IT Executive news

• Apple advises immediate update to iOS 9.3.5 after discovery of targeted iPhone spyware

  25-08-2016 23:52
  Apple released an update to iOS 9 on Thursday—iOS 9.3.5—that patches multiple critical zero-day vulnerabilities that have been shown to already have been deployed, allegedly by governments to target activists and dissidents, according to a report from Citizen Lab and Lookout Security. Apple turned around an update within 10 days from when the company received Citizen Lab’s initial report. The update is recommended immediately for all iOS 9 devices. 
  When used togethe
  
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• Apple may be too late to make a big social impact

  25-08-2016 22:18
  
  Amid reports that Apple is working on a social app, if not an outright foray into a social network, analysts wonder whether the company is already too far out of the social loop to make a difference.
  "Apple would have to come up with a very solid social app in order to compete with what's available today," said Dan Olds, an analyst with OrionX. "Even with Apple's very large installed base of users, I think it would be very difficult for Apple to compete head-on with Facebook, Twitter or Google.
  
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• Apple patches iOS security flaws found in spyware targeting activist

  25-08-2016 21:55
  
  To spy on a human rights activist, hackers allegedly connected to a Middle Eastern government used three previously unknown vulnerabilities in Apple’s iOS.The claims -- from research at Toronto-based Citizen Lab and mobile security firm Lookout -- focus on spyware that targeted Ahmed Mansoor, an activist in the United Arab Emirates.Earlier this month, Mansoor received an SMS text message on his iPhone claiming to offer “new secrets” about tortured detainees in his country. Howe
  
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• Linux turns 25: Containers, cloud and IoT present new opportunities

  25-08-2016 21:38
  
  After a quarter of a century, there are plenty of opportunities for Linux to grow -- but there are still challenges ahead. Where next for the open source project?
  "Linux has a substantial opportunity in new technology segments, such as IoT, containers and cloud, but also in the industry segments that sometimes take time to adapt and evolve," says Frank Fanzilli, director of The Linux Foundation and former Global CIO for Credit Suisse First Boston.
  He adds that in the mid-term challenges could e
  
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• Apple patches iOS against potent zero-day spyware attack

  25-08-2016 21:33
  
  Apple is issuing patches for three iOS zero-day vulnerabilities known as Trident that have been exploited for years by an Israel-based spyware vendor against a human rights activist, an investigative journalist and others.
  The attack, called Pegasus, is flexible, letting attackers steal a broad range of data from iPhones and iPads, according to the firms that discovered it.
  “In this case, the software is highly configurable: depending on the country of use and feature sets purchased by th
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Do you need a wolf or a peacemaker?

  25-08-2016 21:10
  
  A good crisis brings out the Wolf.Were you hit with a set of regulatory findings? Is your product launch significantly behind schedule? Did a power outage knock your mission-critical systems offline? CIOs in crisis are a dream client for the wolves of consulting. Hourly rates are not discounted. You can fill a consultant logo bingo card if you stand at the security desk long enough. It gets crowded and it gets rough when you are jockeying for position.The problem is that these situations ra
  
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• Informatica CEO: 'Data security is an unsolved problem'

  25-08-2016 20:26
  
  Companies today are awash in data, but current tools and processes are not enabling them to keep it secure.That's according to Informatica CEO Anil Chakravarthy, whose says his company -- which has traditionally focused on data management and integration -- is embarking on a major push to go further into data security."You hear about breaches all the time -- just imagine all the ones you're not hearing about," Chakravarthy said in a recent interview. "Data security today is an unsolved problem f
  
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• 12 most powerful hyperconverged infrastructure vendors

  25-08-2016 19:50
  
  For organizations that want the agility of public cloud infrastructure but want the security and peace of mind of hosting the hardware on their own premises, hyperconverged infrastructure has emerged as a dominant hardware platform for hosting private clouds, virtual desktops and new application development environments.
  Over the past five years the hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) market has evolved out of its preceding converged infrastructure (CI). Like CI, HCI’s foundational elemen
  
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• Here's how the Xbox One S stacks up to the original

