IT Executive news

• As Trump presidency approaches, US warns China on semiconductors

  06-01-2017 22:40
  
  The U.S. has accused China of rigging the steel, aluminum, and green technology markets, and the semiconductor industry is the latest in the crosshairs.A White House working group has accused China of rigging the global semiconductor market by artificially reducing prices of chips. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) also recommended ways to ward off the China threat and to strengthen the domestic market.China is encroaching on the U.S. semiconductor market thro
  
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• Trump mum on Russia blame after US intelligence briefing

  06-01-2017 21:54
  
  After meeting with U.S. intelligence leaders on Friday, President-elect Donald Trump withheld any direct endorsement of their findings that Russia tried to meddle with the recent election.Rather, he focused on whether the hacking efforts -- from any country -- had an effect on the election’s outcome. In his view, there was “absolutely” none."While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our g
  
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• Microsoft’s OS supremacy over Apple to end in 2017

  06-01-2017 21:07
  
  Apple will steal a march on Microsoft this year when for the first time this century shipments of devices powered by its operating systems outnumber those running Windows, research firm Gartner said today.
  In 2017, Apple's combination of iOS and macOS -- the former on iPhones and iPads, the latter on Macs -- will take second place from Windows on the devices shipped during the year. The gap between the two will widen in 2018 and 2019, with Apple ahead of Microsoft both years.
  According to Gartn
  
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• Fitbit overhauls its app experience with groups and guided goals

  06-01-2017 20:17
  
  Fitbit’s focus for 2017 is all about software, the company said at CES, and it’s starting with a trio of app updates.
  Fitbit has always been a social app, recognizing that competition and encouragement are key to sticking with a fitness routine. In March, the app will add a new Groups tab designed to help you find like-minded folks—fellow runners, swimmers, bikers, etc. Anyone can share articles or photos to a group, and those updates will show up in a feed.
  “It’s
  
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• iPhone 7 vs. Google Pixel: Why I'm switching to Pixel

  06-01-2017 20:15
  
  I had been an Android user (a Nexus user, to be precise) since day one of my smartphone journey. I avoided the iPhone due to Apple’s tight-fisted control over hardware and software. But in 2015, when T-Mobile announced the Jump on Demand program, I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon and bought my first iPhone knowing that I could switch to up to three new devices in a year.There were a lot of things in the iPhone 6S Plus (find it on Amazon) that I loved, including the camera (especially the bu
  
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• Panasonic shows off a flexible battery for wearables

  06-01-2017 19:55
  
  Panasonic has developed a flexible lithium ion battery for use in wearable devices that maintains its electrical characteristics even after repeated bending.The battery means more freedom for designers of wearable devices, who are currently constrained by the need to inflexible areas to hold the battery and some electronics.Three prototypes of the battery are on show at this week's CES in Las Vegas. The largest is 40mm by 65mm, the medium size is 35mm by 55mm, and the smallest is 28.5mm by 39mm.
  
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• Intel's Optane: What users can expect in PCs and when it will ship

  06-01-2017 19:50
  
  Intel is known for cranking up PC speeds to new highs, and it's doing the same for storage with the super fast Optane.Optane, which Intel claims will replace today's SSDs and DRAM, is exciting for many reasons. Game play, PC booting, and productivity applications will be much faster with the new class of storage and memory.Intel has said Optane could be up to 10 times faster than conventional SSDs, but real-world tests on the storage have yet to be done. The first Optane storage was announced at
  
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• 1 million cybersecurity job openings in 2017

  06-01-2017 19:39
  
  A Forbes story in January 2016 reported there were one million cybersecurity job openings in 2016. Some things are worth repeating. There are one million cybersecurity job openings in 2017, give or take. Not much has changed over the past year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Trump, Russia, Clinton and the art of misdirection

  06-01-2017 19:21
  
  I’m fascinated with the drama surrounding the alleged Russian hack of the DNC largely because it seems to be an example of misdirection. For instance, we are all talking about the hack when the hack had no impact on the election.What impacted the election was the leak of emails to WikiLeaks, and even that seemed far better-timed to help Bernie Sanders than it did to help Trump. In addition, the FBI reinstating the Clinton investigation did more damage because it came late in the actual ele
  
