IT Executive news

• IDG Contributor Network: Slimming down to Essential SAFe

  22-08-2016 23:42
  
  In today's connected world, ideas can spread and like wildfire. New technologies emerge continuously and so do new processes to support them. One particular approach emerging in the past decade is the idea of scaling the agile framework to large organizations. There are many frameworks and methodologies that have emerged for scaling, including the least prescriptive, Scrum of Scrums (SoS), to more regimented frameworks, such as Large Scaled Scrum (LeSS), Disciplined Agile Delivery (DaD) and many
  
  Read more

• Many hospitals transmit your health records unencrypted

  22-08-2016 22:39
  
  About 32% of hospitals and 52% of non-acute providers -- such as outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities and physicians' offices -- are not encrypting data in transit, according to a new survey.
  Additionally, only 61% of acute providers and 48% of non-acute providers are encrypting data at rest.
  This "leaves the door wide open to potential tampering and corruption of the data, in addition to a large potential for a breach," the report stated. "If a computer, laptop, thumb drive, or backup
  
  Read more

• 25% off NETGEAR N300 Wi-Fi Range Extender, Essentials Edition - Deal Alert

  22-08-2016 22:06
  
  Convenient, discreet and easy to install, extended Wi-Fi coverage is just an outlet away with the NETGEAR N300 Wi-Fi Extender. Boost your Wi-Fi for mobile devices and connect a wired device such as Smart TVs or game consoles. Boost your existing network range & speed, delivering Wi-Fi up to 300Mbps. External antennas provide better Wi-Fi coverage and higher speed, while the convenient wall-plug design saves space. It works with any standard Wi-Fi router & is ideal for keeping your mobile
  
  Read more

• Despite billions spent on cybersecurity, companies aren’t truly safe from hacks

  22-08-2016 22:01
  
  Last year, private sector companies globally spent more than $75 billion on security software to safeguard their systems and data.
  That number is expected to grow about 7% annually, according to Gartner and other analyst firms. It doesn’t include all the massive amounts spent on fraud prevention by banks, a number that is widely underreported and expected to reach into the billions annually.
  Has all that spending made private sector data and systems any safer? Is customer personal data an
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• EFF condemns Windows 10 data collection

  22-08-2016 22:00
  
  The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is lambasting Microsoft over Windows 10's telemetry technology, urging it to "come clean" with customers.
  In a piece posted last week to the EFF's blog, Amul Kalia, the San Francisco-based advocacy organization's intake coordinator, criticized Microsoft's practice of collecting large amounts of data from Windows 10 users.
  "Windows 10 sends an unprecedented amount of usage data back to Microsoft, particularly if users opt in to 'personalize' the software
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Analytics with a strategic edge

  22-08-2016 21:59
  
  The vast majority of analytics efforts are expended on problems that are tactical in nature. That’s not necessarily wrong. Tactics get a bad rap, sometimes, but the truth is that the vast majority of decisions we make in almost any context are tactical. The problem isn’t that too much analytics is weighted toward tactical issues, it’s really that strategic decisions don’t use analytics at all. The biggest, most important decisions in the digital enterprise nearly always l
  
  Read more

• CIOs come together to tout tech innovation

  22-08-2016 21:56
  
  RANCHOS PALOS VERDES -- Evidence that IT has turned into a customer-driven enterprise abounds, as changing customer preferences continue to blur the line between the physical and digital worlds. What customers do in your retail stores they also want to do from their mobile phones. That means that the CIO role has moved from the back-office to the front-office.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Linux Foundation chief reflects on 25 years of open source

  22-08-2016 21:30
  
  "We made it. 25 years. Quite an accomplishment." Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, kick started LinuxCon NA in Toronto today with this quote.Impressive history for Linux
  On August 25, 1991, Linux Torvalds announced Linux, an OS he believed wouldn't be as popular or professional as GNU. But in 25 years, Linux has grown much bigger than expected."Linux today is the most successful software project in history," Zemlin said. "Thousands of developers creating billions of do
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Facebook renews search for elusive younger users with Lifestage

