IT Executive news

• 15% off Zeceen Metal USB Lightning Cable, Virtually Indestructible and Weather Resistant - Deal Alert

  19-12-2016 23:05
  
  Unparalleled speed and strength. If that's what you're looking for in your next USB Lightning cable, then consider this one from Zeceen which is made with a sturdy Zinc alloy Connector and a high-strength yet fully flexible stainless steel jacket spring wire – a design that promises not to disintegrate even under extreme conditions like bad weather or rough handling. Zeceen also promises a 12-month satisfaction guarantee. Its typical list price of $19.99 on Amazon has been reduced 15%
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Dell EMC joins The Linux Foundation's OpenSDS Project

  19-12-2016 22:37
  
  Dell EMC is joining the OpenSDS Project, a Linux Foundation Collaborative project. To mark its commitment to the project, Dell EMC is contributing CoprHD SouthBound SDK (SB SDK) to the OpenSDS project. The SB SDK allows developers to build drivers and other tools with the assurance that they will be compatible with a wide variety of enterprise-class storage products.
  The OpenSDS Project is one of the many open source projects that are part of the foundation’s collaborative projects. 
  
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• BlackBerry opens self-driving and connected-vehicle R&D center

  19-12-2016 22:23
  
  BlackBerry has opened an R&D center to speed up the creation of software for self-driving vehicles and connected communications technology that allows vehicles to talk to each other and to the roadway infrastructure around them.
  BlackBerry CEO John Chen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the opening of the center today in BlackBerry's QNX development facility in Ottawa.
  As part of its autonomous car development push, BlackBerry's QNX division plans to recruit and hire loca
  
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• Stingray use could be unconstitutional, finds House report

  19-12-2016 22:12
  
  Use of cellphone spying technology has become widespread among U.S. law enforcement agencies and should be better regulated, according to a new congressional report.Not only is the FBI deploying the technology, commonly called "Stingray" after one product made by Harris Corp., but so are state and local police. And there are concerns that some law enforcement agencies have used Stingrays without securing search warrants, said the report from House Committee on Oversight and Reform, pub
  
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• Samsung upgrades Notebook 9 laptops with Kaby Lake chips

  19-12-2016 21:52
  
  Samsung has upgraded laptops in its Notebook 9 series with Intel's latest Kaby Lake chips, jumping ahead of rivals expected to announce new PCs at CES.The Notebook 9 laptops, which have 13.3- and 15-inch screens, are lightweight laptops with full HD displays. Samsung didn't share specifics of chips in the laptops, which will be unveiled by Intel at January's CES.Nonetheless, there are some things you can expect. The new laptops will be faster than older models and also have better graphics. PC m
  
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• Waymo takes wraps off autonomous minivans

  19-12-2016 21:50
  
  Now that Google has turned its autonomous car research project into a business, the company unveiled a different kind of driverless car that is being road tested.
  Waymo, the new autonomous vehicle business running under Google's parent company Alphabet, has been working to add 100 minivans to its autonomous fleet since May, according to John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo.
  The company, which also plans to test autonomous delivery vehicles, expects to have the autonomous minivans on public roads in 2017.
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why software capitalization can be wasteful

  19-12-2016 21:27
  
  There is a long-lasting debate among IT stakeholders and executives on whether software is a long-term asset or a cost of conducting business. In this article, I will interpret the rationale for both sides in the context of the enterprise IT in the digital age.
  “Capitalization” is an accounting method used to spread out the cost of a new asset over its useful lifespan to align the recognition of associated expenses and benefits for an accurate reflection of asset’s financial p
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 7 (plus 1) predictions for healthcare IT in 2017

  19-12-2016 21:04
  
  Last year, I had made five predictions for healthcare information technology in 2016. In this, my final post of 2016, I will be reviewing how my predictions turned out, and update the outlook for 2017.
  As I write this, President Obama has just signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, a remarkable achievement coming out of a bipartisan effort that creates funding for the cancer moonshot and aims to reduce FDA regulations, among other things. Healthcare IT is likely to get a boost from the inc
  
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• Facebook Messenger launches group video chat with Snapchat-style selfie filters

