IT Executive news

• Hands-on with Pixel, the most Googlely Android phone ever

  04-10-2016 23:55
  
  Fifteen minutes with Google’s new Pixel phone can’t tell me much. It’s can’t tell me anything about real-world battery life. It can’t tell me about still-photo image quality. Indeed, 15 minutes is only enough time to develop the inchoate wisps of first impressions. But I still left the Tuesday Pixel phone demo feeling like I found the replacement for my Nexus 6P daily driver. 
  It comes down to this, people: If you want pure Google in a smartphone—the all
  
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• WikiLeaks plans to dump more sensitive files on US election

  04-10-2016 22:19
  WikiLeaks is promising to release secret documents relating to the U.S. election, at a time when there are already questions over whether Russian hackers are feeding the site information.WikiLeaks will publish the documents "every week for the next 10 weeks" and the topics include the U.S. election, war, arms, Google, and mass surveillance, site founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday in a press conference.  All the U.S. election documents will be released before Nov. 8, when voters cast the
  
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• New insulin pump flaws highlights security risks from medical devices

  04-10-2016 22:09
  
  Medical device manufacturer Animas, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is warning diabetic patients who use its OneTouch Ping insulin pumps about security issues that could allow hackers to deliver unauthorized doses of insulin.The vulnerabilities were discovered by Jay Radcliffe, a security researcher at Rapid7 who is a Type I diabetic and user of the pump. The flaws primarily stem from a lack of encryption in the communication between the device's two parts: the insulin pump itself and the
  
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• Intel looks beyond x86, puts 64-bit ARM processor in new FPGA chip

  04-10-2016 21:47
  
  It seems like the chip war between Intel and ARM is slowly winding down, at least for the time being.Intel for decades has doggedly sworn by chips based on its homegrown x86 architecture, but the company is putting a 64-bit ARM processor in its new Stratix 10 FPGA (field-programmable gate array), which was announced on Tuesday.The FPGA -- based on Altera technology -- can be reprogrammed to do a wide variety of server or network tasks. It can also run algorithms for machine learning.In a larger
  
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• Need work-life balance? These IT jobs can be a good place to look

  04-10-2016 21:22
  
  Achieving balance between work and home life is an ongoing challenge for professionals across industries, but it turns out the IT world is doing pretty well in helping to make it happen.Roughly a third of the jobs listed in a new report entitled, "29 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance (2016)" from recruiting site Glassdoor are within the IT realm, including the oft-celebrated position of data scientist at No. 3.Several HR positions earned rankings on Glassdoor's list, including corporate recruiter
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Dell ups its wide game in monitors

  04-10-2016 21:20
  
  A brandy new Dell UltraSharp U3417W monitor showed up at my office last week, and it’s pretty sweet.The U in the cryptic product name refers to the ultra sharp part: high pixel density (at 3440x1440, the thing has just shy of 5 million of them); the 34 stands for a 34-inch diagonal, which is a lot of real estate; the 17 represents an upgrade from the 15, the predecessor product (U3415W); and the W means wide, as in 21:9 aspect ratio. Oh, and it’s curved.I’m driving the thing wi
  
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• First Look: Pixel, AI, Google Home and more

  04-10-2016 21:13
  
  Pulling consumers inGoogle made a big deal about the confluence of its new hardware designs and its software – particularly AI – on Tuesday at its launch event in San Francisco. And, indeed, many of the new products that Google introduced seem designed to pull consumers further into the Google ecosystem, but there’s no denying that there were some impressive capabilities on show. Have a look.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• 5G will need small cells, so Nokia is sending in the drones

  04-10-2016 21:05
  
  If you want 5G, there’s a good chance you'll need a small cell nearby to deliver it. Putting up that cell may be hard because of a host of problems, but Nokia Bell Labs thinks it can solve some of them with drones and tiny solar panels.Nokia's F-Cell is an experimental LTE small cell that doesn't need any wires. It gets power from solar panels on its surface and communicates with the carrier's core network over a high-speed wireless connection. No one even needs to climb up on a roof to in
  