  22-08-2016 21:24
  
  Facebook is again trying to tackle one of its biggest problems and lure in elusive younger users.
  The social networking giant has released a new stand-alone app, called Lifestage, for iOS devices. It's focused on enabling young users to share videos with other people in their schools.
  Think of it as a video version of a very early stage Facebook -- and a direct competitor to Snapchat.
  The app, which is still in the testing stages and isn't yet available on Android, has one big caveat: You have
  
  Read more

• Microsoft acquires intelligent scheduling startup Genee

  22-08-2016 21:21
  
  Microsoft has acquired Genee, a startup that provided a virtual assistant for scheduling appointments. The deal, announced Tuesday, will bring the Genee team into the Microsoft fold and put them to work on bringing intelligence into Office 365. Genee's service let users loop in an artificial intelligence assistant that could interpret sentences like "set up lunch at some point this week" and turn them into calendar appointments. Acquiring Genee is part of Microsoft's ongoing crusade to
  
  Read more

• Blame it on your brain: Researchers discover why we ignore PC security warnings

  22-08-2016 21:13
  
  If you’re the type of person who absolutely hates Microsoft’s practice of downloading and installing Windows 10 security updates late at night—well, new research says you have only yourself to blame.
  A study conducted by Brigham Young University in conjunction with Google found that 90 percent of all computer users ignore security warnings and other alerts, especially while we’re busy performing some other task. In fact, being interrupted actually results in lower neural
  
  Read more

• Google Allo leaks reveal incognito chats, messaging search, and weird stickers

  22-08-2016 21:09
  
  It can’t be long before Google’s forthcoming messaging app, Allo, hits the Play Store. Not only has there been a deluge of leaks from Android Police, which has been dishing out details of an internal preview build, but video chat app Duo launched last Tuesday.
  That makes us feel like Tuesday, August 23rd may be a good day to release Allo into the wild. Here’s a roundup of everything we know so far about Google’s next bold leap into messaging.
  The story behind the st
  
  Read more

• Barbra Streisand says Apple is updating Siri on Sept. 30

  22-08-2016 21:03
  
  Memories… light the corners of AI… misty programmed memories… of how to say my name…
  Barbra Streisand has already given us so much. Some of the best chick flicks of all time, like The Prince of Tides and oh my God, The Way We Were. The term “Streisand effect.” Fifty studio albums. A fun new way to spell Barbara.
  And now she’s getting Apple to fix Siri.
  Well, a small part of Siri anyway. And she’s even told us when it’s supposedly happeni
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Why do so many business transformation initiatives fail?

  22-08-2016 20:50
  
  Some companies achieve breakthrough performance results from their transformation initiatives, but they are rare. In companies of all sizes and industries, transformation journeys have a very high degree of failure. They fail because of organizational pushback, like tissue rejection in an organ transplant. What enables the successful companies to get beyond the pushback? In working with and observing many companies trying to achieve a transformation, it’s clear to me that approach is the i
  
  Read more

• A push for the less-hackable car

  22-08-2016 20:36
  
  The auto industry now has at least a couple of “best practices” guide for cybersecurity.
  One, from the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto ISAC), was released about a month ago, generated a flurry of stories that highlighted the group’s exhortations to automakers to start building security into their software from the ground up – from design through production.
  Another is from Intel Security, which released a white paper earlier this month titled&nbs
  
  Read more

• Another day, another 4,600 lines of Linux kernel code

  22-08-2016 20:12
  
  The Linux kernel is improving faster than ever, gaining 7.8 patches per hour and 4,600 lines of new code every day.That's according to a new report published Monday by the Linux Foundation and focusing on the state of kernel development. Entitled “Linux kernel development -- how fast it is going, who is doing it, what they are doing, and who is sponsoring it,” the report is the seventh the nonprofit has published on the topic in roughly as many years.This year’s paper covers wo
  