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• Hands on: Apple's AirPods are indeed 'magical'

  06-01-2017 19:03
  
  There's a lot to like about Apple's new wireless AirPods. From the ease of the initial setup to the small carrying case that doubles as a charger to the sound quality of the speakers and directional mics, the AirPods do a lot of things right -- elegantly, even -- yet they are not entirely without flaws.
  The $159 wireless headphones were announced back in September, but didn't start shipping until last month and were quickly backordered. Only recently have customers actually started receiving th
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Boost staff morale with an annual IT kickoff meeting

  06-01-2017 18:45
  
  Leading up to every new year there is a sense of a fresh start and optimism. It is a great time to take advantage of this positive feeling most of us have by holding an annual IT kickoff meeting.An annual kickoff meeting offers many advantages that can help jump start your year on a positive note. Here are some of my favorites:Rally the troops
  Build teamwork
  Share past year accomplishments
  Reinforce IT mission and the importance of IT
  Focus on new year objectives
  Educate
  Spending quality time wi
  
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• Starbucks gets personal with virtual baristas as part of AI push

  06-01-2017 18:41
  
  Add Starbucks to the cadre of companies trying to boost sales with artificial intelligent based assistants. The coffee company this year will let you to place orders via voice command or messaging to a virtual barista, the next step on its journey to better personalize customer serviceStarbucks CTO Gerri Martin-Flickinger introduced the My Starbucks Barista, a new feature in the Starbucks mobile app, in a video demonstration during the company's December investor meeting. In the video, a woman s
  
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• More than 10,000 exposed MongoDB databases deleted by ransomware groups

  06-01-2017 18:35
  
  Groups of attackers have adopted a new tactic that involves deleting publicly exposed MongoDB databases and asking for money to restore them. In a matter of days, the number of affected databases has risen from hundreds to more than 10,000.
  The issue of misconfigured MongoDB installations, allowing anyone on the internet to access sensitive data, is not new. Researchers have been finding such open databases for years, and the latest estimate puts their number at more than 99,000.
  On Monday, sec
  
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• Apple’s profit slump means a pay cut for Tim Cook

  06-01-2017 17:43
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook's total compensation took a dive for 2016, as the company missed its financial targets for the year.The company's earnings for the year to Sept. 24 dropped 14 percent compared to a year earlier.As a result, Cook's total compensation dropped 15 percent -- despite a 50 percent rise in base salary.He certainly won't have to start eating ramen noodles -- he made US$8,747,719, after all -- but he and fellow senior executives lost out on a few million each because of the poor perfor
  
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• Google, AT&T and Universal discuss marketing's future

  06-01-2017 16:46
  
  LAS VEGAS — The head of Google's commercial operations in the Western Hemisphere this week spoke with the soon-to-be largest ad spender in the United States and one of Hollywood's biggest movie studios, to showcase how large traditional media companies are transitioning to digital marketing. On stage at CES 2017, a trio of executives from the companies also discussed the challenge of managing disparate marketing metrics and fears related to machine learning. AT&T and Universal Pic
  
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• 5 simple steps to boost your digital hygiene in 2017

  06-01-2017 16:27
  
  I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. Let's face it, no one keeps them.Instead of resolutions, here are five simple ways to help you save money, avoid digital disasters, and get your personal technology into top-flight condition. None of the tips are complicated, and I've used them all during the past few years so I know they work.Audit digital subscriptions
  These days, many digital services have auto-renew subscriptions. It's wise to regularly check your credit card statements to see what you'
  
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• Asus, ZTE, and Huawei phones are deemed Daydream-ready

  06-01-2017 16:20
  
  When Google launched its Daydream VR headset last year, it included some hefty requirements for handsets to be deemed worthy, including OpenGL ES 3.2 and Vulkan graphics, and displays with 3ms or less latency. That left a lot of flagship phones in the cold, but things are already looking up in 2017.
  With a flurry of announcements at this year’s CES, Google has already begun to welcome new members to its exclusive VR club. Along with its own Pixel phones and the Moto Z, Google has dec
  
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• IT service providers increase investment in onshore locations

  06-01-2017 15:10
  
  The global sourcing industry has seen a surge in setup activity in onshore location in recent years, according to outsourcing consultancy and research firm Everest Group.
  [ Related: Grading our 2016 IT outsourcing predictions ]
  After seeing significant declines in onshore location expansion in 2013 and 2014 due to a global slowdown, the percentage of new onshore versus offshore delivery locations among the top 20 service providers rose from 45 percent in 2014 to 52 percent during 2015 and the f
  
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• Can government really fix the IoT mess?