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• Google launches Pixel smartphones, VR and home devices

  04-10-2016 21:04
  
  Google on Tuesday launched several products under the mantra of "Made by Google," including two Pixel smartphones that natively run a new Google Assistant built on recent advances in artificial intelligence to improve personalized, voice-capable searches.
  Most of the new products had been hinted at for weeks.They include the new Pixel phones, with 5-in. or 5.5-in. screens and prices starting at $649; a Google Home device for $129 that relies on Google Assistant, and a virtual reality headset an
  
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• Yahoo may have allowed US government to search user emails

  04-10-2016 20:47
  
  Yahoo has reportedly searched through all of its users' incoming emails with a secret software program that's designed to ferret out information for U.S. government agencies.The software program, which was created last year, has scanned hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency or FBI, according to a Tuesday report from Reuters.Yahoo reportedly created the program to comply with a U.S. classified government directive. It's unclear if the mass email
  
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• ITC probes Apple memory supplier for patent infringement

  04-10-2016 20:40
  
  The International Trade Commission (ITC) has opened a patent infringement investigation on SK hynix, the world's second largest memory chip manufacturer, based on claims that it infringed on six U.S. patents.
  Second only to Samsung in global market share for DRAM shipments, Hynix is also the world's fifth-largest semiconductor company. SK hynix memory is used by Apple in some MacBook and MacBook Pro computers and in its iPhones. The memory is also in Asus' Nexus 7 tablet.To read this artic
  
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• Google Home is set to battle Amazon's Echo for voice control of the smart home

  04-10-2016 20:29
  
  OK Google, it’s time to take aim at Alexa. Google has announced that consumers can now preorder its Google Home digital assistant for $129, with a ship date of November 4. First revealed at Google I/O in May, Google Home will compete with Amazon’s surprisingly popular Echo product line for voice-activated control of the smart home. The price tag is attractive, and it has some features the Echo doesn’t, but Google still has a lot of work to do to catch Amazon.
  Like the Echo, Go
  
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• Windows 10 growth comes to screeching stop

  04-10-2016 20:15
  
  Microsoft's Windows 10 beat a retreat last month, losing user share for the first time since its debut more than a year ago.
  According to U.S. metrics vendor Net Applications, Windows 10 lost half a percentage point in user share during September, ending the month on 22.5% of all personal computers.
  Windows 10 powered 24.8% of all machines running Windows: The difference between the user share of all PCs and only those running Windows originated with the fact that Windows powered 91% of all per
  
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• Google launches two Pixel phones, the showcase for Google Assistant

  04-10-2016 18:57
  
  See ya, Nexus! Google has announced its new Pixel and Pixel XL phones, as expected, which will be powered by Google’s new Google Assistant.
  Google launched the Pixel in both a standard as well as a jumbo size, the Pixel XL. But the 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL aren’t noteworthy because of their hardware, but because of the software and services attached to them: not only will users be able to launch the interactive Google Assistant from their home buttons, but the phones will
  
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• CIO eyes digital services in SD-WAN push

  04-10-2016 18:56
  
  Earlier this year, Earthlink CEO Joe Eazor realized he needed a CIO to upgrade the company’s clunky legacy software and make its sales process more appealing to business customers browsing the website. Enter Jay Ferro, who led a digital transformation at the American Cancer Society (ACS) before joining EarthLink in July.Serving in a dual role as CIO and chief product officer, Ferro will also help develop and pitch peers on EarthLink’s managed network products, including a new softwar
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Story point normalization -- what's the point?