  19-12-2016 20:41
  
  Facebook Messenger is bringing selfie filters to real-time video chat.
  On Monday, Facebook announced that its Messenger app will let users conduct group video chats in real time. The splitscreen video will support six callers at any given time, but up to 50 users can join the conversation via text and voice, with the “dominant speaker” popping up on the video feed.
  Users on iOS will also be able to add 3D selfie filters—or “Masks”—to amuse their friends, a fe
  
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• Sorriest technology companies of 2016

  19-12-2016 20:32
  
  A sorry, sorry lotMicrosoft couldn’t get out of its culturally-clueless way in 2016. Samsung apologized over and over for its flaming Note7 fiasco. HP, T-Mobile, Facebook and pretty much every other big name in tech was forced to issue a public apology or more during the year, as public relations pros earned their money (or not) to salvage their employer or client’s reputation – for the time being. You won’t be sorry for taking a spin through this collection of corporate
  
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• 22% off Roku Streaming Stick - Deal Alert

  19-12-2016 20:03
  
  Stream just about anything – blockbusters, broadcast TV, big entertainment brands, and niche channels. Movies, TV shows, live sports, news and music. Roku has the only streaming players that work with all these channels: Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, VUDU, Sling TV, and PBS KIDS. Easy access to 350,000+ movies and TV episodes across 3,500+ paid or free channels. Use your smartphone or tablet and the Roku mobile app to enjoy private listening anytime via your headphones. And use your mobile
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Super Mario Run reviews roundup: Is it worth buying?

  19-12-2016 19:37
  
  Nintendo shocked and pleased the iOS gaming world when it announced its first Mario game for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Now that the game is out, reviews have started to come in from around the web.Is Super Mario Run for iOS worth buying?I’ve compiled a list of the latest reviews of the game to help you make up your mind before paying $9.99 for the full game. I've also included some video reviews at the end of this post that offer some different commentary and that will let you see S
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Gone are the days of the pure proprietary technology stack: Madhura Maskasky

  19-12-2016 19:04
  
  Madhura Maskasky is the co-founder of infrastructure startup Platform9. I met Maskasky at the OpenStack Summit 2016 in Barcelona where she gave a very impressive demo of fully open source technology developed by the company. We talked about how she got interested in technology, what led to the creation of Platform9 and what role open source plays in the modern IT infrastructure. Here is an edited version of that interview.
  Can you tell us more about yourself?
  I am one of the co-founders and Vic
  
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• Imagination plans new MIPS CPU, PowerVR GPU as it looks to bounce back

  19-12-2016 19:01
  
  It's been a rough year for Imagination Technologies. The CEO resigned in February, layoffs followed in the next month, and the cloud of a takeover hung over the company with rumored negotiations to purchase the company.The company is best known as a provider of PowerVR GPUs for Apple's iPhone and the MIPS CPU architecture, which competes with Intel's X86 and ARM. Imagination has its eyes set on a strong 2017 by taking an approach much like Intel did last year and refocusing on areas of grow
  
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• Mobile banking trojans adopt ransomware features

  19-12-2016 18:51
  
  Cybercriminals are adding file-encrypting features to traditional mobile banking trojans, creating hybrid threats that can steal sensitive information and lock user files at the same time.One such trojan is called Faketoken and its primary functionality is to generate fake login screens for more than 2,000 financial applications in order to steal login credentials. The malicious app also displays phishing pages to steal credit card information, and it can read and send text messages.Faketoken's
  
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• BrandPost: Printers as a Security Threat

  19-12-2016 18:45
  
  In today’s digital age, everybody knows just how important security is. We look at PCs and smartphones—and the valuable data they hold—and immediately understand how rich a target those devices are to cyber criminals. We know the threat is real. But with so much focus on the data center, on storage, on mobile devices…are organizations today overlooking a key weakness?Unfortunately, printers are just not being considered as a security threat currently—certainly not
  
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• Google Assistant gets a jolly upgrade for the holidays

  19-12-2016 18:24
  
  Christmas is coming, and Google Assistant is getting into the holiday spirit. Just in time for Santa’s arrival, the fun-loving virtual helper has been given an injection of good tidings in the form of a few seasonal responses.
  Available across all instances of Google Assistant—Allo, Google Home, and the Pixel phones—the new commands will help you find Santa, have a good laugh or just get a dose of cheer. If you ask where Santa is, for example, it will tell you that he’s
  