  06-01-2017 12:50
  
  The private sector often views government as the problem, not the solution. But, in the view of a growing number of experts, the opposite is true when it comes to addressing the rampant and increasing security risks of the Internet of Things (IoT).
  While it is not a unanimous view, there is general agreement that the blessings the IoT brings to modern life are being undermined by its curses – and that the market will not correct those curses.
  Its almost magical benefits are well documente
  
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• SWIFT speaks on fraudulent messages and the security moves the cooperative is making to assist its customers

  06-01-2017 12:40
  
  The February 2016 attack on Bangladesh Bank which involved the sending of fraudulent SWIFT messages from the bank’s environment, was followed by a number of other attacks on banks using the SWIFT network. The criminal hackers’ intention is to compromise the banks’ environments in order to gain their SWIFT credentials, send fraudulent messages and route payments to themselves. Since that time, the SWIFT cooperative has instituted measures ultimately designed to help their custo
  
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• Why France’s new ‘right to disconnect’ law matters

  06-01-2017 12:01
  
  France recently implemented a law giving workers "a right to disconnect" from email, messaging and calls after work. It may ultimately be ignored by many workers in France and scoffed at in the U.S., but it addresses a problem many employees deal with.
  Emails arriving at night, on weekends and during vacation can create stress and interrupt family life. An "always on" culture can hurt productivity in the long run because employees don't get time to rest and recharge, say researchers. Some compa
  
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• The year ahead for Java, JavaScript, Swift, and Universal Windows

  06-01-2017 12:00
  
  In 2016, we saw several shifts in the programming landscape, some of which will carry over into the new year, thanks to forthcoming platform upgrades and lingering grumblings among programming communities.
  Enterprise Java, Microsoft, and Apple developers dealt with shifts in strategy, delays, platform pressure, and backward-compatibility issues in 2016 that foretell an important year ahead, for platforms and developers alike.[ Give yourself a technology career advantage with InfoWorld's Deep Di
  
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• Microsoft closes the door on Visual Studio’s Team Rooms

  06-01-2017 12:00
  
  Microsoft's Team Room collaboration capability for application lifecycle management soon will be no more. Instead, developers will need to rely on other options, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams.
  The company said this week that Team Rooms is to be deprecated from the on-premise Visual Studio Team Foundation Server at the next major version, and from the online Visual Studio Team Services platform later this year.[ Give yourself a technology career advantage with InfoWorld's Deep Dive technology
  
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• Samsung expects big profit despite Note7 crisis

  06-01-2017 07:04
  
  The financial impact of the Note7 recall seems to be largely behind Samsung Electronics, which on Friday forecast that its profit has grown year-on-year by close to 50 percent in the fourth quarter.A major proportion of the profit of the largest smartphone company is expected to come from components such as memory chips and display panels, rather than from smartphones, according to analysts, a shift that was noticed in the third quarter as well."They were fortunate that their memory and displays
  
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• FBI dispute with DNC over hacked servers may fuel doubt on Russia role

  06-01-2017 04:28
  
  The FBI may have been forced into a misstep when investigating whether Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee -- the agency never directly examined the DNC servers that were breached.Instead, the FBI had to rely on forensic evidence provided by third-party cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which the DNC hired to mitigate the breach.“The FBI repeatedly stressed to DNC officials the necessity of obtaining direct access to servers and data, only to be rebuffed,” the agency said o
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Game changing enterprise trends for 2017

  06-01-2017 04:09
  
  After the ball drops in Times Square and the New Year has been rung in, many turn to reflection – on the year past of course, but also on how to make the next one even better than the last. This is especially true for business leaders who often use the time for reflection on the things they did right, what could have been better and the competitive opportunities for the coming year.2016 saw more cloud adoption than ever before – it’s no secret that the way we do business is cha
  