  04-10-2016 18:26
  
  When it comes to agile project delivery, progress is normally measured in the form of story points, or hours burned for a given sprint. From the business owners down, leadership is always giving the mantra, "When will it be done?" and “Where are we now?” Typically, leadership wants that consistency and confidence in knowing what to expect and when in order to build trust in delivery.Notice that consistency is the key word here. However, the reality is that balancing th
  
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• 'New Mac' scented candle smells nothing like a new Mac

  04-10-2016 18:24
  
  Many Apple users really like their computers, phones and tablets. The products are generally well-designed, good-looking and reliable. They're also generally overpriced. But Apple makes solid products, and it has loyal customers.However, a sect of Apple customers treats iPhones, iPads, Macs and all of Apple's various other wares like religious artifacts. They're addicts, and they can't get enough. They are the "Apple Fanbois," and they're rarely spotted with fewer than two different Apple produc
  
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• IBM invests $200 million in Watson IoT AI business

  04-10-2016 18:21
  
  The venerable 105-year-old IBM may be a global company, but while it has operated important labs and offices overseas, its business units have always been headquartered in the U.S. Until December of last year, that is, when it opened the new global headquarters for the IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) unit in Munich, Germany. Now, faced with dramatically increasing global demand for Watson IoT solutions and services, Big Blue is doubling down on that investment.On Tuesday, IBM announced a $20
  
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• After Mozilla inquiry, Apple untrusts Chinese certificate authority

  04-10-2016 18:12
  
  Following a Mozilla-led investigation that found multiple problems in the SSL certificate issuance process of WoSign, a China-based certificate authority, Apple will make modifications to the iOS and macOS to block future certificates issued by the company.Although there is no WoSign root certificate in Apple's trusted certificate store, a WoSign intermediate CA certificate is cross-signed by two other CAs that Apple trusts: StartCom and Comodo. This means that until now Apple products have auto
  
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• Level 3 acknowledges network outage

  04-10-2016 18:07
  
  Social networks exploded Tuesday morning with customer inquiries and complaints because of a Level 3 Communications network outage across the United States.
  It appears the outage started around 11AM EST, and according to the outage tracker Downdetector, hot spots on a heat map appear particularly colorful up and down the east coast and in California.Twitter
  Level 3 has acknowledged the outage on its social media channels, including Twitter and Facebook.To read this article in full or to leave a
  
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• A nudge from ransomware

  04-10-2016 18:05
  
  Just a couple of months ago, I discussed two of my current challenges: securing a remote workforce when most of the applications that folks use are cloud-based software as a service (SaaS), and having employees who, thanks to those SaaS apps, have no reason to connect to the corporate network and therefore rarely access the IT infrastructure.Trouble TicketAt issue: A user who hasn’t backed up his PC in months just saw his documents get encrypted by ransomware.
  Action plan: Find out how it
  
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• Top U.S. colleges for computer science

  04-10-2016 17:35
  
  Stanford University is the top computer science school in the U.S., according to a new salary-centric report from compensation specialist PayScale.The research company ranked 171 colleges and universities with computer science programs based on the median pay of the schools' compsci alumni. By that measure, Stanford led the pack, with its graduates reporting a median mid-career salary of $168,000. (PayScale also ranked the highest-paying college majors.)[ Related: White House to bolster STEM edu
  
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• STEM majors dominate salary-based college ranking

  04-10-2016 17:35
  
  A majority of the highest-paying college majors are in the engineering world. At the top of the heap is petroleum engineering, which yields a median mid-career pay of $172,000, according to a new ranking from research company PayScale.[ Related: White House to bolster STEM education, close skills gap ]Compsci-related majors also made a strong showing on the PayScale rankings. Graduates who earn a bachelor’s degree in “computer science and engineering” were ranked 5th, reporting
  
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• 27% off AUKEY SoundTank Bluetooth Water Resistant Speaker with 30-Hour Playtime - DealPost

  04-10-2016 17:34
  
  Weighing in at just over a pound, the AUKEY Sountank is the ideal lightweight, water resistant companion speaker for your all your adventures. The dual 5 watt speaker drivers  are powered by a 2600mAh rechargeable battery delivering up to 30 continuous hours of wireless audio.  Utilizing the latest in Bluetooth audio with A2DP, improved connection stability, faster pairing, lower latency, and lower power consumption from connected devices when wirelessly streaming audio across dis
  
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• GE en Bosch samen in IIoT-communicatie

