can c
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: iOS 10: View two Safari windows side by side

  18-08-2016 16:39
  iOS 10 has brought some great changes to the iPad, and one of the most useful is the ability to view two web pages side by side in Safari. This is a feature that many people have looked forward to for quite a long time.It can be particularly useful for folks that blog or do other kinds of work where they need to quickly copy and paste links, text, etc from one Safari window to the other on their iPads. Without the ability to open two windows side by side, using the web for work was quite frustra
  
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• 21% off Innova 3100i Vehicle Engine & ABS Diagnostic Code Reader - Deal Alert

  18-08-2016 16:07
  
  When the "check engine" light comes on, we're left wondering what exactly is going on under the hood. With an engine code reader like this one, you can quickly find out what your vehicle is trying to tell you, and be armed with information before you rush off to a mechanic. Simply plug it in, turn on your ignition, and follow the on-screen prompts. The 3100i will show you existing problems, and can detect & display pending problems as well. Check and erase engine light codes with the push of
  
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• Uber's self-driving cars will start picking up passengers this month

  18-08-2016 16:06
  
  Uber's rushing to replace its million-plus drivers with robots, and the company's early forays towards that effort start in Pennsylvania later in August. The ride-sharing service plans to roll out self-driving cars in Pittsburgh that will accept real world passengers right from the get-go, according to Bloomberg.
  The cars, while fully autonomous, won’t be unleashed onto Pittsburgh streets without human supervision. The cars will have a specially-trained engineer ready to take the wheel sh
  
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• Microsoft Surface rumor roundup

  18-08-2016 15:57
  
   When the original Microsoft Surface debuted, no one really knew what to make of it, but that didn’t stop Microsoft from improving on its unique hybrid device year after year. The company says it has worked to hone in on what consumers and business users want from a tablet-hybrid device. And it worked, because now the Surface Pro 4 is one of the most popular hybrid tablets on the market -- so popular, in fact, that the company has started expanding its lineup of Surface devices, start
  
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• AMD's Zen CPU: 10 key things you need to know

  18-08-2016 15:30
  
  1. It’s all new. Zen is a totally new “clean-sheet” chip design and appears to be 40 percent faster than AMD’s previous CPUs. It features individual cores with SMT, instead of the shared cores with clustered multithreading of today’s AMD CPUs.
  2. It’s not a CPU. Technically Summit Ridge isn’t a CPU, but an SoC, which means there’s no chipset needed for most of the functionality. On at least one Summit Ridge demo board, we spied a chip th
  
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• Zen Q&A with AMD's CTO: 'We’re bringing competition back to high-performance x86'

  18-08-2016 15:01
  
  After being frankly astounded by AMD’s demonstration of its Zen microprocessor on Wednesday, we simply had to sit down with AMD chief technical officer Mark Papermaster to find out more. Below is our interview, lightly edited for length and clarity. (Confused by what we’re talking about? You might want to read our Zen performance report before diving in.)
  PCWorld: Wow. Leading up to this, there were a lot of doubts on the Internet about Zen’s performance, that it could be lowe
  
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• Let the CPU wars begin: AMD shows its Zen CPU can compete with Intel’s best

  18-08-2016 15:00
  
  AMD on Thursday finally unveiled its new Zen microarchitecture, with a pair of CPUs that could put the company back into the fight with Intel’s best.
  AMD said its Summit Ridge CPU, aimed at high-performance desktops, will pack 8 cores and feature simultaneous multi-threading technology to give it 16 threads of processing power. Summit Ridge is targeted for Q1 2017, though a trickle of chips could appear sooner. A second chip for servers, code-named Naples, will feature an astounding
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Healthcare interoperability research propositions of the ONC blockchain challenge

  18-08-2016 15:00
  
  The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), recently launched an initiative called the ONC Blockchain Challenge and invited healthcare and technology leaders to submit research papers to explore the "use of blockchain in Health IT and Health-released Research."I am participating in the challenge, having submitted a paper I co-authored with Jeff Brandt, an expert in mobility, se
  
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• Honor 8 is a high-end Android phone at a mid-range price