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• Intel's Joule 550x computer ships, but initial units heavily overpriced

  19-12-2016 17:30
  
  Intel is now shipping a new single-board computer, the Joule 550x, that will challenge the dominance of Raspberry Pi.The board was announced in August but didn't ship right away. The Joule 550x is a full-fledged computer on a small circuit board, and it packs more horsepower and graphics capabilities than the Raspberry Pi 3.But at prices of up to US$349, the Joule 550x costs about 10 times more than Raspberry Pi 3. The board is now available from online retailer Mouser. It is available for
  
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• BrandPost: The True Experience of Moving to the Cloud

  19-12-2016 17:30
  
  Has your organization considered making the move to cloud? Maybe you’ve even started along the journey and are curious about how well other organizations are handling the transition. According to a recent survey we conducted with IDG, over 75% of IT decision makers say that their cloud-based IT initiatives have met or exceeded their initial expectations.Don’t worry; we’re not trying to hand you a pair of rose-colored glasses. We also asked organizations what they found challeng
  
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• Medical data: Accessible and irresistible for cyber criminals

  19-12-2016 17:01
  
  How valuable is personal healthcare data?
  Apparently it depends. Based on at least some price comparisons on the Dark Web – the underground online marketplace for cyber criminals – electronic health records (EHR) are not even close to premium goods.
  McAfee, now a division of Intel Security, reported recently that the price for an individual medical record ranges from a fraction of a cent to $2.50, while a so-called “fullz” record – name, Social Security number
  
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• Samsung reportedly wraps up probe into exploding Galaxy Note7s

  19-12-2016 16:56
  
  As Samsung looks to publicly move past the Note7 debacle with a series of upcoming carrier updates designed to brick any remaining devices, the company is also moving forward with its internal investigation of the issue. According to a report from South Korea-based The Investor, Samsung has wrapped up its probe of the phablet’s exploding batteries.
  Very few details are offered in the report, but the publication says Samsung’s findings have been sent to the appropriate agencies, Kore
  
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• 5 strategic moves that show Apple is more CIO-friendly

  19-12-2016 16:44
  
  The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs Apple was notorious for taking a hard line against enterprises, which he suggested were bureaucracies who (do we say who in reference to a business?) struggled to make decisions. The reticence to play nice with enterprises didn't endear Apple to CIOs, who need to manage fleets of iPhones and iPads. "Apple has never, at least until recently, embraced corporations and embraced the enterprise," Stuart Appley, former CIO of Shorenstein, told CIO.com in 2015. "They're a
  
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• BrandPost: 5 Things Every Manufacturing IT Leader Wants in an ERP System

  19-12-2016 16:32
  
  The role of IT leaders in manufacturing has undergone significant changes. It used to be one based primarily on keeping the hardware and software architecture running, along with desktop support management. Now, with 24/7 operations and streams of big data, technical leaders are more focused on initiatives that meet production needs and boost the bottom line. Or at least they try.
  So when it comes to the systems that run your business, it’s all about Cloud ERP. And here are five things th
  
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• WUMT is a viable Windows Update alternative

  19-12-2016 15:51
  
  WUMT is short for Windows Update MiniTool, a free software tool that handles Windows updates without requiring use of the built-in Update & Security facility in Windows 10. WUMT, which originally appeared on the Wilders Security Forums in October 2015, comes from an anonymous Russian translator who goes by "Mr. X." He maintains the tool on a Spanish language page on blogspot, where he regularly updates the program, currently numbered 30.09.2016 (which corresponds to its release date at the e
  
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• 10 must-watch IaaS cloud trends for 2017

  19-12-2016 14:36
  
  Analysts who track the IaaS public cloud computing market tend to agree that 2016 was a year that solidified the positioning of three vendors: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, and marked a major transition point in enterprises using them.
  These companies gave customers more choices of where to host their data around the globe, more virtual machine instance sizes to optimize their workloads and new ways to manage and analyze data that’s already in the cloud.
  