  25-08-2016 19:44
  
  Microsoft launched the Xbox One S earlier this month, revitalizing its current-generation console lineup with some new features. Here's how it stacks up against the previous version.The Xbox One S is 40 percent smaller than its predecessor and is built to stand on its side, unlike the Xbox One. It also packs support for 4K streaming video, and 4K Blu-Ray playback, but not native 4K gaming.Here's the bottom line: It's a big upgrade from the Xbox 360, and possibly worthwhile for people who ne
  
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• 50% off Sennheiser PC 363D High Performance Surround Sound Gaming Headset - Deal Alert

  25-08-2016 19:25
  
  Combining Sennheiser headphone and microphone engineering with Dolby Laboratory 7.1 surround sound techhologies takes gaming to another dimension. Sennheiser's technology angles the drivers in the ear cups channeling the sound directly into your ears. This improves sonic detail, definition and dynamics. Dolby's 7.1 technology comes via a USB sound card providing headphone control and remarkable spacial effects letting you accurately pin point sounds with 3D like dimensionality. Averaging 4.
  
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• 12 tips to help SMBs select and manage vendors

  25-08-2016 18:17
  
  Picking good suppliers and partners is critical to your company’s success, especially a smaller, growing business. Pick a vendor that is difficult to work with, doesn’t provide a service as promised, isn’t there when you need help and/or hits you with hidden fees, and your company could be in serious trouble.So what steps can you take to help ensure you don’t wind up in a bad business relationship? Here are 12 strategies for selecting the right business partners and suppl
  
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• Intel spreads 3D NAND to inexpensive consumer and enterprise SSDs

  25-08-2016 18:05
  
  Intel is expanding its lineup of SSDs with its 3D NAND chips with more affordable consumer and enterprise drives.The 3D NAND chips have a structure that makes SSDs durable and fast but was only available in a handful of drives. The new SSDs support the NVMe protocol, which offers faster throughput than the SATA controller originally designed for hard drives.The new SSDs include entry-level consumer drives starting under US$100. Gamers may want to wait, however, until Intel releases its craz
  
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• Cisco: U.S. Trade Rep. backing Arista product import ban

  25-08-2016 17:52
  
  The knives are out again between Cisco and Arista over their patent clash. Cisco this week said the US Trade Representative has begun the import ban as well as the cease and desist order covering Arista products imposed by the International Trade Commission in June.
  +More on Network World: Arista infringes on Cisco networking patents, trade agency says+
  According to a blog post from Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Cisco, the current action which took effec
  
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• Windows 10 troubleshooting and fixes revisited

  25-08-2016 17:45
  
  Long before the Windows 10 Anniversary Update appeared, it was obvious that Microsoft was putting more energy and effort into its troubleshooting tools. These are readily available by typing "trouble" into Cortana (or the search box, if you prefer) and then selecting the Troubleshooting (Control panel) result. What I didn't know at the time was that the future of Windows 10 didn't include fix-its.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• 31% off Logitech Harmony Smart Control with Smartphone App and Simple All In One Remote - Deal Alert

  25-08-2016 17:18
  
  The Logitech Harmony Smart Control systems turns you smartphone or tablet into a one-touch universal remote. Now you can control your entire entertainment system with the smartphone or tablet you already own. The Harmony Hub combined with a powerful app give you personalized control of up to 8 devices and works with over 270,000 devices including cable TV boxes, Apple TV, Roku, Sonos, Amazon Fire TV, Phillips Hue, Xbox One, PS3, and TV-connected PC or Mac—even through closed cabinets
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Simplify to get clarity in the shifting spectrum of IoT value propositions

  25-08-2016 17:15
  
  Twenty-five times revenue speaks volumes about value. That’s what SoftBank will pay to acquire ARM Holdings based on the promise that the Internet of Things (IoT) will make microprocessors ubiquitous. Verizon Communications, a leading provider of IoT connectivity to all markets, is spending $2.4 billion to buy Fleetmatics in an apparent pivot to a vertical IoT market. After investing over a billion dollars developing and marketing its Predix platform, IoT bellwether GE is moving to Mi
  
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• HP's new privacy protecting laptop screen thwarts would-be spies

  25-08-2016 17:14
  HP just introduced a new technology to fight back against the feeling that somebody’s watching you.
  HP’s EliteBook 1040 and EliteBook 840 laptops now have an option to add a new one-touch solution called SureView that combats what the company calls “visual hacking.” SureView was developed with 3M privacy technology, and HP first showed off the technology during CES in January.
  To call this activity “hacking”, however, is a bit of a stretch. What we’re r
  