  Read more

• LinuxCon: With open-source’s great power comes great responsibility

  22-08-2016 19:52
  
  One of the biggest Linux events of the year opened with a look at the social role of the largest open-source project in history, as well as Linux’s potential place in the history books.
  LinuxCon North America 2016 kicked off today in Toronto with keynotes from Linux Foundation director Jim Zemlin and Ainissa Ramirez, an author and former Bell Labs researcher who works to make technology accessible to the mainstream.
  +ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: 10 sci-fi technologies we are close to having + A
  
  Read more

• 44% off Cable Matters USB-C to HDMI / VGA / Ethernet / USB Multiport 4K UHD Adapter (Thunderbolt 3 Port Compatible) - Deal Alert

  22-08-2016 19:42
  
  The Cable Matters USB-C HDMI / VGA Multiport Adapter is an essential companion for a computer or tablet with USB-C. Connect to a Gigabit network, install a USB peripheral device, and connect a display with VGA or HDMI input. Plug & Play with a single USB-C port and no external drivers required.  Whether your device has a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port, you can use this adapter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
  Read more

• Android 7.0 Nougat: 6 helpful new features to try first

  22-08-2016 19:10
  
  The moment you've been waiting for since the announcement of the original beta is here, Android faithful. 
  Though you’re likely still getting used to uttering its name, Android 7.0 Nougat has been finalized. Google's latest Android operating system is ready to download and use as your daily driver. If you’re one of the many Nexus device owners using a smartphone or tablet released after the Nexus 6, you can install the update once it’s pushed to your device.To read t
  
  Read more

• Android 7.0 Nougat rollout begins for Nexus devices with LG's V20 on deck

  22-08-2016 19:00
  
  Red alert, Nexus owners: Google has announced it’s begun rolling out Android 7.0—that’s yummy, decadent Android Nougat—via over-the-air updates. The first devices to get the new operating system will be the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and Nexus 6 phones, as well as the Nexus 9 and Pixel C tablets.
  The new OS will also arrive on the Nexus Player media streamer, as well as the General Mobile 4G—that’s the Android One phone sold in Europe. Like all new Android relea
  
  Read more

• How Netgear's Orbi plans to eradicate Wi-Fi dead zones

  22-08-2016 18:01
  
  Wi-Fi dead zones suck, and worse, most current tools to eliminate them suck, too. Setting up range extenders is always a headache, and the signal they output is weaker than the Wi-Fi beamed directly from your router. Converting to a powerline adapter setup costs money and requires you to litter your house with wall warts. Wiring ethernet all over your house? C’mon now. That’s ugly and it doesn’t help deliver data to mobile devices.
  Netgear’s new $400 Orbi router aims to
  
  Read more

• IDG Contributor Network: Apple Watch 2: Who cares about cellular connectivity?

  22-08-2016 17:17
  If you’ve been following media coverage of the Apple Watch 2 you probably noticed quite a lot of blather about the possibility of the watch being able to connect to cellular networks. A cellular connection via the Apple Watch 2 has become the holy grail of some in the technology media.Bloomberg is one of the latest media outlets to try to wring some page views out of the Apple Watch 2 cellular connection drama. I’ll share my thoughts below, but here’s some of what Bloomberg had
  
  Read more

• 42% off Dell UltraSharp U3415W 34-Inch Curved LED-Lit Monitor - Deal Alert

  22-08-2016 17:07
  
  The Dell UltraSharp 34 inch Curved Monitor engages you in a new wrap-around viewing experience with a 21:9 ultra-wide curved screen that offers more display area and enhanced viewing comfort.  Easily display content from 2 different PCs at the same time with the Picture-by-Picture or Picture-in-Picture features, via the USB 3.0 upstream ports. Plus enjoy the convenience of using just one keyboard and mouse to navigate content from both PCs.To read this article in full or to leave a co
  