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• Decentralisatie IT maakt business wendbaar, maar ondermijnt beveiliging

  19-12-2016 14:33
  Een ruime helft van zakelijke beslissers denkt dat het gedaan is met het primaat dat de IT afdeling over informatie en communicatietechnologie heeft. Zij zien technologie losgeweekt worden van IT. Andere afdelingen nemen vaker het voortouw in het gebruik van niet-voorgeschreven technologie. Daarop duidt internationaal... lees meer
  
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• Beslissers in IT-sector negatief over studentenstop technische universiteiten

  19-12-2016 13:05
  Bijna negen op de tien executives zijn van mening dat een numerus fixus op technische studies aan Nederlandse universiteiten een slechte ontwikkeling is voor de Nederlandse kenniseconomie. Daarop duidt een enquête door Dell EMC.Vier universiteiten willen volgend jaar een grens stellen aan het aantal studenten... lees meer
  
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• Appeals against European Union's €13 billion Apple tax ruling take shape

  19-12-2016 13:03
  
  Apple will this week file its appeal of a European Commission decision that it owes Ireland billions in back taxes, while the country's Department of Finance has revealed details of its own appeal.European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said on Aug. 30 that Apple must pay up to €13 billion ($13.6 billion) in back taxes, plus interest, because opinions given by the Irish tax authorities in 1991 and 2007 constituted illegal state aid. Her decision concluded a two-year investi
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The kid in all of us

  19-12-2016 13:00
  
  "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it."— J.M. Barrie, Peter PanI feel like, as IT people, we have forgotten some of the wonder of technology. Many of the capabilities we take for granted today would have been indistinguishable from magic 100 years ago, were in the realm of science fiction 50 years ago, and were just beginning to be imagined 10 years ago.Our expectations have grown, and we pretend not to remember dial-up access (except when we thi
  
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• Ransomware: at your service

  19-12-2016 12:32
  
  RaaSImage by ThinkstockRansomware is on track to net organized cybercrime more than $1 billion in 2016, not taking downtime and other costs associated with it into account. And according to KnowBe4’s 2016 Ransomware Report, 93 percent of IT professionals surveyed are worried ransomware will continue to grow. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• What 2017 has in store for cybersecurity

  19-12-2016 12:22
  
  There is much uncertainty surrounding the security industry for 2017, and according to experts in the field, a lot of the trepidation is directly connected to what the nation’s next president will do.
  Here's what security vendors and analysts are predicting for the year ahead.
  John B Wood, CEO of Telos Corporation, cites a need for cooperation between the government and the private sector. President-elect Donald Trump took a break from his “thank you” tour to meet with tech ex
  
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• 10 biggest hacks of user data in 2016

  19-12-2016 12:13
  
  You take great pains to come up with a strong password when registering for an account on a website -- only to see your efforts go for naught when that site gets hacked. Several sites had their databases of user accounts not only breached but stolen this year, which include the necessary information for logins (i.e. username, password). The following sites are ranked starting at the fewest number of user accounts with passwords that were taken.To read this article in full or to leave a comment,
  
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• Microsoft's biggest wins, fails, and WTF moments of 2016

  19-12-2016 12:05
  
  2016: A year to remember... maybe?Image by Microsoft2016 was a busy year for Microsoft wins and fails. From Windows phones to the Surface Studio, and Windows 10 to Minecraft, the company and its products dominated headlines in both hardware and software.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Solar power is becoming the cheapest form of new electricity

  19-12-2016 12:01
  
  Unsubsidized solar power costs are beginning to outperform coal and natural gas and new solar energy projects in emerging markets cost less to build than wind turbines, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
  The study, which includes the average cost of new wind and solar from 58 emerging-market economies, including China, India, and Brazil, determined that even though the cost of solar had been expected to eventually fall below wind, steeper price declines spurred
  
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• Must-have devops tools for Windows admins

  19-12-2016 12:00
  
  Without automation, there would be no devops. How organizations implement automation—from continuous delivery to automated testing to release pipelines—differs wildly, but the fundamental divergence in approaches begins at the operating system. When it comes to Windows vs. Linux, devops is a bit different.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Inside 3 top threat hunting tools