  18-08-2016 14:24
  
  Chinese device maker Huawei unveiled the new Honor 8 smartphone Monday evening during a lavish press event at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The Honor 8 is a good-looking, 5.2-inch Android smartphone aimed at the photography-loving millennial modern marketers droll over. Both sides are made of glass, surrounded by a metal bezel. And the screen takes up almost the entire front of the device, so it offers a lot of real estate.Huawei Huawei's Honor 8 smartph
  
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• How IT can limit the risk of popular messaging apps

  18-08-2016 13:51
  
  In the fight against shadow IT, CIOs have faced for more significant challenges than modern consumer messaging apps. And the popularity of apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage and Google Hangouts has, in many cases, led to a more open IT approach to consumer communication tools in enterprise. When IT leaders let employees use their personal devices for work, it's a safe assumption that multiple consumer messaging apps will also come into play. The onus is on the CIO and the I
  
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• Why a security team embraces shadow IT

  18-08-2016 13:00
  
  When you hear the phrase "getting ahead of shadow IT," it typically comes from a CIO who is implementing new technologies so that employs won’t take it upon themselves to purchase tools. But you don't expect such proactive practices from an enterprise's information security team, which a CIO often enlists to place a moat around corporate assets.
  Mike Bartholomy, Western Union's senior manager for information security
  Mike Bartholomy takes a different tack at Western Union. The financ
  
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• 20 great new features in Android 7.0 Nougat

  18-08-2016 13:00
  
  The latest changes to Google's ubiquitous mobile operating systemAndroid 7.0 Nougat is loaded with new features and refinements, each one improving upon the overall Android experience. Some changes, such as bundled notifications, are quite obvious. Then there are the less visible changes, such as a new multitasking shortcut. Follow along as we take a look at what’s new in Google’s latest mobile OS.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Video: The real story behind the H-1B visa program

  18-08-2016 12:00
  
  The vast majority of people who work in IT did everything right: They invested in their education, studied difficult subjects, kept their skills updated. They own homes, raise families and look to the future.
  But no job is safe, no future entirely secure -- something IT workers know more than most. Given their role, they are most often the change agents, the people who deploy technologies and bring in automation that can turn workplaces upside down. To survive, they count on being smart, self-r
  
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• Office, Outlook, Slack, Handoff: The digital workplace reborn

  18-08-2016 12:00
  
  "Office productivity" has meant Microsoft Office and Outlook on a Windows PC for nearly two decades, and most of us take it for granted as part of the technological woodwork. New versions of Office and Outlook long ago outstripped the functionality 99.9 percent of us need, and except for jarring UI changes like the introduction of the Ribbon in 2007, we take new versions in stride.But the digital office has undergone a fundamental, positive change in the past few years, one that should cause a r
  
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• Microsoft promises fewer forced sign-ins to Visual Studio

  18-08-2016 12:00
  
  Users of Microsoft's Visual Studio IDE no longer have to re-enter their credentials frequently, a requirement that raised the ire of developers. Now, they can stay signed in for months at a time.
  Previously, developers had to sign in every 12 hours if they were accessing Azure cloud resources, but that requirement is now gone. "This addresses the most commonly reported sign-in issue," said John Montgomery, Microsoft director of program management for Visual Studio. "The next time you&rsquo
  
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• Java EE 8 set to slip, while Java SE could move up

  18-08-2016 12:00
  
  To no one's surprise, troubled Java Enterprise Edition (EE) 8 is likely to miss its target release date of the first half of next year, minutes of a recent Java Community Process (JCP) meeting reveal. But on the bright side, editions of Java Standard Edition (SE) might now happen every year as opposed to every three years or so.
  During the Aug. 9 meeting, held via teleconference, Oracle's Anil Gaur, group vice president responsible for Java EE, said the planned release date for EE will change,
  
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• Alleged NSA data dump contain hacking tools rarely seen

  18-08-2016 02:20
  A stolen cache of files that may belong to the National Security Agency contains genuine hacking tools that not only work, but show a level of sophistication rarely seen, according to security researchers.That includes malware that can infect a device’s firmware and persist, even if the operating system is reinstalled.  “It's terrifying because it demonstrates a serious level of expertise and technical ability,” said Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, an assistant professor at New York
  
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