  Read more

• High technology: How IT is fueling the budding cannabis industry

  22-08-2016 16:00
  
  The cannabis industry is growing up, and it would be tough to imagine more convincing proof than Microsoft's recent announcement that it's getting involved.Though the software giant will stay very much in the background -- its role will focus primarily on providing Azure cloud services for a compliance-focused software push -- the move is still widely viewed as a telling sign."Having them come out and say, 'we're willing to have our name in the same sentence as the word cannabis,' adds to the le
  
  Read more

• 10 UX best practices for ecommerce success

  22-08-2016 15:12
  
  The biggest challenge for ecommerce businesses is how to convert visitors into customers. One of the best ways, assuming that you are providing great products or services that people want, is to ensure that people visiting your site can quickly and easily find what they are looking for – and then are able to buy it quickly and easily.So how can online businesses make the customer journey as pleasant and rewarding as possible? Following are 10 tips from ecommerce business owners and user ex
  
  Read more

• Castro 2 review: Podcast app for iOS keeps episode volumes down to a dull roar

  22-08-2016 15:00
  
  Competition spurs innovation, and the world of podcast apps for iOS has shown that in effect. Castro 2 ($5 in the iTunes Store) from Supertop diverges from other podcast apps, addressing the issue of managing a flood of podcast episodes and sharing episodes among other people.
  The app requires a new way of thinking about podcast listening, and I wasn’t quite sure how to use it at first. That’s a one-time learning barrier, although Castro 2 could provide more handholding. While it of
  
  Read more

• The best Android games for your Chromebook

  22-08-2016 13:00
  
  Great Android games, now on your ChromeOS laptopImage by Ryan WhitwamThe arrival of the Play Store on Chromebooks provides more productivity options, but when work is over, you can also play some cool Android games on Chrome OS now. Not all games will be suited to a Chromebook—not Chromebooks have touchscreens, and some games don't even run. We've gone through the Play Store to find ten fantastic games that will be perfect for your Chromebook, and here they are.To read this article in full
  
  Read more

• 8 tips for keeping your data safe with Identity and Access Management

  22-08-2016 13:00
  
  Safe and soundImage by ThinkstockNew web applications are making their way into the workplace at an unprecedented rate. By 2017, enterprises are projected to rely on an average of 52 cloud applications at work, leaving employees with a pool of credentials to keep track of. If you don’t take the necessary precautions to keep your credentials secure, your accounts and data are at risk of being compromised. With these tips for good password hygiene and deploying an identity and access managem
  
  Read more

• Why Google plans to stop supporting your Chromebook after five years

  22-08-2016 12:30
  
  One of the best things about Chromebooks is that they’re built to last. Thanks to automatic security and feature updates from Google, along with a lightweight browser-based operating system, longtime users may find that their laptops run as well, if not better, than they did on day one.
  But despite Chromebooks’ theoretical longevity, it’s possible for Google to cut their lives short. Per the company’s End of Life policy, Chromebooks and other Chrome OS devices are only e
  
  Read more

• Master Class: How to drive digital transformation in IT and throughout the organization (with podcast)

  22-08-2016 12:30
  
  IT leaders in companies of every size and speciality are under pressure these days to digitally transform their organizations in order to move closer to the customer and grow the business.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• 6 tools for producing a great mobile app experience

  22-08-2016 12:23
  
  Mobile app performance management (APM) software provides visibility into mobile app performance and helps pinpoint and resolve issues that affect end-user experience. It typically provides crash reporting, network monitoring and user interaction monitoring to keep users active and satisfied with the app.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
  Read more

• Spire review: Keep calm and carry on with this beautiful breath-tracking device

  22-08-2016 12:00
  
  Fitness trackers are a dime a dozen, but devices that focus on your mind instead of body are typically overlooked—mental health is incredibly personal and can be difficult to define, which makes it even harder to measure. That’s what makes Spire, a breath -tracking device that aims to curb stress, stand out. This device was released in 2014 but got a boost this summer with an Apple Store retail presence and an overhauled iOS app, so I decided to give the company-described “min
  