  04-10-2016 17:29
  General Electric en Bosch Software Innovations gaan samen één gemeenschappelijke taal ontwikkelen zodat machines en toestellen die deel uitmaken van het Industriële Internet of Things (IIoT) met elkaar kunnen communiceren.Dankzij de samenwerking tussen de twee industriële giganten zijn... lees meer
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The older I get the more agile I am

  04-10-2016 16:50
  
  I’ve always been one of those people who needs to gather all the information before making a decision. Maybe it’s a Virgo thing. Or maybe the introvert in me wants to avoid interactive brainstorming sessions by hanging a sign that says, “Read the document” on my (closed) office door.  Or maybe I’ve got a touch of OCD. Hang on a minute I need precisely three squirts of Purell, right hand first...
  OK, I’m back.
  This thoroughness manifested itself bigtime w
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: macOS Sierra: Disable automatic downloading and installation of macOS updates

  04-10-2016 16:44
  Sierra has been out for a little while now, and many Mac users have upgraded to it and are enjoying all of its new features. But time marches on and there will inevitably be updates to macOS Sierra.While most folks probably like having macOS updates downloaded and installed automatically, it’s very easy to disable this feature so you can choose whether or not you want to download an update.Should you disable it? Ultimately it's really an issue of control versus convenience. Some folks want
  
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• What CIOs need to know about open source forking

  04-10-2016 16:35
  
  Picture this: Your company is ticking along nicely, making use of a reliable and well-engineered piece of software to support some important business process, when suddenly it becomes apparent that all is not well in the project's developer community. A fork is in the cards, and the very future of the project hangs in the balance.Before we get to the crucial questions of whether a fork is really such a bad thing and what a CIO should do when faced with one, let's first be clear about what we're
  
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• 52% off Blitzu Cyborg Ultra Bright USB Rechargable Bike Light - Deal Alert

  04-10-2016 16:35
  
  The Blitzu Cyborg 168T Bike Tail light features 50 micro-LED chips, and emits up to 168 Lumens. It is simple to install and you can mount this rear light anywhere you want in seconds, such as the handlebar, the seat post or anywhere on the frame.Stop wasting your money and never buy batteries again. The Cyborg 168T bicycle rear light charges from your computer or any device with a USB port. It only takes 2 hours to fully charge.  The Blitzu Cyborg 168T Bike Light averages 4.5 out
  
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• Eerste Europese gedragscode databescherming gepresenteerd

  04-10-2016 16:27
  CISPE, een Europees samenwerkingsverband voor leveranciers van die cloud computing infrastructuren, heeft een gedragscode voor databescherming geïntroduceerd die leveranciers verplicht klanten de mogelijkheid te bieden om data exclusief op te slaan en te verwerken in EU-/EER-gebieden. Ook verbiedt de code gebruik... lees meer
  
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• Intel ships $399 Aero board to make drones, and a $249 robotics kit

  04-10-2016 16:20
  
  Want to build a drone at home? Intel is shipping its Aero Compute Board so you can get your unmanned aerial vehicle in the sky.The Aero Compute Board is priced at a hefty $399 and available on Intel's website. It's a complete drone board system in one unit, but you have to buy certain hardware, like rotor blades, separately.Intel has also started selling its new Robotics Development Kit for $249. The board is meant to be the guts of a robot, providing direction, navigation, decision-making and o
  
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• Why an IT services firm sponsors the New York City Marathon

  04-10-2016 16:14
  
  In 2013, TCS signed an eight-year deal to be the title sponsor of the New York City Marathon.It was a blockbuster deal -- and a bit of a surprise. The marathon's previous sponsor had been ING, and major marathons tend to be sponsored by financial services companies: John Hancock has Boston, Bank of America has Chicago, Virgin Money has London.But TCS? An IT services company? From India?"It's a little perplexing," says Douglas J. Olberding chair of the department of sports studies at Xavier Unive
  
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• Salesforce will buy Krux to expand behavioral tracking capabilities

  04-10-2016 15:14
  
  Salesforce.com has agreed to buy user data management platform Krux Digital, potentially allowing businesses to process even more data in their CRM systems.Krux describes its business as "capturing, unifying, and activating data signatures across every device and every channel, in real time."Essentially, it performs the tracking underlying behavioral advertising, handling 200 billion "data collection events" on three billion browsers and devices (desktop, mobile, tablet and set-top) each month.W
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The business case for telepharmacy