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• Hot skills driven by VR, machine learning

  25-08-2016 17:06
  
  Free catered lunch and a dog-friendly office are two of the perks offered by an educational technology company in Palo Alto, Calif., that’s looking to hire a machine learning engineer. The position, posted on Dice, will pay between $140,000 and $160,000 to the right candidate who’s skilled in machine learning platforms as well as data mining, statistical modeling, and natural language processing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why Arianna Huffington leaving the Huffington Post is good for company culture

  25-08-2016 16:50
  
  It’s always a big deal when a businessperson steps down from a leadership role of a company they helped build — particularly if that company bears their name.So it is with Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post. She’s been with the Post for 11 years now but will leave the publication in the coming weeks to focus on the next challenge: her startup Thrive Global.
  “I really thought I could do both,” Huffington said, “but as we started building [Thr
  
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• So your company’s been hacked: How to handle the aftermath

  25-08-2016 16:36
  
  After a company has been hacked and the hack has been discovered to be a harmful one, top executives and IT leaders normally huddle in a room to assess the loss.
  It's usually not a pretty scene.
  It's not as if heads are exploding. It is more like what some might call a tense "come to Jesus" moment.
  "It's not good," said cyber security expert Tyler Cohen Wood. She's participated in post-hack forensics sessions at companies and has witnessed the faces of panicked executives firsthand.Inspired eLe
  
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• Facebook will use Whatsapp users' personal data to target ads

  25-08-2016 16:26
  Two years after its acquisition by Facebook, WhatsApp is changing its privacy policy to allow it to share more information about its mobile app users with its owner.There's no risk of your WhatsApp messages appearing on your Facebook timeline, or status updates being sent to your WhatsApp friends, the companies say -- but they will be sharing more user data behind the scenes in order to better target advertising and suggest new contacts across the two services.WhatsApp has long promoted itself a
  
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• CIO Career Coach: How to build your professional brand (video)

  25-08-2016 15:33
  
  Welcome to the second episode of "CIO Career Coach," a video series I created with CIO.com and IDG.tv, the video division of CIO's parent company, IDG.In Episode No. 1, I talked about the signs that it is time to leave your current job. In Episode No. 2, we examine how to build your professional brand.When thinking through how to find your next great IT leadership position, if we use the metaphor of selling a product, and you are the product, then your product needs a brand.To read thi
  
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• Trying to make sense of Google's messaging mess

  25-08-2016 14:06
  
  Google appears to finally be trying to clarify its strategies for communication and messaging. However, the company determined it needs more messaging apps — not fewer apps. By the end of this year, Google will maintain at least eight different messaging apps, including Hangouts, Google Messenger, Google Chat, Google Voice, the Jibe rich communication services (RCS) app for carriers, Allo, Duo and the Spaces group-sharing app. Following the early August release of Duo, a new one-to-on
  
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• Sexism is dead! Phew!

  25-08-2016 14:04
  
  We all can breathe a collective sigh of relief, because sexism is dead. So says 56 percent of men in a recent Pew Center Research Poll.
  Yup, that's right.Just ask men. Because when you ask women, they clearly give the "wrong" answer; 63% of women surveyed think that sexism is still a problem, according to the research.
  But what do they know? I mean, women can't even answer simple job interview questions -- according to this Breitbart poll from July which asserts (really! It's in the headline!) t
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Will Facebook force autoplaying video ads with sound on iOS users?

  25-08-2016 14:00
  
  Facebook has been getting more aggressive with its advertising lately, even daring to try to get around ad blockers on its web site. But now the company is experimenting with forcing iOS users to experience autoplaying video ads with sound.Roger Fingas reports for Apple Insider:
  Facebook on Tuesday began a limited test of new video autoplay technology for its mobile app, including a version that begins playing audio automatically as a person scrolls past a clip in their News Feed.At the moment t
  
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• Experts challenge Skyhigh's patent for cloud-based encryption gateway

  25-08-2016 14:00
  
  Skyhigh announced today that it has received a patent for its technology, which moves that encryption gateway into a hosted environment.
  Enterprises looking to protect sensitive data stored in cloud services can funnel user traffic through on-premises encryption gateways that allow them to keep control of their encryption keys.Moving the encryption process to Skyhigh's servers allows for easier access by remote employees, mobile users, business partners, or customers, said Rajiv Gupta, Sky
  