  19-12-2016 12:00
  
  Taking down the threatImage by ThinkstockAdvanced Persistent Threats (APT) are able to slip past even the most cutting-edge security defenses thanks to a diabolically clever strategy. Hackers may try to breach your defenses thousands of times until they finally get in. Once a network is breached, most APTs go into stealth mode. They move slowly, laterally compromising other systems and inching toward their goals. But what if you could hunt down these active, but hidden threats before they can do
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Making holograms in the classroom a reality

  19-12-2016 12:00
  
  “Pictures and videos simply do not do it justice; you have to experience it for yourself,” says Alexey Yakubov, CEO and founder of HoloGroup, the Russian-based company behind HoloStudy, a revolutionary educational project for the Microsoft HoloLens.Yakubov believes the advanced holographic technology they’re working on has the potential to shift the entire paradigm of education, offering a truly visual and interactive learning experience to students all over the world.Why mixed
  
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• 5 enterprise technologies that will shake things up in 2017

  19-12-2016 11:38
  
  You think you have your hands full as an IT pro now? Just wait until blockchain, IoT, augmented and virtual reality, and these other technologies really start to take hold in 2017.ThinkstockThe Internet of Things – for realYes, yes, we know – it’s one of those long-standing tech industry jokes, like “the year of the Linux desktop” and “Java security.” But 2017 really could be the year that all the hub-bub and hype around the Internet of Things comes hom
  
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• What makes a company a ‘best place to work’?

  19-12-2016 11:30
  
  Glassdoor, the employer review site, has released its annual "Best Places to Work" list for 2017, and while there are some familiar names -- Facebook, Google, LinkedIn -- companies like fast-food restaurant In-N-Out and household brands like Clorox and Nestle Purina Pet Care are making a strong showing in the top 20.
  What makes a company a "Best Place to Work"? Though there's a diverse group of organizations represented on the list, there are a few common themes, says Allison Berry, public relat
  
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• The rise of the feedback culture

  19-12-2016 11:16
  
  No one likes performance reviews at work -- managers don't like conducting them and employees don't enjoy receiving them. And it's nothing new. As The New Yorker points out, dissatisfaction with performance reviews can be traced as far back as the third century in China. Yet employers have been unsuccessful in moving past this outdated tradition."Many of the HR executives and CEOs I've met with dislike performance reviews with a passion, but they aren't sure how to remove them when they are so i
  
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• What it takes to be a great project manager

  19-12-2016 11:05
  
  Many challenges confront today's project managers -- new technologies, remote workforces and a global market to name a few. To take a project from inception to finish can be grueling and you've got to have great dedication and skills if you're going to be successful. But what sets apart good project managers (PMs) from the truly great ones? What does it take to go from being the manager of projects to a game-changing leader? Here are six skills the great PMs share.Become a customer relationship
  
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• LinkedIn skill learning unit Lynda.com hit by database breach

  19-12-2016 06:24
  
  Lynda.com, the online learning unit of LinkedIn, has reset passwords for some of its users after it discovered recently that an unauthorized external party had accessed a database containing user data.
  The passwords of close to 55,000 affected users were reset as a precautionary measure and they have been notified of the issue, LinkedIn said in a statement over the weekend.
  The professional network is also notifying about 9.5 million Lynda.com users who “had learner data, but no protected
  
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• 68% off Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 PLUS Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Deal Alert

  19-12-2016 03:28
  
  Designed and Engineered by Cambridge SoundWorks to deliver richer fuller bass; the PLUS delivers surprising bass from such a small speaker, excellent bass performance across each type of music genre.  The PLUS battery technology and power saving design allows this speaker to play up to 30 hours from a full charge with volume set up to 2/3 of maximum playing volume.  IPX5 water resistance makes the unit splashproof, rainproof, dustproof, and sandproof.  Check out the dramatica
  
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• 44% off Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Harvest with Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit - Deal Alert

  19-12-2016 01:29
  
  AeroGardens are the world’s leading indoor gardening systems. You can grow up to 6 plants in this garden and they’ll love the 20 watts of high performance, energy efficient LED lighting. The LED lights are tuned to the specific spectrum that allows plants to maximize photosynthesis, resulting in rapid, natural growth and abundant harvests. The LED lights concentrate daylight white LEDs for fast growth, blue LEDs for bigger yields, and red LEDs for more flowers and fruit. With ideal l
  
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