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• A new Wi-Fi spec will help smart homes run like clockwork

  06-01-2017 03:26
  
  Wi-Fi is an obvious candidate for connecting almost any device that can be plugged into a wall, because it’s already running in nearly every home that has broadband. But can all those products work in lockstep when timing matters, like while video and audio are streaming on several devices?
  The Wi-Fi Alliance says it has a way to make sure they do. On Thursday at CES, the industry group announced Wi-Fi Certified TimeSync, a specification for precise time synchronization among Wi-Fi device
  
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• Nissan plans to put driverless cars on streets by 2020

  06-01-2017 02:29
  
  Nissan is working toward technology to put truly driverless cars on the streets of Tokyo by 2020.
  The project's goal is driverless commercial vehicles that could deliver packages or transport people on short trips. Work will begin this year with DeNA, a Japanese Internet company, and initial trials will take place in designated driverless car test zones in Japan.
  The 2020 goal is aggressive, but Nissan probably has the Tokyo Olympics in mind. Many Japanese companies have similar projects to wow
  
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• Hands-on with Intel's Project Alloy untethered VR headset

  06-01-2017 01:59
  
  Intel offered me a chance to try out its new Project Alloy mixed-reality headset prototype on Thursday. For about five minutes, I tried shooting some digital flying robots from the comfort of a replica living room inside the Las Vegas Convention Center.Project Alloy, which was first announced at Intel’s developer conference last year, is an untethered headset that blends virtual-reality content with information about the physical world around its wearer. It’s designed to give people
  
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• There's not much to see at the location of Faraday Future's factory

  06-01-2017 01:34
  
  Faraday Future's plans for its factory are as grand as the plans for its car. The 3 million square-foot factory will cost a billion dollars and is scheduled to be up and running in 2018, but a visit to the site of the factory today reveals little more than dirt.Situated about 30 minutes away from bustle of the Las Vegas strip, the site sits just off Interstate 15, with few neighbors other than energy facilities and a truck stop.On Tuesday evening, when the company unveiled the first prototype of
  
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• The Brydge keyboard for Microsoft Surface adds 'lapability' and optional storage

  06-01-2017 01:31
  
  After making a name for itself with MacBook-like keyboard docks for iPads, Brydge is now taking on Microsoft’s Surface.
  The Brydge 12.3 is a Bluetooth keyboard that clips to the tablet section of a Surface Pro 3 or 4 with a pair of sturdy silicone hinges. At 1.3 pounds, the base is hefty enough to hold the Surface upright without leaning on the tablet’s kickstand. In other words, it adds an element of “lapability”—Microsoft’s term, not ours—to the Surfa
  
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• KillDisk cyber sabotage tool evolves into ransomware

  06-01-2017 01:19
  
  A malicious program called KillDisk that has been used in the past to wipe data from computers during cyberespionage attacks is now encrypting files and asking for an unusually large ransom.KillDisk was one of the components associated with the Black Energy malware that a group of attackers used in December 2015 to hit several Ukrainian power stations, cutting power for thousands of people. A month before that, it was used against a major news agency in Ukraine.Since then, KillDisk has been used
  
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• Microsoft is bundling cloud services to make cars smarter

  06-01-2017 01:15
  
  CES has turned into the first car show of the year, with major automakers choosing to show off upcoming features in Las Vegas. Microsoft wants to help make cars more intelligent, and it unveiled a new suite of services Thursday to do so.The Connected Vehicle Platform brings together a smorgasbord of services from Microsoft, including Azure IoT Hub, Cortana Intelligence Suite, Microsoft Dynamics and many others. In addition, Office 365, Skype for Business and Cortana can be integrated with the pl
  
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• Apple removes the New York Times app in China following government request

  06-01-2017 00:41
  
  Apple says it’s just playing by the rules...
  Over the holidays, Apple removed the New York Times mobile apps, both the English-language version and the Chinese-language version, from the App Store in China. The Times originally reported that its apps were removed on December 23, and Apple confirmed it on Thursday, citing a request from Chinese authorities.
  Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz gave the Times the following statement:“For some time now the New York Times app has not
  
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