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• Zes op de tien zorginstellingen gaan meer IT uitbesteden

  25-08-2016 13:03
  Nederlandse zorginstellingen hebben outsourcing van IT-diensten ontdekt en zien dit als een oplossing om de kwaliteit van primaire processen te verhogen. Ruim 60% van de instellingen geeft aan meer te gaan uitbesteden terwijl dit in andere sectoren gemiddeld net onder de 40% ligt. Daarop duidt een onderzoek van... lees meer
  
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• The best S Pen apps for your Samsung Galaxy Note

  25-08-2016 13:00
  
  Put that S-Pen to work (and play)Image by Derek WalterThe S Pen has been a key differentiator for the Galaxy Note line, letting you scribble away on that giant phablet screen while others are left to rely on their fumbly fingers. It’s not for everyone, but Galaxy Note owners tend to be a devoted group, swearing that they’ll never give up their beloved stylus. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Linux's brilliant career, in pictures

  25-08-2016 13:00
  
  A momentous milestoneAug. 25 marks the 25th anniversary of Linux, the free and open source operating system that's used around the globe in smarphones, tablets, desktop PCs, servers, supercomputers, and more. Though its beginnings were humble, Linux has become the world’s largest and most pervasive open source software project in history. How did it get here? Read on for a look at some of the notable events along the way.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click
  
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• 10 tips for retaining top IT talent

  25-08-2016 12:46
  
  (Insider Story)
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The bot market for startups: challenges and opportunities

  25-08-2016 12:35
  
  Dexter, the bot platform incubated by Betaworks, announced last week that it had raised $2.3 million to accelerate its bot platform. Originally begun as a workflow automation platform, Dexter recently shifted its focus onto the bot market. Dexter’s funding is the latest addition to a large series of venture capital funding events in the bot market. Despite the VC appetite for bot technology companies, the bot market might prove to be a tough environment for startups.The previous state
  
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• New collision attacks against triple-DES, Blowfish break HTTPS sessions

  25-08-2016 12:33
  
  There is now a practical, relatively fast attack on 64-bit block ciphers that lets attackers recover authentication cookies and other credentials from HTTPS-protected sessions, a pair of French researchers said. Legacy ciphers Triple-DES and Blowfish need to go the way of the broken RC4 cipher: Deprecated and disabled everywhere.
  Dubbed Sweet32, researchers were able to take authentication cookies from HTTPS-protected traffic using triple-DES (3DES) and Blowfish and recover login credentials to
  
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• GasTerra verlengt contract met Atos

  25-08-2016 12:13
  GasTerra – het voormalige Gasunie – en Atos verlengen hun overeenkomst voor de uitbesteding van IT-beheer met drie jaar. Hierdoor kan de onderneming aanzienlijk op kosten besparen en invulling geven aan haar ambitie om de algehele efficiëntie te verhogen.Atos tekent niet alleen voor het beheer... lees meer
  
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• Data lakes security could use a life preserver

  25-08-2016 12:10
  
  As big data initiatives gain steam at organizations, many companies are creating “data lakes” to provide a large number of users with access to the data they need. And as with almost every type of new IT initiative, this comes with a variety of security risks that enterprises must address.
  Data lakes are storage repositories that hold huge volumes of raw data kept in its native format until it’s needed. They’re becoming more common as organizations gather enormous amount
  
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• Proposed ‘social media ID, please' law draws outrage

  25-08-2016 12:01
  
  A plan by the U.S. government to require some foreign travelers to provide their social media IDs on key travel documents is drawing outrage.
  People who responded to the government’s request for comment about the proposal spared little in their criticisms. They call it“ludicrous,” an “all-around bad idea,” “blatant overreach,” “desperate, paranoid heavy-handedness,” “preposterous,” “appalling,” and “un-American.
  