  04-10-2016 15:00
  Have you ever had health symptom you know you needed to see a doctor about, but somewhere between the walk from the car to the office the symptom miraculously cleared up? Then, of course, the symptom, reoccurred once you got home. This is the core business case for telehealth. Symptoms surface when patients are living and doing activities they enjoy.Telehealth can become more common and more widely adopted through telepharmacy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67
  
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• Tight IT job market means employers will pay more

  04-10-2016 14:43
  
  It's common knowledge that an IT career pays well. But if you're an IT pro looking for a new role, your paycheck could get a whole lot heftier.
  IT staffing company Modis surveyed 500 IT professionals responsible for key decisions, including hiring, between August 1 and August 9, 2016. The research, Tech Trends: IT Leaders and the Employment Market, shows that approximately 32 percent of IT organizations are willing to offer a 10 percent to 15 percent salary increase to currently employed IT prof
  
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• Windows 10 deserves much more love than it gets (seriously)

  04-10-2016 14:34
  
  Windows 10 doesn't get much respect.More than 14 months after the new Microsoft OS debuted, it runs on fewer than half the number of the PCs that run the seven-year-old Windows 7, and the usage rate is not increasing very quickly, according to NetMarketshare. Consumers don't really need to worry about market share. However, (and it surprises me to say this) if you're not running Windows 10, you're missing out.I know, I know, the annoying and frankly stupid push by Microsoft to trick, or even for
  
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• Salesforce kicks off its conference with mobile, IoT updates and more

  04-10-2016 14:00
  
  Salesforce's annual Dreamforce mega-conference kicks off in San Francisco on Tuesday morning, and the company will announce a slew of updates to its apps and services.
  The company is enhancing its mobile apps, launching deeper integrations between Salesforce and Quip and improving its services for processing IoT data.
  All of these new features are aimed at leveling up Salesforce's feature set at a time when the company faces fierce competition from tech titans like Microsoft and Oracle, along w
  
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• Turn data from risk liability into an asset

  04-10-2016 13:43
  
  Big data has proven to be a big asset for corporations who are trying to collect information and make informed business decisions, but if the proper strategies for protecting that data are not in place, the risks to the enterprise can be costly.
  Earlier this year Cisco reported that worldwide mobile traffic is expected to grow eightfold from 2015 to 2020 reaching 30.6 exabytes, monthly. Planning for that data inflation raises a very important question: “How c
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Is your company developing an IoT solution from the wrong angle?

  04-10-2016 13:30
  
  The story of the Internet of Things (IoT) to date is one of great promise but relatively few successes. It’s kind of like cloud technology in the early times. Like Don Quixote, a lot of companies have visited the IoT “windmill” but got rebuffed. It’s a frustrating exercise.My observation is that most IoT projects start with the technology. They start with the idea that we can put sensors everywhere, capture the data and create services or products from it. In other words,
  
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• Security for your collaborative software

  04-10-2016 13:00
  
  There’s a gaping hole in your security infrastructure right now. The front door is open, the side window is ajar, and there’s an open safe with a neon sign saying “steal my data” in flashing lights. While you might have locked down the network used for this software, instituted strict usage policies, and insist on having users stick to complex passwords, the data is leaking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• How to get a job in IT services

  04-10-2016 12:30
  
  One of the potential frustrations of working in a corporate IT department is the constant reminder that "IT is not our business; IT is here to serve the business." There's an alternative, of course: You can get a job in IT services, where information technology is the business.
  Work in IT services is closely related to IT consulting (a field we covered previously), with a few key differences. Although some companies offer both IT consulting and IT services, and both types of businesses are look
  
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• 7 ways DevOps benefits CISOs and their security programs

  04-10-2016 12:30
  
  DevOps can be beneficialImage by ThinkstockOrganizational culture and its processes and technology are evolving at a pace we have never experienced before. As a result, we can’t just sit back and wait for the “DevOps fad” to fade away because it isn’t going to. It’s not a fad – it’s an evolved way of software development. Furthermore, security cannot be the elephant in the room that everyone avoids because it gets too complicated. Security must evolve, a
  