  Read more

• Automate, integrate, collaborate: Devops lessons for security

  22-08-2016 12:00
  
  Enterprise security pros are often seen as heavy-handed gatekeepers obsessed with reducing risk. They'd rather be viewed as enablers who help the organization complete tasks and gain access to needed data.
  To make that transformation, security teams must become faster, more efficient, and more adaptable to change. That sounds a lot like devops.[ Also on InfoWorld: 19 open source GitHub projects for security pros. | Discover how to secure your systems with InfoWorld's Security newsletter. ]
  Inde
  
  Read more

• Amazon Tap review: A disappointing follow-up to a great smart-home device

  22-08-2016 12:00
  
  When we reviewed the Amazon Echo last year, we hailed it as the best home-based voice-controlled product at the consumer level. It’s become even more versatile and powerful since then. It can control your home’s smart lighting, lock your smart lock, play music, provide weather forecasts, order a pizza, and more. This affordable, always-on personal assistant can manage not only your home, but much of your digital life. It’s so useful, we predicted many folks would want more tha
  
  Read more

• Western Union gaat de cloud in met Box

  22-08-2016 11:51
  Financieel dienstverlener Western Union is overgegaan naar het content management platform van cloud-provider Box om data te centraliseren en de manier van werken te stroomlijnen.Western Union heeft zo de samenwerking in de cloud tussen zowel interne medewerkers onderling en met externe zakelijke contacten verbeterd.... lees meer
  
  Read more

• Windows 10 browser beatdown: Who’s got the edge?

  22-08-2016 11:47
  
  Not all web browsers are created equal. In fact, it might startle you a little to realize how diverse the range of top-end browser software has become, if you came of age in the era of “Internet Explorer or go home.”
  With about a third of all Windows traffic on the web coming from Windows 10 installs, according to figures from U.K.-based analytics firm GoSquared, and with Microsoft distancing itself from Internet Explorer in favor of the Edge just as fast as it can, it seems like as
  
  Read more

• How to get your network and security teams working together

  22-08-2016 10:46
  
  It's not surprising that network and security teams aren't always on the same page. After all, networks need to be fast and efficient, while security is about slowing things down and implementing extra steps to help meet security measures. While both teams are a part of the IT department, and need to work together in the event of a breach, each group has its own objectives and expectations. But when a data breach or security threat strikes, businesses need both teams working together to help get
  
  Read more

• Why liberal arts degrees are valuable in tech

  22-08-2016 10:31
  
  In a technology-driven, increasingly digital world, you might think you need a computer science, engineering, technology, mathematics or other degree to succeed.Turns out that's far from the truth.
  Arijit Sengupta, CEO of advanced analytics firm BeyondCore, holds a bachelor of science in computer science and a bachelor of arts in economics and fell one class short of having a minor in dance. He brings elements of all three to his daily work with BeyondCore, and some of the most valuable lessons
  
  Read more

• ARM has a new weapon in race to build world's fastest computers

  22-08-2016 09:05
  
  ARM conquered the mobile market starting with Apple's iPhone, and now wants to be in the world's fastest computers.A new ARM chip design being announced on Monday is targeted at supercomputers, a lucrative market in which the company has no presence. ARM's new chip design, which has mobile origins, has extensions and tweaks to boost computing power.The announcement comes a few weeks after Japanese company Softbank said it would buy ARM for a mammoth US$32 billion. With the cash, ARM is expected
  
  Read more

• Millennials sceptical of security and less savvy than baby-boomers

  22-08-2016 08:10
  
  Millennials are less cyber security savvy than baby-boomers at home and at work, according to a survey.
  Nearly half of 18 to 24 year olds keep the same password for all their accounts on personal devices compared with a fifth of those aged 55 and over and just over a quarter of millennials use the same password for all of their work accounts compared to just 8 per cent of baby-boomers.
  The survey of more than 1,300 online users across Australia and New Zealand by IT security firm ESET, also fou
  
  Read more

Follow @ITExecutiveNews on Twitter!