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• Windows 10's Quick Assist lets you fix Dad's computer from your desk

  25-08-2016 12:00
  
  If you’re the unofficial “tech support” for your family, a new feature hidden deep within Windows 10’s Anniversary Update should be welcome news. It’s called Quick Assist.
  Anyone who works in the computer industry, or has a reputation for being technologically savvy, knows the sinking feeling that accompanies these words: “So I bought a new computer.” Those six words inevitably mean you’re going to end up on a long telephone call trying to explain
  
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• New York Public Library reads up on the cloud

  25-08-2016 12:00
  
  Four years ago, the New York Public Library began to move its web properties to the cloud.
  Today, the library system has all of its approximately 80 web sites in the cloud. The library has shrunk the number of on-premise servers by 40% and is running those web properties 95% more cheaply than if it had bought the hardware and software to do it all by itself.
  The library took a risk on the cloud, and on Amazon Web Services (AWS), and it paid off.
  "We've grown but we've grown in the cloud," said
  
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• Mingis on Tech: Cars and autonomous driving don't always mix

  25-08-2016 12:00
  
  If you've heard about the latest advances in autonomous driving it's natural to assume driverless cars are just around the corner -- perhaps waiting to pick you up.
  Tesla's Autopilot is already in use on the nation's highways (and sometimes getting into accidents). Ford is planning to build a fleet of autonomous vehicles for services like Uber. And other automakers are lining up tech partners so they can add safe-driving features -- everything from lane-keeping, to radar-controlled cruise
  
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• Microsoft brings iOS JavaScript debugging to MacOS, Windows

  25-08-2016 12:00
  
  Looking to woo Apple iOS developers, Microsoft is enhancing its Visual Studio Code editor this week with the capability to debug JavaScript code for iOS mobile devices.
  The iOS Web Debugger for Visual Studio Code is an extension supported on both Mac and Windows PCs that enables developers to debug JavaScript code running in the Safari browser on iOS devices.[ Digital Spotlight: Enterprise mobile app strategies that work. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobile Tech Re
  
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• Linux at 25: Linus Torvalds on the evolution and future of Linux

  25-08-2016 12:00
  
  The last time I had the occasion to interview Linus Torvalds, it was 2004, and version 2.6 of the Linux kernel had been recently released. I was working on a feature titled “Linux v2.6 scales the enterprise.” The opening sentence was “If commercial Unix vendors weren’t already worried about Linux, they should be now.” How prophetic those words turned out to be.
  More than 12 years later -- several lifetimes in the computing world -- Linux can be found in every corne
  
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• NuTonomy starts trials in Singapore of self-driving taxi service

  25-08-2016 08:35
  
  NuTonomy is offering rides in its self-driving taxis to select residents of Singapore from Thursday, ahead of a commercial launch of the service in 2018.The trials on the smartphone app-based service follows an agreement earlier this month between NuTonomy, a startup set up by two former MIT experts in the areas of robotics and intelligent vehicle technology, and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) to begin trials of an autonomous mobility-on-demand transportation service.The NuTono
  
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• Facebook, Google, Twitter lax on terrorists’ misuse of their sites, say UK MPs

  25-08-2016 05:38
  
  A panel of U.K. lawmakers has described as “alarming” that social networking companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube have teams of only a few hundred employees to monitor billions of accounts for extremist content.“These companies are hiding behind their supranational legal status to pass the parcel of responsibility and refusing to act responsibly in case they damage their brands,” said a report released early Thursday in the U.K. by the Home Affairs Commit
  
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• Passwords stolen from Mail.Ru were old, the company says

  25-08-2016 02:07
  The 25 million account passwords stolen from Mail.Ru in a recently discovered hack were old and invalid, the Russian internet company said Wednesday.“The security of our users wasn’t compromised in any way,” a Mail.Ru spokeswoman said in an interview.The hack targeted forums for game projects that the company has acquired over the years. These include subdomains at cfire.mail.ru, parapa.mail.ru and tanks.mail.ru. Hackers stole passwords of users who participated in the forums.H
  
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• Linux at 25: A retrospective

  25-08-2016 00:09
  
  What a long, strange 25 years it’s beenImage by Reuters: USA Today Sports/Baz Ratner, WikimediaFrom its obscure origins to its present primacy, Linux is now old enough to rent a car without having to pay extra for insurance. It has also been described as the “the greatest shared technology asset in history,” and it’s the chassis upon which a sizeable proportion of all the software on the planet is built. Here’s a quick look back at Linux’s history.To read this
  
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