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• IT Resume Makeover: Don’t downplay your success

  04-10-2016 12:06
  
  In this Resume Makeover, Donald Burns, helps a senior marketing executive, Alice Gaines (name changed for this article), simplify her resume to tell a story about how she earned four major promotions over her 16-year marketing career with one company. The challenge for Burns was to not only list the titles in a way that made sense to hiring managers, but also to demonstrate how each promotion came with new responsibilities and skills.
  To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please cl
  
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• Review: ADATA’s waterproof SSD is small, rugged -- and pricey

  04-10-2016 12:01
  
  ADATA recently launched what it calls its smallest and fastest external SSD, a 250GB drive thathappens to be waterproof and shock resistant to military standards. But it falls short on speed and price.
  
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• The laundry robot you've always wanted is coming next year

  04-10-2016 10:31
  
  The world's first laundry sorting and folding robot will go on sale in 2017, its manufacturer said on Tuesday at the Ceatec electronics show just outside of Tokyo.Laundroid is the size of a large refrigerator and has a pull-out drawer near its base where unsorted clothes can be thrown in. A robot inside the device picks up each item of clothing and uses image analysis with artificial intelligence to figure out what kind of clothing it is so it knows the correct way to fold it.For humans, identif
  
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• A gas-main robot can fix pipes without a shutoff

  04-10-2016 03:00
  
  As a person who despises the cold, there is nothing worse than being home on a frigid winter night and having your utility company turn off the gas for repairs. Thankfully, robots are here to save us from having to bundle up like the Michelin Man just to stay toasty in our own homes. 
  ULC Robotics has developed a robot, called Cirris XR, that's able to work on live gas mains so utilities don't have to turn off service to do repairs. Using the robot can also increase efficiency and operator
  
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• Fujitsu's Ontenna could be a big deal for the deaf

  04-10-2016 02:42
  
  Among the robots, big screens and fast computers of Japan's Ceatec electronics show, a small prototype being shown off by Fujitsu is probably one of the lowest tech gadgets on the show floor, but it could be one of the most important.
  The Ontenna is a small gadget intended to be worn in the hair that translates sound into vibrations. The technology is similar to the kinds of things children make with electronics kits: a microphone connected to an amplifier connected to a motor.
  But in the hair-
  
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• IoT botnet highlights the dangers of default passwords

  04-10-2016 02:22
  
  A botnet responsible for a massive DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack was created thanks to weak default usernames and passwords found in internet-connected cameras and DVRs.The Mirai botnet grabbed headlines last month for taking down the website of cybersecurity reporter Brian Krebs with a huge DDOS attack. Unlike most botnets, which rely on infected PCs, this one used IoT devices to target its victims.It turns out the botnet was specifically designed to scan the internet for poorly s
  
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• Toyota's cute Kirobo Mini robot will chat with you

  04-10-2016 01:49
  
  Driving can sometimes be a solitary affair, heading from place to place with only the road and the radio for company, but that could change with Kirobo Mini.It's a small robot developed by Toyota that's designed to act as a virtual companion, listening to and responding to chat from people in a car or just about anywhere. At 10 centimeters tall, its small size means it can easily be carried around.The technology behind it is quite simple. Audio is sent from Kirobo's microphone to a smartphone ru
  
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• New iPad Pro models could come next year, with a little Pro replacing the iPad mini

  04-10-2016 00:35
  
  Apple is on track to release new iPads next year, which isn’t a big surprise. What is intriguing, however, is the rumored sizing of those new iPads: a 10.1-inch iPad Pro to replace the 9.7-inch model, and a 7.9-inch version to phase out the iPad mini 4.
  The current iPad Pro lineup features a 12.9-inch model and a 9.7-inch version, but early next year that lineup could expand to three. The new iPad report comes from Japanese blog Makotakara, but echoes earlier rumors from KGI Securities. T
  
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